“Ariana.” Edda spoke my name in warning.
“Perhaps, I may agree to release them if you agree to something yourself.” When I did not respond, he continued, “Come stay here with me for a little while. Let me show you what it’s truly like in my lands. You may learn that it is not as terrible as you assume.”
“Like hell she will,” Landin bit out, unable to keep silent any longer.
Clause looked at him with sharp distaste. “What is this person to you, Ariana?” He turned to me then. “This Bavadrin is someone who is holding you back while I can help you grow. If you come here, I could help you cultivate your power. Those you seem to surround yourself with currently will only stifle your gifts. Take this one, for example.” His head inclined towards Landin. “He thinks you are too weak to even make your own decisions.”
“I will not leave the Bavadrins to be enslaved,” I said, ignoring his jab at Landin. “But if you free all who wish to leave, then I may be persuaded to visit.”
“How long would the terms of this visit be?” Edda began asking as soon as I finished speaking, her eyes wide.
Clause smiled knowingly and took a single step towards me, raising his hand as if to touch my cheek.
Landin drew his blade and lunged between us, forcing me back.
Time slowed to a crawl, yet there was not enough of it to stop what was happening.
Clause’s expression twisted with disdain. He barely spared Landin a glance before lifting his hand and touching him—just the faintest graze of his fingertips.
A touch deadlier than any blade.
Landin crumpled to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut, his sword clattering from his grasp.
He lay motionless.
I took a step toward him, but Edda’s hand shot out, her iron grip anchoring me in place. She took a deliberate stance in front of me, placing herself between me and the Sidhe King.
Ice crawled down my spine, sinking deeper and deeper until it shattered something within me. My mind rejected what my eyes saw. A touch shouldn’t have been capable of that. It shouldn’t have been possible.
Landin’s body lay on the ground. Too still. The eerie silence of something that no longer clung to life. My chest tightened, breath growing shallow, each sharper than the last.
Though I hadn’t touched him, hadn’t checked for a pulse, I knew. Deep in the marrow of my bones, I knew. No breath filled his lungs. No heartbeat echoed within his chest.
Edda released me when I fell to my knees. Shock wrapped itself around me, thick and suffocating.
Tears blurred my vision, and the world became a watery haze. No sound escaped my lips, not even a whisper of grief. It was asthough the enormity of it all stole my voice, leaving me with nothing but silence and the unbearable ache of loss.
Clause spoke without moving from his spot beside Landin’s body. “I will not give up anything first. You will have twenty days to get your affairs in order and then return to my home as a guest. If you do not, then I will assume you have sided with the Lysians. Independent, neither of you poses much of a threat. Unified, you may cause some trouble. Therefore, if you do not agree, then I will have no choice but to see you as a threat and you will be eradicated. I hope it won’t come to that, for there is so much I wish to share with you.”
Clause paced forward, past Edda, who watched with wide eyes as he raised his hand, the same one that had just stolen Landin’s life. With the back of his fingers, he grazed my cheek. At that moment, all the pain I was feeling was taken away. Breath found my lungs easier, and I finally lifted my head and met his gaze.
“I can help you with your pain if you wish it.” His voice gained a soft edge. Edda placed a hand on my shoulder as if she thought I might leave with him right then and there if she did not tether herself to me. “I look forward to seeing you again, Ariana. There is so much you are capable of. You truly do not know.”
His touch fell away from my face and every painful emotion slammed back into me. It was so potent, knocking the air out of me. As Clause walked away, the Dunes Clan began escorting him, leaving Edda and me alone with our horses.
My attention dropped to–
I couldn’t think.
On hands and knees, I crawled to Landin’s still-warm body. My trembling fingers found no pulse.
He was gone.
My best friend.
No more shared jokes. No more nights of conversation. No more promises.
Gone.
