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Torin watched me intently, then her white eyes moved to where my hand was secured.
I wiggled my hand, my wrist sliding within the cuff. According to Solok, I couldn’t escape this altar. I wiggled my hand again and that band wasdefinitelytoo big.
I tested my ankles, discovered I could move them, too. Torin stared right at me—watched me move—and didn’t say a word. I doubled down on my efforts to get loose. Not only was I no longer bound to the altar, my magic was screaming to be set free.
Maybe I’d be burning this place to the ground after all.
“It’s been five minutes.” The king said irritably, dragging the top of the knife along the edge of the altar, sending sparks flying. “Get on with it.”
Pressure built in my stomach, while magic spiraled up out of my chest between their raised palms. Torin lifted her hands higher, then glanced down to me, then over to the door.
Did that mean run? Or did that mean help was coming?
Or was it just a look?
A quick scan of the room told me no one was paying attention to me. The king—Solok and the Mistress—were focused on watching Torin and the Oracle draw a steady stream of blue-tinted magic from me.
The more they drew, the harder the power held on, fighting the Oracle and Torin every step of the way. They were both sweating now, the king’s twisted black fingers clutching the knife compulsively.
Inside me, magic swelled like a cresting wave.
Rising and rising, a million times greater than the insipid swirl that danced between Torin and the Oracle, this was a dreadnought of power, enough to rip the palace down to its foundations, to reduce the city of Tempeste to rubble.
The taste of lightning bloomed in my mouth, pain wound through me, the magic fighting to remain within me, fighting the ritual, the spell the Oracle chanted, the king’s ravenous gaze fixed on the thin blue tendril spiraling up out of my chest, his tongue flicking out to wet his thin lips.
I worked one wrist free, then an ankle, moving my torso as little as possible. My other wrist slid loose, then my ankle, and miraculously, I was loose. Not that anyone could tell, since the entire room was a blur of light, undulating ribbons of power danced along the walls, blotting out the night sky. My body was freezing, my joints numb, but I gathered myself for one final burst of energy.
“Now, my king.” The Oracle shouted, and the king swung his arm down, only to have the point shatter against the stone.
I was gone, racing for the exit.
Once I was through, I dodged around the throne, heading for the exit…
only to crash straight into Tavion Montgomery’s arms.
20
ANARIA
Ithumped my fists against his armor, feet kicking, but he just clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me into a dark, closed-in place, muffled shouting coming from somewhere outside…wherever this was.
“Shut up, Anaria.” He hissed, green eyes flashing. “Or I swear by the Old Gods, I will strangle you.”
Since in here with Tavion was better than out there with Solok and the king, I shut up. His hand eased up, but just a little, enough for me to breathe.
At least I knew why I was hiding.
Not everything, but enough to know my situation was impossible. And my mother…my real mother…was locked somewhere below us, in that horrible prison, being subjected to terrible things, if the scarred guard spoke the truth.
Tavion’s heart thumped erratically as the thunder of boots and armor shook the walls around us, Solok shouted orders to close down the entire city, the king screamed for them tofind that little bitch.
His body was a solid mass of muscle beneath me, my heart pounded out of my chest, and yet…I sagged against him.
I hadn’t eaten properly in days and with the adrenaline wearing off, my body was shutting down.
I searched within myself, but there was no sign of the power that had threatened to blow me apart just seconds ago, and I wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing.
And why in Hades was Tavion Montgomery, commander of the Fae King’s army, hiding me in the dark while everyone else hunted me? He was the one who put me in that fucking cage in the first place, I doubted he was my savior now. The mystery was nearly enough to rouse me from my stupor, but not quite.
