“Yes. What is wrong with him?”
“Niethal uses his magic on the humans. It makes them more compliant. It’s one of his talents.”
I scowl both internally and externally.“This isn’t right. We can’t leave him here like this.”
“They are in his thrall. We can’t free them from it. Only Niethal can release them.”
I have to try. I wave my hand in front of the man’s face, but he gives no sign he sees it. I’m about to say something else to Isiah when an unfamiliar voice bellows through the stables, “You there,stop!” A guard draws his sword and stalks toward Isiah.
Isiah lifts a hand in the guard’s direction. It’s covered in black shadows that swirl and coil like snakes slithering on his arm. The air surrounding Isiah pulses before a blast of darkness shoots from him and engulfs the guard, swallowing him whole. Seconds pass, and it’s deathly silent. When the darkness vanishes, the guard stands upright, but his eyes swim with the black shadows. The final tendril of magic creeps back to Isiah, and the man collapses to the ground with a sickening thud. He doesn’t move, or breathe, again.
The sheer amount of magic Isiah has is shocking. I knew he was powerful, but I never expectedthat. It appeared so effortless.
A coolness caresses the bond.“You wanted to know what my magic was. Well, there it is. It’s not bright and full of life as yours. Mine is of the dark. A place I am very familiar with.”
My eyes narrow on him.“If you are trying to scare me, it won’t work. I have seen your shadows, and they like me.”
The corner of his mouth ticks up in amusement.
The blond male interrupts our silent conversation. “Do you ride, Grace?” he asks as he straps a saddle onto a horse, but I shake my head. There is never a need to ride in Trimton; everything is walkable.
“You’ll ride with me, then,” Isiah says as he takes my hand and leads me towards a horse in the group’s front. He pulls himself up before reaching for me, but there’s another shout.
“I found them! Alert the king!” a guard yells from the same door where the last one appeared.
“Shit.Let’s move!” someone shouts from our group.
Isiah pulls me up in front of him, and I grip the saddle’s pommel hard. He cracks the reins, and the horse rears, legs kicking wildly, before shooting through the doors and into the courtyard.
We blow past a group of guards forming a line at the front gate, and I glance over my shoulder in time to see Niethal rush out the main door. His eyes snap to mine and flare as he shouts at his guards. “Get them! Bring them back herenow!”
We fly through the gate and away from the castle.
Everything blurs as we race through the countryside.
We left the road a while back, turning into fields bordered by woods on both sides. Aside from being in the courtyards and Grager, I have seen none of the fae lands. They are near identical to the human realm, except for theotherquality I can’t quite put my finger on.
The trees appear sturdier and taller, the grass greener, and the flowers more vibrant. It’s the same, yet…more. As I gaze up at the sky, the memory of lying on the ground with the arrow in my shoulder floats to the surface. The sky was so impossibly beautiful then, and now I understand why.
“That man is dead, you know. I was going to kill him myself but found someone had already taken care of it,” Isiah says, and I give a half shrug.
“Reagan told me as much. Niethal took his head.”
“He deserved it. If that arrow was any further in…” Isiah doesn’t finish the thought, and he doesn’t need to. His reaction comes from a place of affection, while Niethal’s was from the risk to his asset. That was why Niethal killed him—not out of caring for me, as much as he pretended otherwise.
“I felt bad at first, but now…”
So much has happened since Devlin and the male from Grager’s deaths that they feel insignificant. What does that say about me, that their deaths mean nothing? Perhaps my magic isn’t the only part of me that has changed. It would seem I’m not as decent as I once thought.
We’ve been fleeing for what feels like hours before Isiah slows the pace. He and I lead the group, and when I glance back, the pretty male catches my eye and gives a dazzling smile. I return one of my own. I lean against Isiah, and he wraps an arm around my middle.
“You need to introduce me to everyone. I’ve been internally referring to them by hair colors.”
His chest vibrates against my back with his laughter. “Once we cross into Daminae, we can relax, then I’ll make proper introductions. Niethal won’t attempt a crossing. It could be taken as an act of aggression, and my father would be within his rights to respond with force without repercussions from the other kings.”
“I hope you’re right. Are we nearing Daminae?”
“Well, first, we need to reach Selen’s border before we can use a crossing.”