AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.”
“I have something to show you, but we aren’t taking another step until you’re covered,” he counters, his gaze unyielding.
“I hate you. You know that?” I grumble, reluctantly putting on his jacket.
The wool is warm and smells like sandalwood and cinnamon. I sniff it and get lost in a forgotten memory. I was ten, I think, when Mom took us to a little town called Trekka. I remember it because it’s one of the few places we visited where no one was sick. We stayed with the local healer and her house smelled like Riot’s coat, with a hint of clove.I don’t remember much about our stay but I remember it being pleasant.
“Good. It’s best if you do,” he counters, pulling me from the memory, his eyes reflecting a mix of understanding and resolve.
We walk to the edge of the grounds, our footsteps echoing in the crisp night air, where a large stone wall marks the end of the Crown’s compound. The wall is smooth, without a crack so much as to dig my fingers into, and stretches ten feet into the sky. Caged torches illuminate the perimeter, their ethereal blue flames casting eerie shadows every six feet. No mortal man could climb it and any Creature of Legend should cower and retreat before reaching the summit.
Riot climbs a nearby tree, effortlessly navigating the branches, and extends a hand to help me up. I gape at him, feeling tension in the air as an invisible force pokes at my magic. It prods at my fire, like an annoying child, but doesn’t hurt me. I think my passing into Overburn the other night must have changed something. The flames’s magic isn’t trying to keep me away. It’s playing with me.
Even though Riot knows what I am, I can’t let him find out that the Crown’s ward doesn’t work on me. “I can’t.”
“You can. This torch is unlit.” He points to one of the lanterns. “It’s the only area of the fence where someone like you can cross.”
I study the glass enclosure and realize he’s right. No light flickers inside. Without another reason to protest, I jump, grabbing the overhanging branch with one hand and Riot with my other. I let him pull me, testing his strength. Riot lifts me as if I’m featherlight, an impressive feat that I mask with a groan of frustration. “What are we doing?”
"You see that building?" Riot stands and points toward a distant structure, barely discernible through the cold haze.
"The gray blob?" I squint, struggling to make out the details.
"That's the one," he confirms.
"What about it?"
“I think that’s where your friend is,” he reveals, a gravity in his tone that piques my interest.
“Really?” I shift on the branch, preparing to jump from the tree to the ledge of the building.
He grabs the back of the jacket and holds me still. “Hang on. You can’t just walk up there. It’s protected.”
I send my webs into the darkness, stretching what magic I'm willing to use, as far as they can go. The building is farther than I thought. My magic can’t touch it, but my webs don’t sense anyone for as far as they reach either. I need to get closer to be sure, but… “I don’t see anyone.”
“You won’t. That’s the point, trust me.”
I bite my lip and stare at the building. I’m so close to finding Ezra and getting us out of here, yet still so far. Physically too far to walk unnoticed, especially with a guard on my back. “How do we get him out? “
“We?” Riot’s eyebrow quirks up and I can tell he’s trying not to smirk.
“You brought me here.” I shrug and downplay the excitement swirling in my stomach at the look on his face. I need to stop at the crabapple tree on our way back in. Its blooms are detoxifying. Steeping them in a hot tea should help push the last of Ezra’s curse out of my system. “I figured this awesituation now.”
Riot picks a snowflake from my hair and lets it blow in the breeze. His gaze follows the little flurry until it disappears out of sight. “Wego back to the castle now thatyou’vecooled off.”
“Riot, please.” I take his hand and our sudden closeness startles him. Beneath the surprise, I sense a profound sadness tied to a loss I can use to my advantage. “Ezra doesn’t have much time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw Aisha’s book.” Recognition hits me as the sentence leaves my lips.
Aisha’s notes are similar to Mom’s, not just in their style but in what’s written. The people, the symptoms. The only difference is Aisha has a death date and Mom and I left before things got that bad. I run my hands down my face, my heart racing with excitement. This is what Mom was following! A curse. And she wrote down all her treatments. I need to get back to the library. I need her book. She might have what I need to cure Ezra!
I scurry down the tree and land on my hands and knees in the snow. The warmth from my magic heats my skin. If Riot is right and my emotions influence my fire, it’s about to pulse in my veins because I can barely contain my excitement.
“Khiara!” Riot runs after me. He doesn’t grab me to get my attention this time. Instead, he sprints ahead, his arms out to catch me as I skid to a stop. “What is going through that head of yours?”
“I think I know how to cure Ezra!”
