Rylo caught her wrist in his hand, bringing it up to his lips as a featherlight touch from his mouth moved along each of her fingertips. Her heart thudded in her chest at his touch.
“I am cruel, and you best not forget that, kingslayer,” he said, licking her wrist before he released her hand. Her shadows writhed up around them before she pulled them back into her.
Morgan felt a little off balance with this beautiful, strange man admitting to being cruel while also flirting with her. This was flirting, right? But she wasn’t going to let him know that he’d frazzled her. “Tell me, cruel king, what do you know about the Divine Five?”
Rylo let out a wry laugh. “Oh you have been a studious girl in my library if you’ve found any knowledge of the Divine Five! Please, tell me what you know first.”
Morgan pursed her lips, she wouldn’t reveal what Kyla was instructed to do. “Only that it must have something to do with the ancient witches. Maybe it could reveal something about what Avery and I were called here to do.”
Rylo’s feathers spread out, golden in the low light. “You are curious, aren’t you? Well perhaps you’d be interested to know that I have one of the Divine Five. In fact, I placed it around your sister’s pretty neck just to see how it would react to her magic the night you arrived. It was a disappointment to see she didn’t seem to wield it to the extent that your ancestors did. But perhaps we can try with you instead.”
Morgan poured herself a cup of tea, refusing to let him see the nervous flutter in her belly. She was finally getting somewhere and making progress on what could be keeping her trapped here. Whatever task it was that she needed to finish, the Divine Five most likely were involved. “The necklace? I remember seeing the yellow stone on her.”
“Created by the witches that caused the Cleaving, that necklace contains deep magic. It’s a vessel for the deep magic that only a powerful witch could access. During the battle in which I captured Avery, she managed to access that magic and siphoned it into Savine, making herself a vessel. Yet, when she wore the very necklace that held deep magic at Jasper’s death, she was powerless.” Rylo looked down at the shadows that once again snaked around them. “I have no doubt that you will answer the call to the deep magic and use it when it’s necessary.”
Rylo’s gold-flecked eyes seemed to take on a deeper shine, as did his flesh. It was as if that piece of the sun that was part of him shone brighter, mingling with her darkness.
Morgan’s heart was pulsing in her chest. She was finally making a breakthrough in the mystery, but her voice was steady as she spoke. “I’ll willingly go to Goldoth with you, but I want you to give me and Susan every source you have on the Divine Five,” Morgan said between sips of tea.
Rylo’s wings wrapped around him, close enough for Morgan to reach out and touch. “Not that you have a choice to go with me to Goldoth or not, but I will provide the texts. Only because I want to see what your beautiful mind discovers about the witches of the past, and what you will do with that information.”
Morgan smirked and finally gave into the urge to touch one of his magnificent feathers. Rylo shuddered, but didn’t pull his wings back. The feather was so soft, and Morgan couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have those feathers touch her naked body. “Fine, but I want my gun back before we go to Goldoth.”
Morgan continued to stroke the king’s feathers. Rylo let out a gasp as he said, “I would never deny my Kingslayer her weapon.”
She smiled as she watched his face look on the verge of being fully undone by her touch.
Chapter 23
Avery
It felt good to be in the fresh air, hiking with Savine into the forests surrounding Orofine. Spending the morning working on her magic with Hyacinth had left her restless, rather than fatigued, like if she didn’t get out of the King’s Residence, she’d lose her mind. The spellwork she practiced for healing salves had been mentally exhausting, but her inactivity over the last few days had her itching to move her body. When Savine searched her out in the healers rooms, she’d been more than happy to slip away and join him outside.
Avery knew Savine was taking shorter strides to let her set the pace, and it made her smile, knowing that he’d even adjust hisgait to keep her comfortable. She was dressed in her fleece jacket over Latian pants and a beaded shirt, plus her hiking boots. It was a funny mishmash of an outfit, but she still felt thankful to have her jacket. The late autumn air was crisp with the promise of frost on the horizon, and Avery wondered what it would be like when this mountainous canyon was covered in feet of snow. Already most of the underbrush had shed their fall colors.
“So, where are we headed?” she asked.
“To an ancient grove of cedars up the mountain. I’m going to speak with the trees about Nephel. I want to ensure your sister is safe. Also, I’d like to find out if the rumors of an alliance with Goldoth to the south are true.”
After finding out how Morgan had taken out several fae and fled back to Nephel, Avery wasn’t really sure Savine should worry about her sister. Clearly she could take care of herself, and despite Avery’s attempts to help her, Morgan seemed set on choosing her own path.
“Why do you visit this specific group of trees to talk to?” Avery asked. They were passing through a forest dense with trees—why not choose some closer to Orofine?
“Other than spending a few precious moments with my Little Flower in a day filled with tedium?” Savine looked back at her and winked. Avery’s heart fluttered at the small gesture. “The trees have their own sense of hierarchy, just as the fae do, and these cedars are often willing to speak candidly when I seek them out. It’s where I was going the night of the prophecy. But to be more specific, younger trees are wilder, less willing to speak to the fae. These cedars are well informed and will give me the information I seek.”
Avery looked ahead up the trail and saw steam rising through the forest.
“Makes sense. Is that a hot spring up ahead?”
Savine quirked a grin in her direction. “It is. Would you like to get in?”
“Of course, I love hot springs! But do you have time to soak? Don’t you need to get back to the tree talk and boring meetings?”
Savine hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty before his face turned resolute and he reached for her hand. “Ave, you’re alive and back with me. Fuck all the meetings. If you want to get in the hot springs, I’m getting in with you.”
Avery leaned against Savine, feeling the hard planes of his muscles against her body. His rain-drenched forest scent surrounded her.
“You weren’t planning this, were you? Using speaking to the forest as an excuse for us to sneak away from the treehouse so we could seal our bond in the hot springs?”
