It wasn’t even the usual shift of draining away. Instead, it was there one second, gone the next, just as I’m swallowed by the fog.
I’ve lost a few inches of height, my hair is auburn with orange tips again and scraping against my neck. The uniform and armor swims on me, the boots so big I nearly trip.
Pure panic floods my system, and I quickly duck my head. My entire body breaks out into a cold sweat.
My glamour is gone. Justgone.
I frantically try to call it up, to make my skin tingle and smear, but it doesn’t work. I can’t even change the tint of my hair.
Someone is going to see me. Someone is going to notice.
Why did I open my big mouth and talk to the soldiers next to me? I shouldn’t have drawn attention to myself. Now, they’re even more likely to notice I’ve changed into an entirely different person.
Desperately, I try to call upon my magic again and again, but it won’t work. It’s this bridge. It has to be.
Why did I come on this damn bridge?
I should’ve just taken my chances and run like my ass was on fire. Right now, I’d prefer my asswason fire.
This is not good.
I glance around surreptitiously, wondering if any other fae is feeling these effects, but none of the nearby soldiers are wearing the pin that marks them as magicked.
Is the king unable to use his stone power on the bridge? Is that why this information isn’t public? Is that why he didn’t travel with us?
That would have been a massive breach in his defenses if anyone were to know. Perhaps only the magicked soldiers get briefed on this little tidbit and are sworn to secrecy? Unless only my magic is being affected for some reason…but I have a feeling it’s not just me.
Which means the king is vulnerable on the bridge. So am I, sure, but more importantly—him.
My thoughts spring around, bouncing off the walls of my skull as I try to come up with a plan. But being on the bridge is suffocating. I’ve never done well in confined spaces, and even though we are literally walking over an endless void, I’ve never felt so trapped.
The mist wraps around me like thick blankets, making me wish I could shove them off. It should feel damp, but it’s completely dry. More like smoke than fog, though it carries no scent.
I hate it, but it’s the only thing concealing me. The bridge exposed me and veiled me all at once.
I’m still working out how I can use this information to my advantage when I feel a distinct chill in the air. A second later, the army procession stops.
We stand here, not moving, just waiting and listening while my nerves tighten. I lick my dry lips, eyes darting around the haze, but I can barely even see the soldier in front of me.
I hear dull thudding ahead, but the sounds are distorted. I wonder what’s going on. After a couple of minutes, I start to squirm in place, my toes swimming within my boots. Without being too obvious, I try to hitch up my pants before they fall around my ankles.
Standing still in the fog makes me feel even more vulnerable than moving in it. I just want off. I want to get off this stupid bridge and—
CRASH!
A deafening noise ahead makes me jump, and I accidentally bump into the soldier to my right. He glances over at me, expression dripping in annoyance…until he takes me in. Even within the haze, he can see that I’m not the soldier I was before.
He glances around, at a loss, like he thinks the fog might be making him see things. When he focuses on me again, his eyes narrow. “Wait, I recognize you.”
My eyes flare in panic, and for some stupid reason, I shush him, as if that’s going to shut him up. At the other end of the bridge, more sounds of cracking and smashing rip through the air.
But to my ears, the male’s accusing voice is louder. “You’re that pris—”
I act on pure instinct, and my foot shoots forward, swiping his leg out from under him. His words cut off as he loses balance, eyes widening when he tilts sideways. We lock gazes, both of us realizing at the exact same time that he’s pitching straight over the edge of the bridge.
I fling my hand out to catch him, but it’s too late. I’ve already done the damage.
The soldier tips right off the side, bounces over the rope, and falls.
