Brodine had tried to warn me, but I was a silly girl falling inlove with a true master, unwilling to listen to those who actually loved me. Vexxion’s obsession with me had concerned Brodine with good reason.
Putting the fragments of myself back together, I wrenched myself to my feet and strapped a sheath around my waist. I stared at the family dagger, watching the stone wink scarlet in the late-day sunlight filtering in from the bank of windows behind me.
Fuck this. Fuck Vexxion. Fuck the king too. I jabbed the blade into the sheath.
A search of the room didn’t reveal any other weapons I could add to my arsenal.
When footsteps echoed in the hall, I flitted again, almost inserting myself into the stone wall spanning the front of the aerie. As it was, I scraped my cheek hard enough it stung and would probably bleed. I swiped the pain away as I hurried through the entrance.
A stable hand with pale hair and wearing a light blue tunic and black leather pants and boots sat on a bench at the end of the hall. Sensing me, he looked up before returning to where he was polishing a leather saddle lying across his lap. I tentatively limped toward him, and when I got closer, I noted the red mark around his neck marking him as a claimed Nullen like me.
His head lifted again, his sharp gaze meeting mine clearly.
“Your eyes . . .” I shook my head and reminded myself I had to be careful about what I discussed with anyone here.
“I assume you mean that I still have my wits about me,” he said with a twist of his lips.
“Yes.” I stopped a short distance away from him. “Some of those claimed—”
“Are not as lucky as us.” He shrugged, his gaze falling to my neck.
My vines coiled and snapped, and it was all I could do not to claw my skin. “Lucky? This is a curse.”
“It beats letting your soul wander around the ether like the others.”
A snarl ripped up my throat. “Is that what happens to those who are drained?” Brodine’s and Reyla’s souls were trapped in the ether? I had to find a way to bring them back.
“Yeah.” His hand came to rest on the saddle. “I’m Will, by the way.”
“Tempest.”
“Nice to meet you. Too bad it’s here and not in Nullen territory. But we’re still alive. We can work. Have fun every now and then when they let us.”
“How can you accept this?”
“It’s a job, and I like to eat. I also like having a place to sleep at night.”
“They’re hurting us.”
“Not me.” A frown filled his face. “You must be a Nullen without enough power to tap. Since I didn’t reveal much after my Awakening, the fae who claimed me dumped me here in the stable.”
“At least he didn’t kill you.”
“Not so far, though in that, I was lucky once more.” He flashed me a brief smile. “She’sdecent enough. A taste of mypower was enough for her. She doesn’t hit me, and she even tosses me a coin every now and then.”
“Decency doesn’t exist among the fae.”
“That’s not true. There are a few. You’ll figure out who they are quickly if you want to survive.”
“Can it be reversed?”
“You speak of the draining?”
My eyes stinging with tears, I jerked out a nod.
“I haven’t seen it happen yet.”
“Is it possible?” I growled.
