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"I thought as much. Just in case." He put a hand to my cheek long enough to make me shiver. "Stay within five metres of me until I say otherwise."
I felt his order settle on me like a cloak.
"You realise that's unfair, right?" If alphas were good at anything, it was bossing me around.
He grinned briefly. "I do realise that. What's the point of power if you can't throw it about once in a while?"
"I'm starting to think Ryze was right about you," I said. "You are an asshole." Which made Ryze one too, because that's exactly the kind of thing he'd do too.
"That might be the only thing he’s right about." Cavan opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
He didn't even have to look back to see if I was following. The compulsion to obey dragged me along. I slowed to test the strength of it, but I was forced to stagger forward to keep up.
"Does this thing go both ways?" I asked. "If I ran back down the corridor, or fell down the stairs, would you have to follow me?"
"Don't fall down the stairs," was his only answer. He gestured for the guards to follow and trotted down as if he didn't have longer legs than me.
If I was still human, I would have tripped. I couldn't have kept up his pace. I suspected that was purposeful. If I was struggling, I could stay behind. All I had to do was ask.
So I kept going.
"What's over where that smoke was?" I managed to catch up and walk beside him, extending my stride to match his.
"The Summer Court barracks," he said in a clipped tone. "If Ryzellius is up to something, and you knew about it…"
"If he’s up to anything, I have no idea what," I said. All I knew was that he planned to stay in Garial until it was time for me to leave. Unless the Winter Court needed him sooner, in which case Tavian would stay and keep an eye on me.
"Believe it or not, the High Lord of the Winter Court doesn't tell me everything," I said. "You saw me tell him to leave. Then he left."
"Or didn't leave," Cavan said. He looked over at me like he didn't believe a word that came out of my mouth.
Then he exhaled heavily. "An alpha doesn't leave an omega behind when there's a mating bond in place. Not if he can help it. I didn't account for that possibility. I could have ordered you to tell me everything, but I prefer the omegas to trust me. In my experience, force doesn't make people friends. You would have resented me."
"Yes, I would have." I wasn't sure whether I trusted him or not, but I certainly wouldn't have if he made me tell him everything, then acted on what I said. Pissed off with him or not, I didn't want to betray Ryze.
That alpha-omega power thing really did suck.
He led us out the back of the palace, to a wide yard, where he made a portal. On the other side looked like pure chaos, but half of the guards headed straight through.
Cavan and I followed close on their heels, with the other half of the guards behind us.
We stepped out into the barracks. Fae were running this way and that, none stopping to give us a second glance.
A muscular Fae stepped out of a larger building made of some kind of matte black stone. He gave Cavan a nod.
"Brace, what's going on?" Cavan asked.
"We're not sure, my lord," Brace admitted. His tone was short, words concise. "A flash of light almost blinded many of us. We don't know the source of it. A moment later, a storage building went up in flames."
"None of those buildings are made of wood," Cavan said.
"No, they're not," Brace agreed. "They're not made of anything flammable. There's very little flammable inside."
"Stone doesn't usually burst into flame."
"Not usually, High Lord."
"Where's Ryzellius?" Cavan snapped at me.
