It was then that I finally noticed I hadn’t seen even a hint of mist in this place.
The walls must keep it out.
“Come forward,” he commanded, beckoning us with a wave of his hand. A single silver ring glinted on his forefinger.
Even with the carpet to muffle my steps, they still echoed through the vast, empty space. My eyes were drawn to the distant ceiling, curving up and away, a hundred feet above. It was magnificent, of course, but it just all felt soempty.
“Stop,” he said when my feet hit the edge of the carpet. He leaned forward, his sapphire eyes flashing with something I couldn’t quite place. “Toryn suggested we try this again. Will you listen or will you try to run?”
Irritation flashed through me. “I’d lie, but you’d be able to tell.”
The Mist King turned to Toryn, who hovered just behind me. “I told you this was a bad idea. She thinks I’m the bloodthirsty Mist King.”
“Don’t try to tell me you aren’t. I’ve seen portraits of you.”
The Mist King—orKalas Toryn liked to call him—furrowed his brows. “I am who you think I am, but I don’t feast on human flesh or burn down cities. I brought you here to help you, Tessa. You would have been bound to Oberon forever if you’d stayed in Albyria. I know you think I’m this wicked, monstrous creature, but—”
“Why did you want me to steal those gemstones?” I demanded. “You told me it was so you could banish the mists and free the mortals from Oberon’s kingdom. So that we could go across the bridge without risking our lives to the monsters that live in the shadows. That’s not true, though. It can’t be. Becauseyou’rethe Mist King. The mists are yours.”
His eyes went dark. “You’re right. I lied to you about that. The gemstones are somehow holding the barrier in place. I wanted to break them all, so that I could invade the Kingdom of Light. I didn’t tell you the truth because I didn’t think you’d help me bring the mists into your village.”
“I knew it,” I whispered, anger ripping through me. “Why did you bring me here? What are you going to do to me? Burn my body?”
He lifted his eyes to Toryn. “I told you. She’s not going to listen. Take her back to her cell.”
“Kal…” Toryn said.
“See, you’re just like him.” I flinched when Toryn touched my elbow. “You act like he’s a monster. And you’re right. He is. But so are you.”
The Mist King stilled. “You say it with such conviction. What did he do to you, Tessa?”
I folded my arms. “Looking for some pointers, Mist King?”
His lips curled. Anger whipped through his eyes like a storm, one that would drench me in unyielding darkness. “That is not my name.”
“Yes, just likethat,” I said, my voice hushing. “Anytime you say something he doesn’t like, just see what happens.”
“What happens?” Toryn asked from behind me.
My heart throbbed, painful memories ripping through me. The silence in the room was heavy as my hands fisted, as my lungs struggled to gain enough breath. The Mist King’s eyes dropped down, tracking my every move. I wished I could wash all the tension away, act like it didn’t matter. The last thing I needed was for him to have another hold over me.
“What did he do to you?” the Mist King repeated in a soft, dangerous voice that curled across me like the mists.
“No worse than whatever it is you’ll do.”
“I am not like him.” His voice boomed through the empty hall. Power washed over me, cold and dark, the opposite of the fiery heat of King Oberon. Anger curled his lips. Tension pulsed the muscles beneath his fitted shirt. I braced myself. I’d pushed him too far. And now I was going to pay for it.
At least he did not know where my mother and Val were.
He could not get his hands on them.
With a shuddering sigh, he jammed his fingers into his hair and turned away. “Make sure she has a bath and a fresh change of clothes. And for the moon’s sake, make sure she eats some fucking bread.”
I stood frozen on the spot until he stormed out of the throne room. A door slammed behind him, the sound reverberating through my bones. My blood rushed through my ears as I stared after him. He’d brought me here, and for what? I still didn’t know anything more than I had before.
Toryn sighed. “That didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.”
“How exactly did you expect a conversation to go between a girl and her captor?” I asked, my voice more full of bite than I’d intended. Even though Toryn was the Mist King’s loyal guard, I could recognize that he hadn’t been cruel to me. That didn’t mean I liked him. I just didn’t hate him. The kings were the problem.