They exchanged another look.
“Alone?” asked the younger guard.
Her reply was quick and confident: “I was involved in similar duties back in my home kingdom, and I intend to make this duty a permanent part of my service tothisrealm. And I would like to begin it today, if you would kindly step aside.”
“Princess Leanora, surely you know we can’t—“
“It was the king’s idea.” If she was going to lie, she might as well commit entirely, she figured. “Do you wish to go againstboththe king and the prince’s wishes?”
A long pause. And then the lead guard frowned and said, “Give us a moment, will you?”
Sephia nodded. They stepped away, and while they conversed amongst themselves, she searched for something to distract herself with, something to keep from fidgeting or otherwise looking guilty.
A flicker of movement in the corner caught her eye. She sensed that cold, clinging energy, that pull on her buried magic that was familiar by this point.
She squinted toward that movement. And as she expected, she saw another of those living shadows that had become her near constant companions.
It was sitting at the edge of an arc of torchlight, watching her. Like an eager-to-please dog waiting for a command. No—more like a fox, with pointed ears and a thick, swishing tail.
She instantly thought of several useful commands she could give. She was getting too comfortable with these shadows, perhaps, and it was too risky…
But one glance in the direction of those guards made her heart sink—she could tell by their frowns that they still did not intend to allow her to pass, and no amount ofdiscussionwould likely change their minds.
She had to change their minds.
She couldn’t fail. She had to get inside the prison and talk to these alleged Shadow fae criminals face-to-face.
So her eyes narrowed on the fox beast, and she mouthed out a simple command:Send them away.
The shadow obeyed. It leapt up, bounced off the wall and propelled itself toward the silver-haired guard. It landed on the guard’s shoulder. Wrapped around his neck like a scarf and then sank into him, a spirit taking up residence in a stolen body.
Sephia kept thinking her command:Send them away. Away, away…Just as she’d done as a child, when she had accidentally possessed that man who had been harassing her sister. She had sent him away, too.
Away, away, away…
The guard shuddered. Paused. Shook his head, as if trying to shake out a nasty thought. Both of the guards turned back to her, and for a terrifying moment Sephia thought they would realize what she had done. She still could not believe that shehaddone it, that such a powerful trick had come so easily to her.
But it had.
And the elder guard’s eyes were glazed over when he returned to her, and his words slurred slightly as he said: “We’ll leave you to your business, then. Be quick about it.”
The second guard shot him a confused look. This was clearly not the decision they’d agreed upon.
But he didn’t argue with the one in charge, and Sephia hastily thanked them both—before either had a chance to catch on to what she was doing.
She hurried away. Another set of stairs awaited just around the corner, darker and yet more winding than the last. She couldn’t see the bottom, but she snatched a lighted torch from the wall, picked up her skirts, and began her descent without hesitation.
Down and down and further down she went, while visions of the past days weaved in and out of her thoughts—
The first time she had heard Tarron laugh.
The first time he had kissed her.
And the latest kiss they’d shared just this morning, tangled amongst the sheets and each other, the morning sunlight warming their skin and their hearts beating in the same slow, steady rhythm.
She had never felt the way she’d felt this morning. Or the way she’d felt last night when they’d lain side-by-side and he’d told her she could stay.
He had wanted her tostay.
