Page 116 of The Stolen Crown

My stomach plummeted.

Tait’s sharp canines flashed. “Windswayer, you betrayed your king. You know as well as me, there are no seas where he will not find you.”

Windswayer was a spindly man and looked at the ground. “I’ve no plans to end up like the others, Heartwalker. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.”

Tait’s eyes were red with hate. “I would’ve met the gods before betraying my men.”

Djur barked a laugh and clapped Windswayer on the shoulder. “You’ve a cunning man here, sea fae. He’s, uh—how do you say it?—negotiated his place among us well. Made us an offer that makes a great deal of sense. Leave the lady fae for him and one other man for us. Then we’ll allow the rest of you to leave. We will not go after you in your seas.”

Me? Left for Windswayer? Why did they only require one other man?

I did not have time to even retch at the idea before Tait tightened his grip around my body, nearly squeezing me to the point of pain.

“Try to take her,” Tait said, a cruel sort of twist to his smile. “I would love for you to come closer. Let us see how long you live.”

Windswayer shook his head. “Heartwalker, if we give them a few of us, they’ll leave the Ever in peace. I do this to protect our people.”

“You forget I can read your heart. This is to save your neck.”

Rage, hot as venom, rose in my blood. My glamour had grown weak, but the hatred that bubbled to the surface for Windswayer’s selfish betrayal dragged out a burst of stamina.

One more illusion. For Tait’s sake. For the men’s. For Bloodsinger’s betrayal from another member of his crew.

Where my hand dangled, I wove my fingers in an intricate pattern.

Cliffs made up the Head House of Eilifur. I saw them in my mind, only a little differently. The men thought they stood at an advantage, being so high above us. But if I could push a little more, a little deeper, that height would be the weapon they did not see coming.

Little by little, the hum of glamour burned in my fingertips, flowed up my arms, until the roar shouted in my skull. I needed to create something to encourage them to the edge. A burst of something…hot. Yes, hot. Fire.

Everyone fled from fire.

The pattern of my fingers alternated into a slow swirl.

From behind Djur and the men at his side, the sound of shattering glass erupted in the night. A wall of flames billowed in a great boiling cloud behind them. Violent and frenzied, it was wild enough the men would not see the slight shimmers of silver on the edges.

Men scattered, but I needed Windswayer to make the proper moves.

With a shift to the pattern of my hand, I imagined a growing cliffside. Just a bit of an extension, a sturdy slab that wasn’t there before. I needed it to appear safe, secure, a proper place for a steady footstep.

My skull screamed in the rush of glamour.

The illusions of flames slowly weakened when the ledge extended in front of Windswayer. I couldn’t hold it much longer. Teeth clenched, I focused on crafting a sure slab of stone and released more of the illusions of flames.

Windswayer took note of the larger ledge. There was enough desperation to be free of the flames that he did not give his mind time to realize the slab he saw before him had only appeared moments before. He did not rationalize, merely saw a way to put more distance between a deadly fire and his own flesh.

He stepped out onto the illusion of a ledge.

My hand went limp, and the glamour faded in the same moment Windswayer’s screams echoed in the glossy night.

Tait’s mouth parted. He watched his fellow crewman topple over the cliffside for no clear reason, watched Windswayer’s body flail and twist until the man’s screams ended in a sickening crack against the stones below.

For a dozen heartbeats, Djur looked about, a new anger twisted on his face. He peered over the ledge to where a sea fae—a prize to the mortals—was now dead and wasted. He looked over his shoulder where flames had been hot and deadly moments ago.

Then his dark gaze fell back to me, to Tait.

All at once, Djur’s grin grew horrid, no longer the friendly king who welcomed us at his table. This man had a touch of deranged delight in his gaze. He let out a furious bellow.

From lower alcoves, guards emerged. Our distraction gave them time to surround us.