He smooths my hair as I will my body to shake. I suck in short, uneven breaths as I clutch the material of Jace’s shirt. Kylian reaches into his pocket slowly, eyes burning into the back of my head, and pulls out a white handkerchief, extending it to me.
“You’re bleeding,” he says, his voice twinkling with disturbing delight.
Fuck.
Jace takes the handkerchief from him and stuffs it into my hand. I remain facing away from Kylian, discreetly wiping the mess of black liquid off my lips and chin. I ball the material in my fist to conceal the thick black marring the pristine white cloth.
“She’s in shock,” King Derek says tightly. “Come.”
He ushers me toward the exit hurriedly, my face still buried in Jace’s shoulder. Zadyn, Kai, and Kylian follow silently behind.
I stop short, turning back to the king.
“Ilsa. Ilsa is out here somewhere,” I choke.
“My men will find her. Jace, take her back. All of you, stay together,” the king says as he turns back toward the few remaining guards to search the maze. Kylian casts one last glance at the four of us, then reluctantly tears his eyes away and follows Derek.
None of us says a word as we head back, battered and bloody. Jace holds me close to him, his expression tight with worry. I look up at him as he stares ahead.
“Do you think he saw?”
“I don’t know,” he bites.
We head straight for Sorscha’s chambers, where the guards stationed outside her door are doubled. Inside, we find the three females huddled close together on the settee, Dover seated tensely in a chair beside Mar.
They all look up expectantly as we enter. Sorscha and Cece have clearly been crying, their pretty eyes swollen and wet. Marideth does not cry; she sits holding their hands with quiet strength.
Sorscha shoots to her feet, her eyes on Jace. He moves forward to take her hands.
“Are you alright?”
She nods, her lower lip trembling. “Ilsa?”
“The king and his men are searching for her,” I answer. She peers at me, her expression shifting as if remembering how my blood leaked black when I obliterated the creatures that terrorized us.
“You look different.” She swallows, looking over me.
Shit. The glamour.
“You destroyed those creatures with nothing but your wails.” She steps around Jace and stops before me. I hold her gaze as she wipes the tears from her eyes. “You bleed black.”
“Sorscha, I’ll explain everything. Let’s sit.”
She reluctantly moves back to her seat, and I catch Marideth’s steely eyes. She gives me an encouraging nod.
I stand before a room of skeptical, somewhat fearful faces as I take a steadying breath.
“Up until a few months ago, I thought the fae only existed in fairy tales. Then, one day, I found myself thrown from my world into yours. Jace found me in the Bone Forest and brought me to the castle. I had been glamoured since birth, living in the human world. My name isn’t Serena Accostia.”
I slowly glance around the room.
“It’s Serena Avery. And I am the last Blackblood witch.”
37
The room is silent.
“I knew you were different,” Kai whispers reverently after some time.
