AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her.
If they saw this through, she would become a prisoner of the king’s army. Or worse.
He could at least buy her the time to escape a fate he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. Fuck the Society. He was leaving after this mission, regardless. They’d been happy enough to withhold the truth from him for so long. He could do the same.
“Let’s check the market first,” he said and rubbed the center of his chest. It still burned with remnants of whatever that girl had done to him. Perhaps she could already wield magic. If so, that was another problem he would have to deal with later. “We’ll come at night when I’m harder to spot.”
Devon narrowed his eyes and snapped his reins, signaling his beast to move down the road and farther away from the manor. “Don’t tell me the visit to the Copper Kingdom has made you soft, brother.”
Arkimedes’s throat closed. All those truths he’d unearthed while he’d escaped to his birthplace for a few months… He’d promised his father, the king of the Copper Kingdom, that he would return as soon as he resigned from his duty.
A normal Crow might not have served enough time to retire, but as it turned out, Arkimedes was a prince, and that changed everything. Perhaps it was childish, how much he desired to see their faces fall when he told them he could leave.
He’d briefly considered not returning at all. Still, Devon deserved the truth, and this last mission together felt important somehow.
“Quite the contrary,” Arkimedes whispered to himself. It had made him realize how petty the Society’s actions were.
He followed his brother along the paved road that led them toward the center of town. With any luck, Celeste would be at the market. They would handle the problem, and he would never cross paths with that girl again.
Orion woke to the icy feeling of dread still crawling up his body. It invaded his head and transformed into a pounding migraine that rapidly grew in intensity.
He groaned, clutching his skull in agony as images from the dream continued to flood his mind. The scent of olive soap from the bath he’d taken last night lingered on his skin, and a steady warmth emanated from beside him.
His heart shrunk as he turned to Nava. She was still sleeping soundly, unaware of the state he was in. Even the tiniest detail of their first meeting rushed inside him, filling the gaps left behind by his father’s spell.
He felt broken and unstable. A man caught between two minds…
He climbed out of bed, taking care not to wake her, and frowned as he took in the bees that were crawling all over the sheet and up his torso and arms.
Maybe a workout would ease the voices of his shadows. Maybe he’d even find Devon there—once upon a time, they used to train before sunrise on the regular. It was the perfect chance to convince his brother to help them with the mirror.
The solarium was situated toward the back of the house, on the ground floor. The rooms in every safe house had a similar appearance, regardless of where that safe house stood. It was a way for the Society to ensure its members always felt at home.
If his father had suspected the Crows knew who he was all along, then there was a possibility the king had watched Devon carefully during their stay at the castle. When they escaped a few nights ago, Orion had told Nava that the treaties between the Society and the royals would be enough to protect Devon. He’d been confident that his father wouldn’t harm Devon when he’d locked them in that room and asked Nava to escape.
But Orion hadn’t known all the facts then.
He stormed into the solarium, and its humidity wrapped around him. This was a place of life, with plants growing everywhere: an unseasonably warm spot of the house.
The faint scent of old magic welcomed him as he inspected the garden, full of lush greenery and blooms that wouldn’t stand a chance in the cold outside. Here they thrived, aided by sorcery.
A crushed granite path led him to a wooden training deck, where Devon awaited.
His brother was swinging a longsword in an elegant arc with practiced ease. He froze in an attack pose as his black eyes fixed on Orion. “You are late.”
“And you are shirtless.”
“It’s hot in here.” Devon shrugged, then signaled for Orion to strike. “No magic. You know the drill.”
Orion’s magic tingled under his skin as it stirred, eager to be unleashed. “Why are you afraid? How long has it been since you’ve used your magic, Devon?” He smiled as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.
Devon glared. “A year, thanks to you and your wonderful soulmate.” He tossed the sword onto the deck, and his aura bloomed around him, dark gray and sizzling with energy.
“You tortured her. Consider yourself lucky that it was only imprisonment…”
“So you remember?”
“Yes.”
