“Tell me!” he yelled over me, eyes wild. I stared at him helplessly, unable to lie to him. But heknew.A broken sob cracked through his chest as his blade pushed into my skin, blood dripped down my uniform. The power beneath my skin surfaced and instinct took over.
I sang. A soft melody that wove through the air and into Orin’s skin. Into his very soul. His eyes glazed over. The knife slipped from his fingers and clanged against the stone.
“You are wrong, Orin. It was not me,” I said. My voice layered in unearthly tones, and I placed my hand over his. His mouth parted and his face relaxed completely. He looked younger without the constant scowl that had been plastered on his face since I washed ashore.
“You would do anything to protect me,” I told him, willing him to believe me.
He nodded, murmuring the sentence under his breath.
“Because you love me,” I added softly.
“I love you,” he repeated in a soft whisper. He leant in slowly, vacant eyes reflecting nothing but my power. His lips pressed against mine, moving them tentatively as though he needed to savour every touch. I couldn’t tell where my power ended, and I began. It was wrong. He wasn’t in his right mind, but Gods, I needed this. I wanted this to be real so desperately.
I looped my arms around his neck, pulling him closeruntil the world narrowed and only we existed. His hands slid low over my back, drawing me flush against his hard body as though something had possessed him. My skin tingled, hot and soothing all at once. Power sunk into my pores. My hands gripped his waist. His movements became urgent, breath rough as his hand tangled in my hair. Heat pooled low in my stomach, need over taking all logical thoughts. Gods, I had missed him.
The sensation built, too much, too bright as he pressed me against the rail. My skin prickled as if it might burst into flames. No. Something was wrong. This wasn’t right.
I shoved at his chest, tearing my mouth from his with a sharp, gasping snap.
Orin stared down at me, and a translucent gleam clung to his green eyes, shimmering at me unnaturally. It was almost like he wasn’t him anymore.
The balcony door slammed open. Bohdi bursting through them with his sword in his hands. “The gate’s been breached!”
Sixteen
The Commander of Death
An alarm split the air, high and shrill, the kind that made my ears want to bleed.
“Orin! Let’s go,” Bohdi snapped. But he just stared at me with that unsettling iridescent sheen. Not blinking. Not reacting. The dining hall roared behind him, but he didn’t hear it. It was like he couldn’t hear Bohdi. I waved a hand before his face. Nothing. Like an empty shell waiting for purpose.
Bohdi reached out and placed his hand on Orin’s shoulder— and he jerked back as if he had touched hot coals. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I…don’t know.” But I did know. The knowledge sank like a stone. I did this to him, broke him in some way.
Bohdi’s voice thinned. “I can’t read him anymore. I can only feel you.”
Screams and shouting filled the air, the sounds of weapons clashing growing closer. The Fae hadn’t just breached the gate. They had breached the barracks.
“They’re here.” My head snapped back towards thedining hall. How was I supposed to fight the enemy after a week of training and a Sanctum that would get me killed?
“Orin, we need to fight.” The shimmering in his eyes glistened, as if responding to my words.
“I will protect you at all costs,” Orin said, gripping the hilt of his sword and unsheathing it with a metal rasp. He squared his shoulders and walked towards the chaos.
Bohdi looked at me with suspicion. Like he had never really looked at me before. Could he see the monster that lurked beneath the surface? Would he try to kill me too?
Bohdi unstrapped a dagger from his waist and carefully passed it to me, pressing the handle into my palm. “Try to hide. Or to run. The other initiates have been given the same instructions.”
I nodded at him, my heart racing with anticipation.
Pure chaos greeted me as we stepped into the dining hall. My limbs froze. Tables were overturned. There was a flurry of movement and noise. Blood. Blood splattered the floor, oozing from bodies of the fallen. But it was the enormous shirtless, warriors with pointed ears that made my stomach churn. Their sharpened canines glistened as they smiled through the bloodshed. They looked barbaric. They looked like the bringers of death.
“Move, Lyra!” Orin’s yell cut through my haze. A Fae warrior stepped into my path, grinning down at me with a blood-splattered face. Moving seemed like a good idea if I wanted to live.
I raised my dagger feebly, eyeing the blade with disgust. I doubted that it would do anything against the gigantic warrior. He took two steps towards me, my heart racing.
Orin dove in front of me. Their swords met with a sharp whack of metal against metal.
