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“The king. I’m looking for the king,” I managed to say.
“Of course. Just through those doors.” She gestured toward the double doors to my right.
I nodded once and then strode toward them. Though I was tense and ready for one of the fae on the couches to realize what I was there to do and attempt to stop me, their conversation resumed, and I may as well have not existed to them at all.
My feet were silent on the stone as I opened the door, slipping into the room.
As soon as I was inside, my gaze slid over the space.
There was a throne off to one side, nestled in the far corner of the room as if it was barely a side-thought. The rest of the space seemed to have been dedicated to training. Weapons of all shapes, colors, and sizes studded the walls, as well as weapon racks and other items I didn’t recognize. Beneath my feet, the floor was made of something thick and slightly squishy.
In the center of the room, two men and one woman sparred with swords. The man furthest from me was mostly hidden from my sight by the other two people, but as far as I could see, he had deeply-tanned skin and dark hair; he seemed to be facing off against both the woman and the other man.
The woman had olive skin and shimmering red hair, and had on a simple white slip dress with a skirt that fell to the middle of her thighs with a slit going up to her hip. Her dress billowed out slightly with every rapid twist, spin, and turn she made, flashing the silver undergarment she wore beneath it. Her hair was either short or braided back; I couldn’t tell while she moved like that.
The second man was massive and dark-skinned, with long black hair in a thick braid that fell nearly to his waist. It moved as he did, but he didn’t spin and twist the way the woman beside him did; his movements were strong, powerful, and determined. He wore only a pair of simple white silk pants that looked to be made out of the same smooth fabric that my dress and most of the clothing in the Night Court was made out of.
My gaze followed their movements for a bit. The way they fought was a dance; the way they reacted and responded to each other’s movements a work of art.
I hated to stop them, to cause anyone pain like that which I’d suffered, but there was no other choice. When I discovered which of the men was the king, I’d have to end him. It was the only way to true freedom.
Shadows began to spin through the room, slowly setting to work. My eyes tracked them easily; they were a part of me as much as they were the king.
It only took a moment for me to determine what was happening.
The shadows were slowly sliding off of the man whose appearance was mostly hidden from me by his companions and their rapid battle; and they were working with him.Forhim. Sliding under his companion’s feet, making them slip. Blurring the man’s movements to confuse them. Slowly making the room darker, distorting their ability to see.
The massive man with the long braid countered the shadow magic with a bit of moonlight that glowed off his sword. Every swing of the weapon cut through the magical shadows, brightening the room and clearing his vision.
Alternatively, the woman in silver seemed to grow darker herself, her skin emanating the deep darkness of that particular brand of our people’s magic.
The fight only grew more intense, more shadows filling the room. Despite the light and dark magic that fought them, the shadows only grew thicker and heavier.
My chest seemed to expand as I inhaled the magic. The scent of it allowed me to breathe deeper and heavier than I had in a long time, if ever. The shadows weren’t just magic or power to me; they were life.
The life that had earned me the scars on my wrists and the torture in my memories.
My fists clenched at the reminder.
I was free now; I was going to be free.
Eventually, the magic in the room cleared, and I saw both the massive man and the red-haired woman on their backs on the ground. They were each bleeding in multiple places, though I would’ve seen the wounds slowly knitting back together if I were closer.
And the man who had been fighting them—the King of Shadows—stood grinning down at them in victory.
He wasn’t built like a mountain, the way the massive man was, though he was probably the tallest person I’d ever seen. Instead, his shoulders were broad and his waist tapered, every muscle on his body defined and on display. His simple white pants fell to his ankles, leaving hardly anything to the imagination for any woman nearby.
The king tossed his swords to the floor, ignoring their clang as he offered his hands to his companions. They both grudgingly accepted the offer, gripping his hands and allowing him to pull them to their feet.
“That was better,” the king told them, nodding his head. “Your magic is flowing more easily.”
“Not easily enough,” the woman grumbled, wiping dust and blood off her arm with her palm as she tossed her sword to the ground too.
“We have a visitor,” the massive man stated, turning toward me.
Then they werealllooking at me.
And though Vena and Akari had taught me how to speak with people, I wasn’tgoodat it.
