He kneeleddown and placed both hands on her shoulders. She saw a fierceness he rarely directed at her. “If I could take it from you, I would. I don’t know why it came to you and no one else in this family, but you’re my sister. No one and nothing is taking you as long as I’m breathing. You will have a future; we all will.”
She looked down, already feeling defeat in her gut.
“Hey,” he said.
“What?”
“When have you ever seen me fail? When have you seen me lose a fight? Name a time.”
She couldn’t.
“That’s what I thought.” His face eased into a self-assured smirk. Adriel wasn’t arrogant, only confident from earned successes.
His belief in her, in this plan, brought a small smile to her own lips. She blinked away the burning in her eyes. It was too much—but maybe with her family and Dolion by her side... maybe she could fight this. Maybe she could come out the other side with some kind of life that was actually her own.
He took one hand and thumbed her bracelet, then glanced curiously at the silver piece resting on the opposite wrist, but he didn’t inquire.
“We have the shield. King Matthias swore his enchantment would last two lifetimes. No one can detect your power as long as you’re here. He promised not even the gods themselves could track you down, as long as you stay on these grounds.”
She nodded.
Adriel gripped the tempest tears firmly. “These fae stones are powerful, imbued by the king himself. They can’t bottle it up entirely, we know that now. But as long as you wear this, that power, whatever it is inside you, is hindered.” Her mind went to the windows bursting open and her sister’s petrified face. “We will figure out a way. We will figure out an answer to all of this. I promise.”
She nodded again in agreement. She was so foolish to think these stones hailed from Vrasta. There were so many lies for so long it was hard to keep track of them all.
“What if something comes for me?” The question itself terrified her.
He took her hand, bringing her up with him as he stood.
“If something comes, you’ll be ready, and I’ll be right by your side to face it with you.”
She embraced her brother, squeezing him tighter than she ever had. As dangerous as it all sounded, he was giving her a chance to write her own story. He believed in the best of her, that she would not fall victim to some thousand-year-old curse.
“Adriel?”
“What?”
“Draw your sword.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
By an absolute miracle, she took the correct path back to the Azure Chasm. She had ducked into a corner in the first bathing chamber to don her clean leathers. She even managed to work the clasps on her clothes without help.
The tables were still full of bodies and chatter. She eyed Manos talking to a group of beings with jagged fibrous wings. None of them wore anything above the waist. She supposed shirts would be difficult if their wings couldn’t simply disappear on command.
She scanned the grand room for another familiar face—still no sign of Callum.
The soldiers truly did look like they had been plucked from all over the realm. The color of their skin ranged from the milkiest white to the deepest carob and everything in between.
Some turned to glance at her, leaning into one another, whispering. It didn’t take long for them to look away. It appeared Theodon’s warning to Orm had already circulated.
She found an empty seat. Almost immediately, all the soldiers who occupied the seats next to her sidled away, some scooting far down the long benches, and others getting up all together, carrying their meals with them.
Excellent, more solitude.The roar of the room continued with boisterous discussions.
The wandering eyes cast behind her as Theodon Wrenn strolled into the turquoise cave. She couldn’t help staring along with the masses. He didn’t make eye contact with her.
If she had to train, to try and take back the full supply of her god-given power, she wanted anyone else to show her the way. One moment he showed her kind sentiment and understanding, the next he was dissecting her inner thoughts like a worm under a knife.
