The scowl fell from Kiora’s face and she looked at Iver as though his words actually touched her.
“We need to stop wasting time.” Eislyn turned to Gregory, the moment shifting back to what was at stake.
“How far is Clause?” I asked.
“Just a few halls, not far at all.” Gregory shrugged a massive shoulder. He glanced to Kole. “Non-conjurors will be a great weapon against the Sidhe King. Yet they will also be the weakest against everyone else. They will need to be protected until the right moment.”
Kole’s chest seemed to puff up. “I do not need to be protected.”
“You will stand against conjurors and fall.” Iver arched a brow.
“I stood against you plenty,” he growled.
The prince rolled his eyes. “I never tried to kill you. Neither did Ariana, yet she had you on your knees gasping for air in hardly more time than it took for you to take a single step.”
Kole’s jaw twitched, yet stilled before he could work it enough to respond.
Eislyn’s hand grabbed Kole’s forearm. “They are right. We live in a world where conjurors are rare. Our Lysian and even Bavadrin land is nothing like where we now stand. In the Sidhe land, it is different. Do not let your pride be our downfall.”
Our downfall.As in the two of theirs, because if he was to fall, then so would she.Her words brought a warmth to my soul.
Kole gritted his teeth, though did not oppose, and that was perhaps the best anyone would ever get from him in such a situation.
Soren took several steps to close the distance betweenhimself and Gregory. The Dunes Clan Leader placed a hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Thank you for your help.”
Gregory released a breath. “As if you feared that this would have gone any other way.”
A smile pulled at Soren’s lips, hardly a flicker before disappearing. “We better get going.” His hand fell to his side before reaching for his own blade, pulling it free.
We readied ourselves, bracing for something that no one could truly prepare for.
Gregory spoke once more before we began moving. “Once we enter the room, I will tell you the conjuring powers of those surrounding the Sidhe King, moving from left to right.”
Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.
A second later, we followed Gregory through the halls with nearly soundless steps. One corridor turned into another and another until we ultimately started slowing. Though our movements quieted, the tension surrounding us surged. As though it were a web that we stepped deeper into with every stride. It clung to me. A weaving of unease, tightening till it became difficult to know where my skin ended and the dread began. But the fear was not only on the surface of my skin, it was within my body, in my blood. It moved through me, trapped inside my bones. The unease threatened to trap me within my mind.
“Here we go,” Gregory grumbled as he came to a brief stop before a large wooden door. He did not wait for a reply before shoving the weathered wood. The door opened without a sound except for when it slammed into the wall behind it.
We followed Gregory blindly. Turning the corner, funneling into the room before falling into stillness.
The pressure was sharper than any blade. It sliced through all thoughts, all feelings, everything. Everyone around meseemed to vanish until all that was left was me standing beforehimwith my soul feeling bare and horribly vulnerable.
Others surrounded the Sidhe King, yet he alone snared my attention, leaving me unable to take anything else in but the imposing figure with the dangerous eyes focused on me. The sensation was all-consuming, nearly knocking me off my feet.
He, too, looked nowhere else. As if it were just the two of us. A glimmer of surprise shone in those cold eyes, flickering briefly before going out, turning icy.
An overwhelming power flooded the space. Familiar stale air pressed against me before encasing me in his presence. My stomach turned at the feel.
Clause’s lips parted and the only thing he said was my name. “Ariana.”
Gregory spoke low and quick, letting us know left to right the powers of those in the room. “Air, sight, vines like whips, whisperer...” There was a moment of hesitation before he finished with, “emotions.”
Clause not once looked away from me, as if waiting for some sort of response.
I took a deep breath, forcing my lungs to expand, to dare to take up space as I centered myself. The pressure, though uncomfortable, was not truly all-consuming. I could exist in it, push it aside, force my way through it.
Following another deep breath, I spoke.“You know I hate it when you make the surrounding air stale,” I said to him and sent the force of my conjuring out of my body. As though trying to use it to push away the sensations brought on by the Sidhe King, attempting to force his presence back and create my own space.
