Page 47

There, Tait Heartwalker was trapped within a dark swath of sand. Not a glimmer of sunlight reflected off the ribbon of sand and left its appearance more like a long vein of ash after a flame had been doused.

Stuck in the dark earth to his hip on one side and to his knee on the other. More than the strange sand, overhead, birds with jagged beaks the length of my forearm kept swooping down to peck at him.

One caught hold of the scarf keeping Tait’s hair off his brow. Another dove for one of the hoops in his ears.

Shit.

Every time he swatted at the birds, his body slipped a little deeper into the sinking sand.

I was going to lose him.

Thin branches and the narrow trunks of the nearby trees did not lend much confidence any limb could pull Tait free. Not to mention, there was little time. Already the sand shifted upward to his waist.

There was no chance I could kill all of the birds fast enough, but if I did not do something to rid Tait of their sharp beaks, his body would sink faster and would be lost before I could reach him. If I ran out without a weapon, some of the wretched birds would flee, but others might turn on me. Then I would be nothing but pecked-over bones, and Tait would still fall prey to the sinking sand.

As though some dormant instinct took hold at the thought, the bite of glamour in my veins burned beneath my skin, trickling from my crown to the tips of my fingers.

No, I could not kill all the birds, but I could manipulate their tiny minds until they descended into a frenzy of confusion.

Palms open, I closed my eyes. Daj was an illusionist much the same as me. He’d always called his power fury, like Livia and her folk. But, in truth, the power of illusion was more laden in old fae glamour.

To my father, glamour gathered in a chilled rush. For me, it was a slow hum that grew to a roar in my skull. I fashioned illusions like a chaotic sort of painting. Frantic brushstrokes of an image splashed in my thoughts until a vibrant scene bled out of my own imaginings into the minds of those I targeted.

There was a bit of skill with illusions, believable ones anyway. A few manipulations here and there, and a glamour illusionist could shape a new reality for a victim. The sort that left folk gasping, pleading, terrified.

Some illusions could blot out a true landscape. Where a fae thought they might be walking on solid ground, if an illusion took hold, they could be convinced to walk right off a cliff.

In old wars between earth fae kingdoms, Daj fought with the Night Folk, creating illusions to lure their enemies out into the open, dropping the fantasy only when blades were drawn.

The Key, Starlight, Daj always told me, is to make what the eyes are seeing convincing enough that the mind does not think twice about it.

I could not turn this shore into a frosted cliffside. It would be too drastic, too outlandish. Even the horrid birds might disregard the trick for too long. They would not find it threatening enough.

In this moment, the illusion my thoughts conjured was simple, nothing grand. Birds were predators, but not the fiercest. No mistake, they would not give up a trapped meal easily. Not unless they became the prey.

I rolled my palms, swirling air between my fingers. Beneath ledges that led into the trees, sand shifted and hissed. A few birds turned away from Tait to investigate the new sounds.

More. I needed more. Clawed feet crept out from crevices within the stacked stones. I closed my eyes. If my creation stepped into the sunlight, I needed to swiftly determine what it looked like.

It needed…teeth. Yes, teeth as long as my fingers. My palms prickled in gentle warmth.

And jaws with the power to snap through bone. Paws—no, not paws—talons. Yes. Sharp, curled, talons, longer than any seafowl.

Glamour flooded my head, the sound of a storm swirling a warm wind.

Golden sunlight spilled over the shifting sands. A growl rumbled across the beach, causing a few birds to signal a warning. Sunlight cut across a spindly back of black scales, a head with pointed ears, and a long open snout.

I tilted my head. Perhaps not my best work. The creature emerged as a collision of a catlike beast with a serpentine tail.

No mistake, it was too strange to make sense to most, but for the birds? My lips split into a wide grin. Already, the creatures flapped their wings, shrieking in terror as the serpent-cat invaded the beach, slicing its talons like a great falcon.

Arms wide, I drifted my palms as though guiding the breeze. Wherever my focus turned, glamour stung in my fingertips and a new creature would emerge from the rocky ledges and snap its jaws at the flailing birds.

Tait watched the onslaught of new beasts with a bit of terror. Serves him right for frightening me like this.

I brushed my palms in the opposite direction to draw my creatures toward the last of the birds. Teeth clenched, the exertion of glamour took hold of me. Hot bile rose in my throat.

Godsdammit, just a little longer.