“You have no weapons. No magic. Nothing to protect you.”
She raises her chin, eyes blazing. “I need neither to defend myself from a coward like you. Someone who preys on the innocent, skulking in shadows and threatening a young girl to feel powerful.” She flexes her fingers, her nails filthy. “These will do just fine to scratch your eyes out if you come any closer. Now leave, while you still have your dignity and your sight.”
Laughter erupts from my throat, unbidden and genuine, but not cruel. It’s a foreign sound to my ears, more of a surprise than an insult. Warmth spreads through me, uncoiling the darkness that clawed at the edges of my mind. It retreats, slinking back into the void it came from.
There is no fear in her. Only fire. A fierce passion that stirs something unfamiliar.
But she doesn’t find my amusement endearing. Her expression sharpens.
“I’ve warned you,” she says firmly, her voice calm but unrelenting. “I have a power within me. Don’t make me summon it to my side.”
The laughter dies in my throat. My eyes narrow on her, and I take a half step closer.
“Power?” I ask, the word tasting like bait. “What power?”
Her hand lifts to the rune hanging from a leather string around her neck. She clasps it tightly, her knuckles whitening as she holds her ground. “I am the forest,” she says, her voice low but fierce, each word crackling with conviction. “I am the Jewel of the Tenders.”
The anticipation inside me vanishes. My eyes flick to the rune. It’s Maledannan. A relic for healing. Nothing more.
The realization washes over me like cold water, extinguishing whatever simmering tension remained. This girl isn’t Awakened. She’s no threat to me.
There is nothing more to be gained here.
“Very well,” I say, taking a deliberate step back. “I will leave.”
Her head jerks slightly, startled by my sudden compliance. “You will?”
I smirk. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yes,” she says quickly, straightening her shoulders as if to regain the upper hand. “Leave and be quick about it.”
The Prince of the Sundered Kingdoms isn’t accustomed to being ordered about, especially by a human, but there’s something oddly charming about her obliviousness to who I truly am. An Awakened would see through my glamor in an instant, pierce the enchantments masking my true form. Amara Tyne is just another human.
I dip my chin, striding past her, the scintillating scent of her filling my head once more. It’s maddening, almost intoxicating, and an involuntary groan escapes my lips before I can stop it. I grit my teeth, trying to will the reaction away.
I’ve barely taken a few steps when I hear the rustle of grass behind me.
“Wait,” she calls.
The word hooks me, curiosity forcing my steps to still. I glance over my shoulder.
“What is that?” she asks, her brow furrowing as she stares at me, her voice trailing off.
My eyes narrow. “What’s what?”
“That light around you,” she says, her gaze distant, her lids half-closed as though seeing something beyond what I can. “That…shimmer.”
My heart stumbles in its rhythm, the beat thundering in my ears. I turn slowly to face her, every muscle taut. “What did you say?”
Amara steps toward me, her movements fluid, almost dreamlike. The wind catches her hair, sending it tumbling over her shoulders, and the long grass sways in harmony with the fabric of her dress. For a moment, she’s otherworldly, a vision so radiant it steals the breath from my lungs.
Her hand rises toward my face. I flinch before her fingers can make contact.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve… I’ve seen it before.”
The words send a jolt through me, and without thinking, I step back.Inever step back.
“I’m leaving,” I say quickly, the urgency in my voice betraying me.
