“So you intend to keep them from me? Do you plan on keeping me here permanently?” Avery reeled. She needed to know that they were safe.
“I have no intention of keeping you for myself. I have the largest collection of recorded history dating back to before The Cleaving. From what I’ve read about your kind, the last thing I need in my smallkingdom is a witch. Your kind has a long history of causing trouble for the fae. Susan must not stay either. Rue, if she behaves, should come to no permanent harm here.”
“Then let me see them.”
Rylo’s lips smirked into a half smile as he eyed Avery. “I don’t think I will. But I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am sure you know by now that we fae cannot lie. For that reason, we hold our secrets close. This little secret of mine should interest a human like yourself.” Rylo paused, a mocking smile on his face. “I have killed dozens of humans over the years. Most were already half drowned when they reached my land. But it seems my Sapphire Falls is quite the gateway for your kind. Never has one been Goddess touched.”
Avery jolted at his words. She felt her eyes grow large before she picked up her teacup and pretended to sip the tea to cover up her expressions. So he could see past her glamour. She’d known it, but still hoped it wasn’t true. To everyone else, it looked like the scars woven through the mark.
“I do love the way humans can never hide their expressions. It’s so quaint. The look they make before they see me take their lives is most entertaining. Yes, I can see right through Kyla’s glamour on your forehead. Did they believe that the mark she placed on you would hold up against a king?” Rylo shook his head, tsking. “Savine has so much to learn before he makes a decent ruler. At least he’s getting this practice run with his rebellion. But to the point, not even I would ever dream of killing someone touched by Althea. Althea marked you herself, and I will not play a game with the Premier Goddess.”
Avery took a deep breath, trying to calm the fluttering nerves in her stomach. Not only did Rylo know about the Goddess mark, but there may be a way for her to return to Earth from here. The Sapphire Fallswas a portal. If only she could get there, she might be able to return home.
Then what? Abandon Savine and the undeniable draw that she felt for him? Leave him when they had just begun exploring something stronger than she’d ever experienced in her life? For the first time since being in Aeritis, she thought, if given the choice, she would choose to stay in Aeritis. To carve a life here with Savine, even if it meant fighting, surviving, and overthrowing kings for it to happen.
“Okay then. You’re going to give me over to the King of Latiah? Is that your purpose in taking me?”
“You foolish girl, what would be the purpose of me taking you only to give you to Jasper? No, I plan to get much more out of this little arrangement than that. But first, I want to see your magic.” Rylo stood and walked around the coffee table, offering Avery his hand. “Come, let’s walk onto the terrace. I’d hate to have one of my books destroyed in the process.”
Avery tried to hide her surprise again. She pulled back from his hand and looked at him, her brow furrowing as she looked at his deceptive face. Didn’t he think that he’d put a stopper on her power? If he knew that her power wasn’t suppressed, then why hadn’t he taken some action to stop her?
“But I don’t have power right now. You’ve been stopping it,” Avery said.
“Don’t be silly, girl. I know my potion did not stop your power. If I had wanted to suppress your growing strength, I would have used mugwort. What I gave you grew your powers slowly. The bindings disguised the lack of power, leaving you feeling drained for up to three hours after contact. Now, please demonstrate what you can produce. Would you like to display your magical capabilities using one of my slaves, or will the potted plants on the terrace suffice?”
Rylo turned his back on Avery and began walking toward the terrace. Avery followed him, realizing how much he’d played her in the last few days.
“Why trust me not to attack in the caves?”
“I believe the better question is, why didn’t you attack us? Or at least try to escape. You squandered your time when you could have escaped, and now you are trapped in one of the most securely guarded buildings in Aeritis. I hoped for a bit of a fight from you, but you are as docile as a sheep to slaughter. Once you killed that guard, and felt secure, you played right into what I expected. Potted plant or fae?”
“I-I wasn’t sure how I’d escape those caves. I don’t know,” Avery said, exasperated. She followed Rylo outside. The blisters on her ankles rubbed as she teetered out onto a spacious terrace. Comfortable furniture made for lounging sat in the sun. Potted bonsai trees filled the deck. Miniature cedars, maples, and cherry trees lined the space.
The tiny maple and cherry leaves were changing from green to yellow and red. Fall was already here. Her time in Aeritis was already marked by the changing of seasons.
Her mind momentarily drifted to Montana. Friends and family would wonder if they would ever find her. She thought of them pointlessly searching the high country as the first bite of winter arrived in the mountains. Dressed in puffy jackets and gloves, knowing that soon they could not access the area that she disappeared to on a warm summer morning.
“Avery? Am I going to have to spell out what I expect of you?”
Avery snapped back to the present—to Rylo, looking at her with a twitch of irritation in his otherwise-still body. He was so unnaturally still that Avery could have mistaken him for some sort of statue.
“Sorry. Just admiring your plants,” Avery replied.
“You are disappointing me with your lack of discernment. I hate to be bored or troubled by explaining myself. Now your magic, please. I will not ask again so nicely.”
Rylo leaned into a low-backed chair. The shimmer of his golden feathers gleamed in the midday light. His body looked relaxed and at ease as he pointed his long fingers at a small cedar tree in a blue pot.
“Destroy that tree by whatever means you have.”
Avery nodded. She could tell he grew tired of her and thought it best to get this display over with. She channeled her thoughts into herself and concentrated on her magic. Pulling a seed of it from deep inside of her, she pulled it toward her fingers and willed it out of her. Green light coursed through her fingertips, and her body glowed with the magic. She hit the plant and pot, feeling the shattering buzz up inside her and flow back into her magic. The green light continued to pour out of her, but she struggled to pull it back, to shut it down. The light shot through the rock terrace like a laser. With a resounding crack and boom, the far end of the terrace split apart and fell. The impact of the rock hitting the terrace below echoed across the towers. She could hear the screams of the fae below as rocks continued to collapse on impact.
The green light continued to pour out of her, but she fought to suck it back into her body. Building panic grew in her mind. She couldn’t stop this. She was going to destroy this entire building and kill innocent fae while she was at it if she didn’t rein in her power. Sucking in a deep breath, she cleared her mind of the panic, pushing it down. She pulled the green strands flowing from her fingertips until they relented and calmed back into her skin.
Avery collapsed to the ground. She panted and could feel sweat glisten against her skin. A shadow fell over her as she looked up. Rylo stood over her with the same cool smirk he so often wore.
“Sloppy. Ill trained. Luck alone will be the determinant of how you do in two-days time. I hate leaving important matters up to luck,” Rylo said.
“What are you planning to have me do in two days?” Was Jasper coming here, then? That seemed to be what Rylo suggested. Avery didn’t dare assume he wanted her to attack Jasper with this growing power. But what if he did? He hinted at it. It was unlikely for Rylo to turn his back on such a powerful ally.
