After what felt like an eternity of puking up my guts, I leaned against the cool tile wall, my body quaking as memories replayed in vivid detail on repeat. The searing heat that had licked my skin but hadn’t left a mark, the crackling of flames consuming everything in their path, and the anguished cries that had escaped my lips, filled with dread.
I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately trying to shut out the relentless parade of vivid images swirling in my mind. Panic gripped my chest, each breath becoming increasingly shallow as I realized I was spiraling into a panic attack—an all-too-familiar feeling.
My sobs erupted once more, raw and uncontrollable, stealing away my breath and leaving me gasping in its wake. I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks, mingling with the slickness of sweat as my throat constricted, a futile attempt to draw in life-giving air. Instead, I was met with a profound emptiness, a hollow sensation that echoed through my body, amplifying the sense of despair threatening to consume me whole.
Frantically, I clawed at my throat, as if doing so could somehow compel my lungs to work. The world around me faded into a blur, and I curled into myself, wrapping my arms tightly around my knees, drawing them against my chest like a shield. The haunting image of my dying mother loomed in my mind, refusing to fade, overcasting everything with a suffocating darkness.
“No, no, no! Please! Make it stop!” I screamed, the words tearing from my throat as I rocked back and forth, each motion a desperate plea for relief from the torment that gripped my heart.
Flames started to ignite on my palms as electricity danced along my fingertips. I shook my hands aggressively, trying to put out the flames and make the electricity disappear. “I don’t want this! I don’t want any of this!” I cried out.
Sturdy hands grasped my shoulders.
“Divine! Breathe, Elara. For fuck’s sake.”
I jumped at the sudden voice, my heart racing as I scrambled to my feet. In a surge of panic, fire erupted from my hands, flickering and dancing like a chaotic flame.
His strong hands tightened around my shoulders, grounding me as he urged, “Look at me, Elara.”
I lifted my gaze to meet Zayn’s intense green eyes, confusion swirling within me as my magic began to fizzle and fade. I didn’t remember him being this good-looking... Now that he was up close, I couldn’t look away from him.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, realization hit me with full force: Zayn had witnessed everything the night before. He had seen my magic, was currently seeing my magic again, and he knew what I truly was. The weight of that knowledge settled heavily in my chest, leaving me breathless and vulnerable.
A part of me silently screamed to panic and run, the other part frozen in place, strangely calm despite the impending dread that he was going to reveal my secret to the King and condemn me to death.
“What—Zayn? W-what are you doing? What’s happening? Where am I?” My words tumbled out in a frantic rush, each question hanging in the air with desperation.
“Are you going to be calm? I need you not to set this place on fire, or else our cover will be blown. Can you do that, Elara? Or do you need to keep being babysat and influenced to breathe calmly?” He asked in a curt tone. His eyes darted back and forth between mine, waiting for an answer.
I nodded.
He let go of my shoulders, and all of my feelings rushed back.“How did you do that?” I asked, my brows pinched together.
“You and I are the same.” He waved his hands over his ears, and his glamor dropped, showcasing his pointed tips.
I gasped.
“No one can know. Not even the prince, got it?” he said in a deep, husky voice that gave me the chills.
I wanted to reach forward and touch his ears. I didn’t know why I had that urge, but I did, and I fought it hard.
“Elara! I asked you a question.”
His tone made me jump.
Sheesh. “Yeah, I fucking got it,” I snapped back.
He glared into my eyes like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.
“You are at the castle. I had already told Prince Fintan that you are here. I don’t have a ton of time to explain as I have to go away for a few weeks. But you are safe here with Eryndor. You are in the guard wing of the castle, and her room is right across from mine... which is where you are now. I’m going to glamour your ears until I return and can teach you to do it yourself.” He didn’t wait for me to say anything; he just waved his hands over my ears as if he were a Mage.
I guess everything I’ve ever known was a lie…
He started to walk back into his room and nodded for me to follow. “Eryndor is Fae as well. She knows what you are, and she is going to help you with your magic while I am gone.”
My heart started to race again.
The palace… I couldn’t be here!
