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Two
Callum
The painfully beautiful woman sitting across from me wasn’t ready to venture into the depths of the Underground to the Starlit City. The Underground was hostile to the surface dwellers during times of peace. If what she said was true, she would be killed outright, from both fae and beast. Then again, even with her innocuous and youthful appearance, there was a cold calculating intelligence brimming in her large cobalt blue eyes. If the magi sent her alone, then her power would be sufficient for the task. After all, she was charged with my retrieval and my escort to the city. I could probably snap her neck with relative ease, even without my magic. Yet there was something about the way she carried herself.
Closing my eyes, I reached out with my primal instincts.I sensed the magic within her. The current filled the air, and my skin prickled with excitement. It had been many years since I’d been in the company of such power.This was no prey animal before me. I could feel the energy emanating within her, a raging torrent of magical aptitude. The fact she was holding her poise with no hint of the inferno raging within was delectable. It might prove an exploit to use in my escape, and I would love to see that fire unleashed.
“You’re young for a mission like this,” I said, watching how she neither smiled nor frowned when I spoke.
She conjured a blue ball of fire into her palms. “Age is not a requirement. Power is.”
There was no emotion in her voice. I found her entire persona intriguing. Dressed in a white bodice that covered a voluptuous chest, and golden silky hair that flowed around her shoulders. She appeared to be a delicate mannered thing, but something lacked in her voice and eyes.
“You must be very powerful if they allowed you to come alone.”
She dismissed my question, not bothering to respond. The blue ball diminished, and she sat back in the seat, looking out the window. “We’ll take a ship off the island tonight, then head toward the Crusted Mountains in the morning.”
The Crusted Mountains, certainly the quickest route to the city, but not the easiest path. “Am I to venture into this peril unarmed? Or are you fearful that I would be too much to handle if given even footing?”
With a blank stare she tilted her head at me. “I am the weapon, and you wouldn’t last more than a few seconds if you tested your thesis.”
We stared at one another with spite in our glare, neither blinking for many minutes. I couldn’t tell if it was a sneer or the hint of a smile forming around her lips and nostrils. Perhaps it was a mixture of both, and just like that her interest in our little stare off waned as she turned her gaze back to the rocky terrain outside her window. Was this how our journey would be?When there could be so much more offered? Certainly, a young woman of her power and beauty required certain appeasements.
“How long have you been with the magi?” I asked, curious about her history with the old order. She was young to hold such an important position.
“Since I was a child.”
I arched a brow, thinking there was a story behind that statement. It wasn’t uncommon for the magi to take in children. They preferred to groom their weapons from an early age, but it was uncommon for the magi to trust a younger mage with such a dangerous quest.
The carriage rolled along the uneven road that wound around the rocky and somewhat desolate island. Kelia looked out the window with an empty stare. I found it intriguing she was not frightened or intimidated by me.
The prison sat on an island far from the mainland. The rocky cliffs and dangerous seas made escape impossible. Only one ship transported goods and guards back and forth. When the magi had imprisoned me, I knew it was indefinite. I wasn’t worth anything to anyone, especially the queen of my people. Why was she calling on me now? My last conversation with Merelda did not go well, and if I was to be honest with myself, she was the reason I was imprisoned, even if my actions had been just.
With the sun high, and my gut aching for food and water, I thought about how I could manipulate this pretty thing in front of me to release my dampener. Surely, she had enough magic to challenge me if she needed no guards.I didn’t enjoy being out in the open without access to my power.
The road dipped over the hill and down toward the only port. One rickety looking ship docked at the pier, and a bunch of prison guards sat around a wooden table playing a game of dice. Life on the island was anything but exciting.
We stopped, and instead of waiting for the driver to open her door, Kelia flung it open and jumped out. Mud splattered the bottom of her white dress, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“Come,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at me.
I followed her out and down the pier. Her driver carried only a single black bag. How would we travel through the mountains with no gear? “We’ll need more than a single handbag if you want to venture through the Crusted Mountains.”
My stomach growled, loudly enough for the pretty human to turn and acknowledge it.
“When was the last time you ate?” Kelia asked, as she waved her driver over.
“What day is it?”
Kelia took the black bag from her driver. “Oscar, let the captain know we’ve arrived. I want to leave as soon as the ship is ready.”
Oscar nodded and walked to the ship. I followed Kelia over to a bench where we sat. The guards playing dice eyed me warily. While I may have dressed as one of them, the steel collar around my neck gave away my true identity, and dark fae were not a common sight on the surface.
“Ignore them. Eat.” Kelia shoved a roll and salted beef into my hand.She unscrewed the top of a canteen, drank, then handed it to me.
I wiped the rim before drinking, earning an insulted glare from my pretty captor. “I don’t know you that well,yet, little sparrow.”
Chugging the rest of the contents, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and handed it back to her. She shook the canteen then frowned. “I see you’ve lost your manners while in there.”
