The door to the council room opens, and Xander walks in, coming to stop at the other end of the table. He bows to me before straightening.
“Your Majesty, the first group of guards has returned.”
My body stiffens as I look at him, that seedling of something light and reminiscent of hope sparking within me. “And? Do they have her?” I should have done a better job hiding the eagerness in my voice, but it’s too late now.
Xander doesn’t do anything for the longest time before he eventually gives one shake of his head.
No. No. No.“Everyone out.”
Paul leans forward in his chair and squawks out, “But, My King, there is still much we need to discuss.”
I force my gaze to meet his decrepit one. “You’re right. Why don’t you stay? Everyone else, leave.”
No one speaks a word as they filter out until only Xander and Paul remain. I stand from my golden throne and walk down the length of the table to where Xander is waiting, Paul to our right.
“How many more guards are left to return?”
“About half. Perhaps she will be with that group,” he suggests though he doesn’t sound confident.
“Report back to me the instant they’re here.” Xander nods, turning on his heel, but my next words halt his exit. “I have need of your sword. Wait outside the door.”
My curt command is met with a brief moment of hesitation before Xander heeds it and unsheathes the golden longsword from his hip. I wait until the door closes behind him, watching as Paul grips the armrests of his wooden chair.
She isn’t with them.
Somehow, she managed to slip through my fingers and most likely ended up on the other side of the Spell. Withhim.
“My King, I know you are upset—”
“Upset?No. No, Paul, that word does not begin to scratch the surface of how I am feeling.” My breathing is unsteady as my grip on the sword tightens. I walk around the table until I’m behind the elderly advisor’s chair. My eyes close, and I picture what I’m about to do in my mind. How it will feel to silence this idiot forever. “I might have let you go, even with the way you spoke of your future queen, but to be honest, Paul, I have dreamed of doing this for quite some time.”
He gets nothing more than a few sputtered words out before I swing the sharpened blade. It cuts through his flesh easily, his head falling backward and rolling past where I stand. Blood splatters my clothing and shoes, layering over my face and hands.
She is with him.
The thought tumbles over and over in my head, my hand shaking as I turn and walk to the door of the council room. Opening it, I hand the sword back to Xander. “Clean that up.”
My skin begins to burn where his blood coats it, but I force my steps to stay steady as I make my way to my rooms and remind myself to be patient. If Rhea has truly escaped to the Mage Kingdom, then I will do whatever is necessary to bring her home. With the right motivation, anyone can be convinced to give upanything.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Rhea
Autumn woods and thespicy undertone of earthy leaves fill my next inhale, my body subtly relaxing at the scent. The warmth of the sun blankets my skin, my light magic waking up because of it.
The familiar tingling in my fingers and toes after a visit to the Middle begins, like the scraping of a thousand needles. But then it deepens, those needles pushing into my skin—sharp and unforgiving. I hiss through my teeth, brows drawing low as I try to wiggle my extremities to shake off the pain. The feeling onlyamplifies as it travels up my arms and legs until it’s dripping down into my torso like a slowly building waterfall of pain.
Selene said there would be a physical toll, a cost, for how long I spent in the Middle. She wasn’t kidding.
“Rhea?”
His voice.His. Voice.Despite everything, the sound is a welcome respite—a shimmering light shone into a dark cave. I try to open my mouth to respond, to say anything at all, but I can’t. The sensation continues as the prickling feeling pierces through my skin and muscles and veins, going down to the very bone.
“Rhea, please wake up.” His normally deep tenor is nothing more than a shaken rasp against lips.
A groan manages to vibrate in my throat, my mouth still unable to open as I’m plunged further into the pain of beingback.The weight of his hand covers my own, cloth of some sort between our skin as his fingers tighten around mine.
“Sunshine,” he rasps again, “please wake up. Ineedyou.”
Nox’s hand squeezes mine again before he lets it go, along with a strangled breath. Finally, the stinging sensation begins to lessen, retreating out of my abdomen and flooding back through my arms and legs.
