AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her lips pinch into a thin line as she stares down at me.
Nyx peers up at me, waiting to see how I handle her question.
“He is a guard of Lux,” I answer, not giving her more than she asks for.
“Obviously. But who is he?” she asks, tilting her head to the side, assessing my responses.
I pretend to think about the question before answering.
“I believe he called himself Captain,” I reply, and Nyx huffs.
I push down a smile.
“Why is he here?” Kira continues with her line of questioning, sounding annoyed.
“He survived the haunted forest,” I give another stunted reply.
“Seriously? How? Why?” Kira asks with confusion and surprise.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Now, if you would excuse yourself, we could get back to it,” Nyx says curtly.
Kira opens her mouth to speak, but Nyx cuts her off. He doesn’t hide his annoyance.
“That was an order, not a request. Leave now, Kira.”
“Of course, General,” Kira says with faked sweetness.
She stares at me as if she’s weighing my worth.
I glare back with indifference. Just another mask to block out the emotions twisting my insides. Kira shakes her head slowly before leaving the room with a slam of the door.
“What’s the quest this time?” I ask Nyx, ready to move on after our interruption.
His eyes skim the letter once more.
“A lady of Terra is asking for our help regarding a lord harming several women. It appears their king isn’t stopping the lord, and more women are being hurt,” he says slowly, handing me the letter.
Fire flares through me as my shadows scratch at the sealed well. They crave the need to be judge, jury, and executioner of this horrid man. King Royce should learn to control his men better.
I wonder if it’s hard for King Royce to rule over his people with his shard of remaining power. No one knows why Eos, the land and water god who created Terra, has found the Winfielde divinus line unworthy of his blessings. Many fear that soon the beautiful kingdom of wildflowers and rolling hills will be like Fati, with nothing left and another god lost.
“Accept it immediately. Send someone to Terra to gather information today, and we’ll go in two days to handle the situation,” I give the order to Nyx, fighting back the desire to go now and take care of things myself.
“Will the king have a soft spot for Theo as well?” Nyx asks with far too much attitude. “Or will he not appreciate someone trespassing in his kingdom and seek punishment for it?”
“I’m sure Asher will be neutral about the situation, as he should be. I’ll ensure he visits Theo until we can figure out our next move,” I reply, as my shadows buzz along my skin at the mention of the king.
This means Asher will need to walk the halls of The Keep, which we promised not to do after Oren died. He loved to parade Asher around as his weapon and threaten the crew with his power. The memory makes me clench my jaw to suppress the rage for our former king. I steel myself and push the memory down.
My people thrive on mutual respect, not punishment. But Oren never learned that. His motivation was always fear and power. His desire to use Asher as his weapon always dominated his thoughts. But now, Asher bends only to my will.
Nyx and I spend the rest of the day arguing about how to handle Theo. I try to get lost in my duties, but my heart won’t allow it. The threads constantly tug, pulling me toward the cell, begging for me to go to Theo.
