“What about the choker?” Shayde asked, voice flat but edged with irritation.
“That stays on. I think it complements your eyes,” I smirked. “But just know it’ll only take one mistake from you for me to throw you back in that cell.”
He scoffed. “Take my elements away, fine. I don’t care. But it’s weakening my connection to Drithan. I am not okay with that.”
I stepped in closer, voice dropping into a snarl. “And I am not okay with you endangering my sister’s life. Or have you already forgotten? You’re here because you were too much of a coward to reveal the Grim—and Scarlet almost died for it.” My lips curled. “Oh. Wait. She didn’t die. But the other girl? Her blood is on your hands.”
The moment the words left my mouth, he moved.
Shayde slammed me against the stone wall, caging me in with his body. The air rushed from my lungs, but I didn’t flinch. His face was inches from mine, his breath hot with fury.
“I don’t need my elements to break your pretty little neck.” His voice was a low, dangerous promise.
I bared my teeth in a grin, unfazed. “Oh, so we’re acknowledging you think I’m pretty? Considering past events.” I let the words hang, watching the fire flash in his eyes. “But one: I don’t think harming me would do you any favors. And two: I’d break your pretty little ass to pieces.”
Shayde smirked, arrogance dripping from every word. “You think I’m pretty, Fitzroy?”
I growled, hands balling into fists as I shoved him off me. His smirk faltered for a split second, but he didn’t resist. Instead, he stepped back, giving me the space to move.
“Touch me again, and I’ll cut your throat, Snake,” I snarled.
He blinked. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Shayde’s voice cracked, shoulders softening just enough to betray a flicker of vulnerability. I could see the pain he was harboring in his eyes.
My lips parted, his response hitting me like a blow to the chest. For a heartbeat, I almost let the raw emotion settle in. But I slammed it down, storming out before any more unwanted feelings could surface—reminding myself that I couldn’t fucking stand him.
Chapter 15
“I’m so glad I’m not you right now,”Lakota huffed.
“Shut up.”
“I couldn’t cut the tension in that room with my talons.”
I threw up my mental gates, blocking him out momentarily. But he wasn’t wrong.
Rhodes and I had been in the Hollow’s war room for ten minutes, and discomfort crawled beneath my skin like hives. A mix of fighters occupied the long table at the center—some were wardens of the border, others were blades who traveled beyond for combat. Fallon leaned against the back wall.
Across from us, a younger man lounged in a chair by the window, casually carving a piece of wood into a spike and blowing the shavings onto the floor.
He had brown, wavy hair with shaved sides. He looked familiar—too familiar—but with the low light and my angle, I couldn’t place where I knew him from. His leathers were styled differently from what was common in the Hollow.
The chatter died the moment I stepped into the room, making it painfully clear I was the reason for the silence.
Nausea rolled in my gut.
The door swung open, and the room moved as one. Every soldier rose, heads bowing as Arrow Fitzroy strode in and claimed the largest seat at the end of the table.
“Report,” he muttered.
Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone sat, except for Fallon and a female warden clutching a scroll. She unrolled it across the table, revealing a detailed map of Kalymdor.
“Everything is in place for the Mageia mission, General. Now that Scarlet Thorne is awake and ready to begin, we can proceed with our infiltration and search the college grounds.”
Arrow gave a subtle nod, signaling for her to sit. His gaze swept the room. “Where are we in locating the Key?”
Silence. A heavy, knowing kind.
Finally, a male blade spoke. “From what we’ve gathered, the object was last in the possession of a professor at Mageia. Based on Kalluri’s intel, Cora Reyes was caught snooping through faculty offices. She claimed she was searching for something unimportant—but now that we know Reyes is a Tyrian spy, and three professors are dead, we can assume she was after the artifact.”
