Scent? The only scent filling the air is the fragrance of night-blooming roses from the courtyard.
The anger in his voice gives me pause. Is he…jealous? After our morning in Grager, I had hoped he thought of me that way. It seemed like he did. He has always been kind, giving me a place to stay while we wait for the crossing.
The crossing.
Isiah mentioned something about it. He questioned if Niethal claimed they couldn’t be summoned.Damn it, why didn’t I ask what he meant by that? He made it sound as if Niethal had lied. Why would Niethal lie, though?
My spine stiffens as the realization hits me. It seems so clear now that he demonstrated my magic for the other kings, proving my lineage over a long-lost kingdom.
I am such a fool.
Niethal means to keep me here. Every time I mentioned leaving, he said we had to wait for the next crossing.Maybe I’m wrong. Or perhaps Isiah’s misinformed about crossing into the human realm. I’m at least partly fae. It’s possible I did unknowingly call the crossing, and Niethal’s intentions toward me are genuine. My breaths come faster and deeper as the thought of someone calling the crossing purposefully, setting a trap for me, runs through my mind.
An earlier conversation with Niethal replays in my head.“I knew you would be coming.”
As much as I try to reason against it, the evidence points to it.
Niethal even planned the ball before I arrived, celebrating his newly found treasure. And instead of questioning anything he said, I blindly trusted him, the first handsome male I met who was kind to me.
Without thinking it through, I blurt, “Did you ever intend to let me make the crossing home?”
I hope he tells me yes, that this is a mistake, and I have it wrong.
But instead, he tugs on the sleeve of his surcoat, straightening it, and evades the question. “After only a few moments with the prince, you believe everything he tells you? What I have done thus far has been foryou.”
I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. “Answer me this. Why were your guards so deep in the woods when I crossed? Was it you who opened the crossing? The poisoned arrow makes sense now. Knocking me unconscious makes for easier transport.” When he remains silent and won’t meet my eyes, it’s all the confirmation I need. A dull ache squeezes my chest. “Was any of it ever true? Am I special to you or just to your purposes? Your kindness and our day in Grager. Was any of it real?”
When he finally meets my eyes, there’s a pained expression there. He lets out a heavy sigh and strides forward, closing the space between us.His hand lifts toward my face, aiming to caress my cheek, but I shy away, and his hand falls heavily to his side. “So this is how it’s going to be? I had high hopes for us, for what we could do together. But if you wish to see me as a villain in your story now, I would hate to disappoint.”
He takes my arm and hurries us back through the doors into the ballroom.
We cross the dance floor and climb the first step of the dais. I tremble as memories of the last time I stood here flash through my mind.
He raises his hand, and the music abruptly stops. The dancers halt, appearing confused by the sudden silence, but they still when they catch sight of us on the steps. Niethal lets go of my arm, and my eyes scan the room, searching for the only familiar face in the crowd. A coolness sweeps across the base of my neck, trailing to the right, and I follow the sensation and find Isiah standing there with two Daminae guards flanking him. His eyes are wide, but the rest of him is still, rooted to the spot.
Niethal raises his voice and startles me from my thoughts. While I’ve been looking at Isiah, I must have missed something. His lips press together, flattening, as he turns me toward him. “Are you ready to try your magic again?” Icy fingers brush up my spine, prickling my skin as he turns us toward the audience. “Would you like to see the Firebird rise again? The last magical descendant of House Anaeris,” he shouts, sounding like the ringleader of his own circus.
The crowd cheers and claps as if I’m merely an attraction at the show.
My voice comes out quiet, barely a whisper. “I’m not sure I can do that again. Not on command.”
“Why didn’t you just say so, my dear?”He places a palm against my temple, and the pain is instantaneous.
I erupt.
CHAPTER 12
ISIAH
U
nable to do anything, I helplessly stare as Grace burns again.
Thebastardcompelled her magic to rise, uncalled by her, and she had no defenses to stop him. Compulsion is not a common form of magic, but most noble-born fae still learn to defend against it, just in case.
My magic thrums inside me. Shadows creep from under my sleeves, but Thom grabs my arm before I can do more. “You can’t be doing that here, Isiah,” he says in a strained voice. “It would damn Daminae more than just politically. Niethal put his claim on her the second she crossed into his lands. Taking her would be an act of theft, which could lead to war. And I believe he would go to war over this. I found some things in our search, and it’s worse than we could have imagined.”
My eyes remain locked on the dais, on Grace. I wince when she cries, back arching as fire coats her arms and legs. The skin on my inner arm burns with phantom flames.