“Exactly. Now, sever your control. Like a pair of scissors slicing through thread, guide your intention into releasing your magic.”
I close my eyes again and sense my magic, the way it all anchors back to me even from the farthest corners of the room. With a deep breath, I imagine letting it all go, as if the tide of my magic has pulled away from me until there is nothing left. When I open my eyes again, the room is back to normal.
“Do this as often as you can so that your magic doesn’t get too pent up,” Nox suggests, his fingers tucking strands of hair behind my ear. “I don’t say this nearly often enough, but I’m so proud of you, Sunshine.”
A nervous laugh bubbles out of me as I drop my gaze to my lap. “Why?” I wasn’t doing anything but scratching the surface of what someone my ageshouldbe able to do.
“Because of how brave you are. It would be so easy for you to notwantto experience new things, to not want to try and push yourself. But you do, and getting to watch you shatter the invisible barrier that has been kept around you for so long…” I look back to him when his voice catches, and he has to work a swallow down before continuing. “It only makes me fall deeper in love with you.”
“Nox.” Craving his touch, I push the blanket off of me and crawl onto his lap. His scent and warmth cradle me, but it’s his words and heart, the way he so effortlessly breathes life and love into me, that make me feel like maybe Icanaccomplish anything.
Home.He’s home.
“I can only do those things because of you.”
“No. These are not my victories to claim. They are yours. Let them fuel you like a different source of sustenance, one that will remind you of how far you’ve come. You are incredible, Rhea. I’ve known it since the very first moment I laid eyes on you.”
And what could I even say to that? How could I respond with anything other than a display of how muchhesustains me? So I kiss him, and when my body demands more, I slowly undress him. And when we are finished and Nox carries me to the shower, I tell him how much I love him. Over and over again.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Dolian
I clench Rhea’s handkerchiefin my pocket, my boots echoing against the moss-covered stone floors deep beneath the castle. My hatred for this space is more palpable than the dank air I breathe. Each step that brings me closer to the cells is fuel for that monster inside me that demands I burn this place to the damn ground. However, kingdoms need dungeons, and despite my history with this one, it is currently servingmanypurposes.
Xander walks a step behind me, his presence a necessary annoyance. The few prisoners that are here are quiet as we walk by, knowing better than to try to plead to their king when there is no mercy to be found. They’ll rot here for as long as I command it, and only when I have decided that their worthless lives are no longer of value to me will I let them succumb to the relief of death.
“Has she said anything during your interrogations?” I ask him.
“No, she refuses to speak.”
I clutch the handkerchief even harder. Flame gems light our way every few feet—not enough light to keep the menacing shadows away, but enough to faintly make out the outline of the metal bars. I finally reach the end of the passageway and turn to face the cell holding the one person whose value is, unfortunately, too high for me to kill right away. She huddles in a corner, and my nose wrinkles at the foul odors coating the space around her.
“You could free yourself from this torture. You could once more taste fresh air and feel sunlight on your skin. All you have to do is answer my questions.” My voice reverberates off the darkened stone, and though I can’t actually see the color in the dimness, Iknowthat it is gray. “Tell me what you know.”
Her head lifts from where she had it resting on her drawn up knees, her hair filthy and tinged red and brown. Her face fares no better, but even through the dried blood and grime, she has a youthful appearance. She might not even have reached her second decade yet.
“I would rather die a slow and painful death at your hands than tell you anything you want to know.” She then bares her teeth at me, a low growl rumbling from her throat.
Disgusting.
“Be careful what you wish for, youvilecreature. I will happily peel the flesh off of you bit by bit.”
Her eyes harden, the golden glow of the flame gem lighting them a similar color, and her next words are spoken through gritted teeth. “Do it, then.”
“You would do well to remember who you are talking to,” Xander snaps. The woman’s eyes narrow into slits at him before she turns them back on me.
I take a step closer to the bars, careful not to touch any part of the filthy metal. “How often did you watch from whatever corner you were hidden in? Yet you did nothing.” Her muscles bulge inher arms, my blood heating as her nails dig into her bare legs like claws. “You want to paint me as the villain, and maybe I am, but you had the capability to help—to stop it—and you. Did.Nothing.Now you will die here, and whether you tell me what I want to know or not, it won’t matter. Not toher.”
She launches up from her corner faster than I would have thought possible. I’m not quick enough to back away, and my stomach threatens to heave up my breakfast when her blood-crusted fingers wrap around the sides of my black and gold vest.
Her eyes shine bright, even in the absence of light, as her lips lift in a snarl. “I willkillyou.”
Xander shoves her and sends her stumbling backward, my clothing slipping from her grip. I stare down at the fabric, bits of rust red and dark brown now smudged on it. My fingers tremble as rage seeps into every pore.Filthy. Disgusting. Disappointment.My father’s words pummel me, his voice everywhere in this familiar dungeon despite having died before Rhea was born. I back away from the cell, bumping into Xander as I do.
“Get the information out of her by whatever means necessary. For every question she refuses to answer, cut off a finger.” I don’t hear his reply before I turn and stride down the passageway, counting to one hundred in my head. When I get to ninety-three, the stairs that climb up to the main floor of the castle come into view. I take them two at a time all the way up until I burst through the door and slam it closed behind me.Outside—get outside.
A lifetime of living in the castle is the only awareness that guides me to the glass doors that lead to the gardens. Once the sun hits me and the warm air of summer pushes at my skin, I’m able to loose a breath.
I will kill you.
