AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s suspected he’s the leader of this group of outlaws terrorizing the members of my court... From what I’ve heard, he’s heavily allied... Likely due to all thecharityhe’s shown the paupers of the region, so I would recommend even further discretion."
Dread knotted my stomach.
I had few qualms with ridding the realm of the scum who usually found themselves tangled in Zurie’s web…
But someone who was… decent? Who was actively helping vulnerable people? People who came from adverse circumstances like I had?
Zurie may as well have had her clawed hand wringing my neck. My words came out hollow but firm, forced out, as I buried my guilt deep in the chasm of my soul so that I could finally breathe.
"I will speak of it to no one."
"It is also rumoured that his magic is considerable…"
"… Because of aetra?"
She hesitated to respond. "… No."
It was exceedingly rare for humans to have access to magic. I'd only ever heard of the rare witch being endowed with such a gift.
Her lips pursed as she ran her gaze over me. Something like distrust flickered in her eyes despite all my years of loyalty. I knew it was more than just being sanguinati. Though we were renowned for being savage, impulsive, and guileful creatures… the fae were certainly no better.
More than that, she knew I'd been raised in what some considered to be a glorified brothel, the daughter of a male 'prostitute'. Abandoned by even my mother, who I knew almost nothing about. Andthatwould forever be the lens through which she saw me.Unworthy.
Although no one actually knew much of Zurie's lineage beyond the last few generations. Her great-grandfather had been the first King of Atratus. From what I'd read in historical texts, these lands and its people were still wild… Untilthe arrival. When the fabric between worlds was briefly split open, andtheystepped through.
"You have five days."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chapter
Five
MAREINA
Itook deep, anxiety-soothing breaths in an attempt to stranglehold of the last remaining thread of my sanity as I left the Queen’s study.
I can’t keep doing this…
Perhaps when I find Nakoa… I could just… Let him overcome me.
Then I wouldn’t have to feel this anymore.
Wouldn’t have to live with this anymore.
If I were to ever leave Zurie’s service as her Irae… I’d be killed. Just as every other Irae had, Malekai and I had only realized some years after I’d been hired. Though it had always been presumed to be a tragic demise in an act of service to her…
Lost in the downward spiral of my thoughts, I made my way hallway after hallway, hoping to catch up with Malekai before I left… Both of us were leaving to perform relatively dangerous tasks, and we’d always promised each other never to part, no matter how brief, on bad terms.
As I rounded a corner, I was jolted back to the present by the towering, stone-hard body I’d just slammed into. My lips nearly curled in disgust.
Miroslav.
He and Zurie were practically glued at the hip. With skin nearly the color of ink, he was always dressed in black or darkest blue. He possessed the unsettling otherworldly beauty that the Orisha always had. The immensity of his magic poured off of his lean, muscular, seven-foot frame in waves. Combined with his smug grins and amused indifference… He had an arrogance I found teeth-grindingly disdainful.
In all my journeys, the few Orisha that I had met, despite their tremendous power, had never been arrogant. They were exceedingly rare to come across. They were among the few native peoples of Atratus. Before the fae, sanguinati, and other foreign wieldershad come - they had then been considered gods. They could survive for millennia and were nigh-impossible to kill, though they did not manage to procreate very often due to the fact that they could only bear children with someone biologicallymadeto do so - a fated mate, which had become increasingly rare though they weren't entirely uncommon. Now, there were perhaps less than a dozen Orisha left in the entire realm, as far as I knew. And had made themselves scarcely seen or known.
“Forgive me, Irae Kalini,” he crooned in a dark voice, “My mind was elsewhere.”
