“We need to land our dragons there.” I pointed to an open meadow on the opposite side of the village. “It’ll be dark soon. We should get to the inn.”
She gave Madrood the direction, and I marveled again that she’d bonded with—and stolen—Ivenrail’s dragon. I savored the fury that must be churning through him.
He’d be brutal in his rage and seek revenge for that alone.
Our dragons coasted lower, circling over the meadow to findthe best spot to land. “There’s an aerie nearby, though it’s been a long time since it housed dragons.” I’d stopped here once and stabled Glim there. “There should still be feed and enough sand for the dragons to lay on inside the stalls.”
“I’ll tell Madrood.”
I paused before speaking again. “Why did I let myself love you?”
“You should ask yourself that. I fell hard and fast, though I’m sure that was part of your plan.” Scorn and pain dripped from her voice.
“And yet you didn’t follow through with that plan. The king still lives.”
“I wasn’t going to murder you, Vexxion,” she snarled. “Never.”
“Killing him—and me—would’ve ended this. You’d be on your way to claim your birthright without having to worry he’d swoop in from behind to steal it from you.” Like he had most of the magical core of my court.
“You didn’t tell me he’d collared you.”
“How did you learn that information? I told no one, not even Zayde.”
“He couldn’t see it?”
“The king took pleasure in masking it with magic, making everyone believe I freely did as he asked.”
As Madrood dove down toward the ground, I leaned against her back as if the movement was natural. In reality, I couldn’t stay away. I closed my eyes and sucked in her light, sweet scent and the heat of her body. When I was near her, I felt as if I could slice through the mist holding back my feelings.
“Don’t.” She scooted forward, leaving cold air between us. “You can’t shove me away and then cling like this.”
“I wasn’t clinging,” I said sharply.
Yet I was.
“Why can’t most fae flit?” she asked.
A glance at her face showed she’d compressed her lips, telling me the personal part of our conversation was over.
“The most powerful magic is concentrated in the high courts, with only a few of those outside the courts born with any more power than Nullens.”
“People you suppressed.”
I’d shared a lot with her, now hadn’t I? “Theyaskedto be suppressed.”
Madrood drew up, his claws extending toward the ground. Around us, the others descended as well.
Tempest shot a look of surprise over her shoulder. “Why would we ask for anything like that?”
“They, not you, are lesser fae.”
“I always assumed they were a completely different species, not fae.”
“Is that what you were told?”
“It’s all I’ve ever believed.”
“When those now called Nullens fled faerie, they didn’t want to bring magic with them. They despised it for good reason. They were like those living outside the courts, tasting a bit of power here and there but never able to grasp enough to control their own fate.”
