Avery ran through the Tower of the Moon, down flight after flight of stairs.Where was a fucking flying fairy when she needed one?
At one point, nearly a quarter of the way down, Avery went to one of the spacious balconies that the Nepheli used for flying between towers and floors. She looked down to the river, and saw in horror a small figure at the edge of Sapphire Falls.
“Oh God! She’s there. She’s at the falls!” Avery shouted, her feet already running toward the staircase.
Kyla strode ahead of her, her long fae legs and unnatural speed left Avery behind. As Avery flew down the stairs, trying to keepup, she prayed that her sister wouldn’t jump off the rocky falls into the icy river below. It seemed impossible that she’d survived the first fall, Avery didn’t see how Morgan could survive another jump off the falls.
And if she did get transported back?
Her sister would be leaving her without even saying goodbye. The thought that she’d do this was too much for Avery to bear.
Kyla paused at a wide, arched window. They were only about four stories from the ground now and Avery ran past, not bothering to look at what Kyla saw.
“Avery! Avery! It’s Rylo,” Kyla shouted.
Avery stopped in her tracks and ran back to Kyla’s side as she let out a stilted gasp. The Nepheli king shot through the air like a rocket, flying directly toward the falls. He was so close to her now while Morgan was still on the edge. To Avery’s horror, as Morgan caught sight of Rylo, she leaped from Sapphire Falls, plummeting from Avery’s sight.
Chapter 11
Rylo
To say that Rylo was irritated to be dive-bombing through the crisp autumn air after some human girl was an understatement. He’d been enjoying a perfectly peaceful morning with a cup of tea and a decent book when his friend, Elio, had informed him that Morgan had been standing at the edge of Sapphire Falls for the better half of an hour.
He hadn’t put restrictions on the two witches, trying to keep a semblance of respect between himself and the Latian nation. After all, he gained what he had set out to do and now he wanted to keep his plans for restoring Nephel to greatness in motion. Further, his nation was substantially smaller and the last thinghe needed was a war against those Latian brutes for upsetting Savine's soulmate. It was one thing to push Savine into accepting his crown, but it would be another matter to push him into war. He’d even avoided the witches and their small posse of women as much as possible. There was no reason for him to interact with them. Not as long as Avery was here. Once she was gone he would begin training his witch.
But he couldn’t have the one witch he had any interest in leaping off waterfalls. No, that just would not do. He knew he needed to make a power move as soon as he’d understood that these two unlikely foreign girls were the ones spoken of in the prophecy. He certainly hadnointerest in the whiny and weak Avery. Sure, she’d killed her guard, but she had made such a fuss about it. Plus her display in front of Jasper had nearly cost them all their lives.Shewould not be the sister to use to his advantage.
No, he wanted the scarred one with the billowing shadows. At least she had taken action with that odd weapon, ending that idiot Jasper’s reign for good. And now that fool was trying to jump off his waterfall.
Rylo deepened his dive, tucking his wings to gain speed. He made eye contact with the dark little figure standing precariously close to the edge of the cold waters of Sapphire Falls just as she turned and jumped off the precipice.
Oh,excellent. Now he was going to have to get his feathers wet and retrieve the soggy woman. Heloathedgetting his feathers wet. They always seemed to dry in such a way that made them look slightly tattered and less dignified, like he was some sort of damp pigeon. Rylo banked down, just in time to see the girl flailing in the air, plummeting toward the rocky ground below.
He reached out, wings hitting the mist, and grabbed her around the waist just before she broke on the rocks. What a foolish woman. Sapphire Falls was often driest in the autumn when last year’s spring snowmelt was long gone. The rockybasin was more exposed than usual, and she hadn’t a chance of surviving the fall. Not to mention, if she had managed to hit the water, like she apparently had the first time, she would have been exposed to frigid temperatures.
He heard the woman gasp in his arms before she let out a sorrowful moan. “Why didn’t you let me go?” she whined, writhing in his arms as he attempted to bank upwards on dampened feathers.
“Because I have use for you, and I don’t want to see you dead or returned to your realm,” Rylo said, trying to put as much sweet indolence into his voice as he spoke.
“Put me down!” the girl shrieked and Rylo tensed at the piercing sound. “I want to go home!”
“Poor little Kingslayer. Not getting to go home,” Rylo mocked. “Unfortunately, we often do not get what we’d like in this world.” He tried his hardest to keep up his insolent demeanor, but the woman was acting insufferably. Shouldn’t at the very least, athank yoube in order for saving her life? “Now, if you try that again, I’ll let you spend some time in the Tower of Teeth.Thatwill teach you a thing or two about being thankful for what you have.”
He felt the woman shake in his arms. He really should have paid better attention to her name, but her name seemed less consequential than getting her into his service.
Rylo landed on the balcony to his library and placed the Kingslayer firmly on the stone terrace. “Let me look at you, Kingslayer.” Rylo said, cupping her chin in his hand. He saw the goddess mark, distorted slightly by a hard ridge of dark red scar tissue. “What did this to you?” he asked curiously.
“A fucking fae bastard. On my side of the portal,” she said. A whisper of darkness bit at his ankles, cool to the touch.
“Interesting. Some sort of dark fae then? Must’ve had massive teeth or claws to do this damage,” Rylo assessed, still holding her chin firmly between his fingers.
She yanked her head out of his grasp as she said, “It was one of those Latians. He was a bear, and shifted into his fae form after he’d dragged me nearly to death. The monster looked a little like Kyla’s soulmate, with the fur tattoo.”
Rylo knew from experience that plenty of humans had found their way into Nephel through Sapphire Falls, but he’d never given much thought to fae crossing the portal into the human realm. Perhaps because he’d killed several weak and dying humans who were broken on the rocks of the falls. Only one had been strong enough to keep, but his panicked screams and indecipherable language had given Rylo such a headache that he’d spared the man and ordered Selene to put him down after a thorough analysis.
“Rather strange to think a fae could travel to the human realm, but if you can travel here I suppose we could travel to your land. Now, come inside. I have a warm fire in here and can order some hot tea.”
The kingslayer bit her lip and furrowed her brow. The tight, scarred skin hardly moved with the gesture, only giving her a hardened look to her already injured face.
