“I want to thank you for your efforts the last few weeks while we attempted to locate the Dyrsjel.” I scan the crowd, watching their faces under the light of the moon. Most of the men seem unphased, a few certainly are drunk. But the majority look disinterested. “While she is an important part of the plan to harvest magick organically, I’m afraid we can no longer spare the resources. Our search ends tonight.”
The men immediately erupt into a soft chatter. Leaning into each other. Their voices carried by the wind that flows through the emptied streets of Wickersham.
“Corrupt was never right for him,” one of the men snickers.
“Soft is more like it,” says another. This earns a round of laughter from the men.
A thrumming erupts in my chest. Not a steady rhythm, but something low and dangerous slams against my ribs.
“Is something funny?” I step to the closest guard to me and his smile quickly fades.
“No, Your Majesty.” He dips his head but it isn’t enough.
Make them respect you.
I run my fingers over the amulet that hangs around my neck. It flickers to life, a soft purple hue glowing from its center. The men go quiet. The only sound between us now is the soft pad of rain hitting the cobbled streets and the light whoosh of wind.
I take the man’s chin in my grip, keeping the fingers of my other hand pressed to the amulet. “Does anyone have a problem with this new plan?”
I squeeze the man’s chin tighter, pulling a thread of magick from the necklace. It spills over my arms in inky tendrils. Swirling and dancing, it continues down my arm until it forces itself into the man’s nostrils and eyes. He squirms under my touch, gasping for air.
“Speak now.” My grip on the man loosens as his life leeches from his body until eventually he falls to the ground. I use the toe of my boot to shove him off my feet, his body shriveled and pale. But because I’m not as monstrous as I’ve been made to seem, I do the courteous thing and leave him enough air to breathe and enough will to live.
For now.
The men remain quiet as I tuck the amulet back into my shirt, the magick I used still stinging against my arms.
“That was an impressive show.” My face drains as well as my confidence as Galen steps to my side. His hair messily combed back, as if he ran straight here from our bed. Beads of rain form on his dark brows and upper lip, a few falling loose as he casts the men a rare smile. “You may go, gentleman.”
Without a single hesitation the men head straight back to the pub, chattering and laughing amongst themselves.
My jaw clenches as one by one the bodies of the men before me fade to just one. Only the man on the ground remains. Their dismissal of me is the final straw. The absolute break in my armor.
“Come back to bed, little bird. We’ll discuss this in the morning.” Galen grabs my arm but I yank it away.
“No.” I take a step backward. And then another.
The rain has increased but I can see his fury through the storm. His flared nostrils and the way his shoulders tense as he takes a step forward.
“Come back here, Ro,” he demands again. He closes the gap between us, and when he pushes my damp hair from my face, I don’t flinch.
“No.” I push his chest and he stumbles backward. His eyes widen, his jaw flexes and I know there’s no going back after this.
No going back to the man I’ve loved my entire adult life.
No going back to Valebridge as the corrupt king.
No going back to hurting people that do not deserve it.
“They won’t follow you, Roman,” Galen shouts through the now pouring rain. “They know what I’m doing is the right thing, and I think deep down you know it is too. Whatever idea has gotten into your head the last few weeks, it’s the wrong one.”
It’s me who closes the gap now. I want him to feel my anger. Want him to hear the severity in my voice. I get close enough to him that he has to glance up at me, our chests nearly touching with each breath.
“When I return to Valebridge, the law will change. Enchantresses will no longer be hunted, but cherished. As they once were.”
His eyes widen slightly before they narrow. He opens his mouth, and I already know what he’s going to say so I say it first. “They couldn’t save her, Galen. They couldn’t save Rose but that doesn’t make them evil. It doesn’t give us the right to take and take and take.”
He glances away and it could be the rain, but I watch as lines of water run down his cheeks and land upon his perfect mouth. “So, you’ll have killed all of these women for nothing, Roman?” He shakes his head then runs a hand through his hair. “All of this, for nothing?”
