“Don’t come closer,” I said, taking a few steps back after hitting Rain’s hide. The animal moved only several paces away, remaining closer than I wished her to be. If things got ugly, then she was liable to be injured in the madness.
Erik immediately dismounted his stallion, confusion touching his features. Sapphire eyes traveled over my body, searching for a sign of trouble, not yet comprehending that it was not I in trouble, but them.
We were separated by a few meters. Erik could close that distance in the blink of an eye. Which meant I had to act fast. I needed to shield and be ready to defend myself if it came to.
With another deep breath, I forced my body to relax. Emptying my mind of hate and fear, of everything. Burned it all away to nothing. Finally, I released the strength I kept locked deep inside, and it was gloriously sweet as it spread through me. Filling me from within, the power grew until it bubbled over, encasing me in its warmth. My hand moved toward the city’s edge, and I focused on what I wanted. A shield.
“What is that?” Kole asked, his attention drawn to something moving at the perimeter gate.
Both Erik and I followed his gaze.
Mist.Mymist.
It shimmered in the light as it sifted through the dirt, waves splashing up above the grass. I flexed my hand, flicking it up. The mist followed with the motion, and a thick wall molded outside the city’s wooden one. No sooner had it formed, than archers appeared at the top of the wall just behind the one of mist. Arrows were nocked and pointed at the Lysians around me.
Erik’s eyes snapped to mine, and in that moment, I saw the recognition of a threat in his stare. His gaze darkened, narrowing with frigid intensity, sending a chill crawling up my spine.
A threat. That’s what he saw in me.
In my mind, I could almost hear Edda’s voice urging me to take action.Drop them all, now,she would have said. But despite the itch in my fingers to comply, I hesitated. I didn’t want to force them into submission. I wanted them tochoose, to believe that the person they had come to know was on their side. I longed for their trust as much as I wanted to trust them in return.
“You are all free to leave, but I am not coming with you,” I began, but they did not give me a chance to say more. Those stillon horseback dismounted. Only Erik and Kole remained stone-still, not advancing towards me.
The other Lysians lunged.
With another flick of my wrist, a thick mist enveloped their lungs, choking off their breath. They dropped to the ground, gasping for air, while I took a few cautious steps back.
Meanwhile, Erik maintained his position. He observed his Lysians being smothered around him and then he turned to me with fury in his eyes. A dark simmering anger surrounded him, scorching away the calm, leaving a composed predator.
The way he looked at me caused unease to press into my chest. The discomfort constricted my breathing.
Relaxing my wrist, the mist dissipated, allowing the Lysians to catch their breath. “Please, just go,” I pleaded, taking another step back. “The Lysians in the city will be released as soon as I return home. I don’t want any of you to be harmed.”
A growl from Kole caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand on its ends. His icy gaze was the coldest that I had ever seen. No longer was he looking upon me as someone he knew. Gone was any trace of possible friendship.
He was a hunter, and I was the hunted.
“Don’t . . .” I warned, but it was too late.
Kole charged, closing the space between us incredibly fast, but not fast enough.
An electrical sensation spread through me, connecting me with my power. It flowed swiftly through my body like liquid over my skin. In an instant, it pooled in my palms, traveling to my fingertips and past them. With the spread of my fingers, Kole’s lungs filled with moisture, and a step later, he stumbled, falling to the ground. His hand went to his throat.
I turned to Erik. “Stop this.” It was both a command and a plea. I did not want to fight them, to hurt them. I only wished to take my freedom. Could he not understand that?
Please, trust me.
I relaxed the mist within Kole, and he had a coughing fit on the ground. The other Lysians regained their lung functions and stood, poised to strike. Though this time, they all held an air of caution. I was not just a Bavadrin. I was a conjuror. Instead of acting again, they waited for their King’s instructions.
Erik’s stillness was predatory as he surveyed me.
“Go home,” Erik ordered his Lysians in a low growl. They hesitated. “Now!” he snapped, and with that, they sprang into action, following his instructions. All of them, except for one.
“I will not leave you withher,” Kole said with venom, and I felt the sting of it.
So quickly, he turned from being a companion to someone who saw me as something revolting. So quickly, those moments that I had hoped could withstand the events of this day disintegrated into nothing of meaning. All the time we had spent together lost all significance to him as soon as I tried to free myself of their control.
“Are you kidding me?” My voice was raw in my throat. He had a lot of nerve acting as if I were the villain in the situation. The way he looked at me hurt more than I would have liked to admit. Was I foolish to have hoped for a different outcome? Were they truly going to behave as the Lysians we were told stories of as children? Aggressive and without consideration of the situation?
