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None of this was going according to plan, which meant they might have been aware of exactly who they’d captured. If that’s true, my odds of getting away with my life were looking better. I stopped struggling, not bothering with trying to free myself. I needed to save up my strength for when I was eventually cut loose and could make a run for it. At the moment, all I could do was wait.
I thought about my companions, wondering if their deaths had been swift and painless. I assumed they’d been killed after watching each of them succumbing to magic and losing consciousness. My heart gave a painful tug in my chest at the thought of it. Well, I still wasn’t so sure about Rijjat, after all, he was the one who got me into this mess in the first place, but Caldor and Remus…
That reminded me… If they’d somehow managed to escape, that meant Remus had to have been gaining his shifter senses back, as I was the one with the vials of his potions. In theory, if he hadn’t decided to run off and be free, taking his one and only chance to escape to some far-off land across the sea where the King couldn’t find him, he might be able to track me down.
Perhaps I was giving Remus too much credit. Who in their right mind wouldn’t jump at the chance to live a free life outside of Animus’s reach? There were times when I myself had contemplated fleeing the kingdom to start over somewhere where nothing was expected of me, and where I no longer had to live under a mad king’s thumb.
But those were thoughts for another time and another place. All I could do was hope that Remus made it out alive and that he and Caldor were still out there trying to find me.
The thought of Caldor made my stomach flip. Why did he come after me? This wasn’t exactly the first task I’d ever been asked to complete for the King, but it was the first I’d ever had to do without Waylan to help…or so Animus thought. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Did Caldor truly not think I was capable enough on my own? It was an insult, and yet… Did that mean he still cared somewhere deep down inside of him ?
It was dangerous to think that way, I knew that, but as I laid there with nothing better to do than stare at the ceiling, my imagination ran wild. I shouldn’t have been thinking about Caldor at all. Technically, Remus was my betrothed now, and even the thought alone made me break out in a sweat. But I couldn’t say for certain that I necessarily dreaded the thought of it.
At first, perhaps I’d been using the eventuality as a way to stave off the King’s worries about a woman being at the helm of his poisons, but after the time I’d spent with Remus, I’d come to realize that I enjoyed being around him. It was a breath of fresh air to share space with a man who enjoyed my particular brand of humor and who I didn’t have to lie about what I really did in the shadows.
That was another thing I had to consider where Caldor was concerned. The captain of the guard now knew my darkest secret. He knew who I was and all of the things I’d done in the name of the Ravens. If and when we returned to Avedin, he would have a choice to make, and I honestly didn’t know if he hated me enough to expose me.
The door to the room burst open, and a man swept in. His voice was low and lilting like Rijjat’s. “I’m so glad to see you awake and alert.” He had short black hair and darkly tanned skin. His nose was a bit prominent, but it somehow suited his face, drawing the eyes to the dimples that accentuated his mouth.
His ice blue eyes, which would give a lesser woman chills, took me in, sparkling in the low light. I knew this man, only I couldn’t figure out how. It was on the very tip of my tongue when suddenly his hair shifted from stark black to a golden yellow, then to silvery blue. A Source user. Of course he was.
He noted the widening of my eyes and chuckled. “Ah, yes, it does that. The price I must pay for my magic, I suppose. It just never seems to settle on just one color before it’s changing again.” His glittering eyes were full of humor that I didn’t reciprocate. “Onto other matters. Tell me, how did the infamous Xmara Bane—widowed wife of King Animus’s poisons master, come to be in Nexus without a royal summons? And what is she doing in possession of enough poisons on her person to kill an entire naval fleet? What mischief have you concocted for me?”
His steps were slow and methodical as he came closer. His voice lowered as he spoke, and his words slowed until a very real threat rang through them. Despite this male’s beautiful face and seductively charming voice, I knew he was dangerous.
“You know who I am then, so that gives you an unfair advantage,” I said evenly.
Instead of approaching the bed, his face smoothed out, the dangerous edge dimming from his eyes as he took a seat in the only available chair, rubbing a hand thoughtfully over his strong jaw. His eyes shifted from blue to gold.
“I know a lot more than you’d think, Madam Bane. I also know how to get information, both willingly and unwillingly, so I suggest you cooperate.” Again, the threat in his voice was real, and it was menacing.
“Let’s put us on more solid ground then, hm? Who are you? And no lies. I’ll know if you’re lying.” There was a very real chance that this Source user had the ability to mask his true intentions, and as a human with no magical abilities myself, I had no way past his defenses other than my own cunning.
His hair shifted again, this time to a deep, rich brown. I found myself staring at it long enough that he sighed, rolling his now bright green eyes. “So uncivilized. Manners must not be common in Avedin. I suppose I’ll play along.” He sat forward, his eyes refusing to release mine as if he held me in some sort of chokehold. I couldn’t look away. “My name is Nero, brother to King Basillius, Crowned Prince of Nexus.”
Silence fell between us as I struggled to process his words. Crowned Prince of Nexus. My blood ran cold. I was in so much more danger than I thought I was. I had no doubt that come sunrise, I’d be swinging by a rope from their gallows.
“I have committed no crimes in your country,” I said evenly, attempting to appeal to his political side. “You have no right to capture and hold a free citizen.”
Nero just smirked as if that’s exactly what he was hoping I’d say. “Poisons are illegal for foreigners.”
“How can that be when your people are free to wield the Source at will? Am I not permitted to utilize my own skill set when I need protection from those who might use their magic against me? Are you telling me that my elixirs are more dangerous than your precious Source?” I wanted to smile, but I refrained as I attempted to use the laws of his country as my salvation.
King Basillius had never done anything to stand in the way of Source magic, allowing his people to practice openly and freely however they wished. Perhaps this little flaw in their rule book might gain me my freedom back. Poisons were a weapon, but they were also a gift.
Nero’s eyes narrowed on me as his wide lips stretched into a smile. He leaned back in his chair, clicking his tongue. “You are definitely trouble. How did you learn so much about your enemy kingdom’s laws and customs?”
“Reading,” I said flatly as if it was such an outlandish concept that a woman might have the desire to learn something about the world she lived in.
He chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair. Once again, it changed color, now to a darker, paler blond that bordered on silver. Then he stood and sauntered towards me, his gait slow and leisurely as if he had all the time in the world. He bent down and traced his fingers down my jaw, carefully studying my every feature. I wasn’t prepared for the light tap on my nose. "You're more exquisite than the rumors claim."
I blinked at him, my mouth falling open in shock. “You cannot keep me trapped here,Prince.” The title was spat at him. “This is an act of war against my King!”
I didn’t actually know whether or not Animus would view this as an act of war. Or maybe he would simply replace me with a man and move on. Perhaps this is why he sent me here in the first place, to get caught, therefore ridding himself of a defiant female.
“You being here is a problem, Xmara Bane. King Animus has made no secret of his hatred for the Source and my king. He’s gone too far in this silly war against our natural-born abilities. He claims thatweare the danger tohimwhen in fact, it is the other way around. We’re still thriving, while your Kingdom is slowly dying. Your people kill our people mercilessly, and you would have me believe you’ve come here with pure intentions? I’m not a fool.”
“I am a woman,” I gritted out through clenched teeth as I glared at the prince. “I am not granted the luxury of having an opinion.”
