This summer, Lora’s government had announced that their official treaty meeting in December would be with the new king, as Harten had reportedly died of old age recently after living almost two centuries, making Karwyn the King of Turosian and the interim High King of Liraen, until the contest would decide his fate. The Adelways had a long history of winning the crown and the people had no say in that. It was all about exerting power and who the royals preferred on the throne.
Lora hadn’t known about high-level fae being taken, but she did know their system was flawed. The way Eyden was talking, it seemed like hope was escaping him and he feared an even darker future.
“Would you ever cross to the human world? To live there?” Lora had spoken without thinking and she didn’t quite know what prompted the question. Even if he said yes, she knew he would never be able to cross. Eyden looked surprised. Before he could speak, Lora explained, “Since your world is so dangerous.”
“I heard your world isn’t all that safe everywhere either,” he said.
“That’s true, unfortunately. But Britain doesn’t have a king who kidnaps his people.” Eyden cut her a look. Lora ignored it and continued on, “And I saw how much it pained you, watching that fae get captured. You wouldn’t want to get away from that?”
He shifted his head to the peaceful sky again. “I’d love to escape this,” he whispered like a hushed confession. “But I couldn’t if it was only me. Detaching myself from…my people, it’s impossible. And pretending to be something you’re not, pretending to be human, I imagine that must be tiresome.”
Lora thought back on her childhood. On her mother’s shocked expression when she first caught a glimpse of Lora’s fae side. Her mum had wanted her to push it all down, bury that part of her for her own safety. Never let anyone see who she truly was. Seal it away forever.
“It must be, yes,” Lora said as she followed Eyden’s example and beheld the stars in the sky, lighting up the darkness of the fae world. It looked so similar to her world, but it wasn’t hers. It never had been and she’d been thankful for it. Who would want to come from a world as dangerous and twisted as this one? Yet, she knew as much as she denied it, part of her had come from here. Could she really say this wasn’t her world when there was something hidden within her that craved to be here, to let out her fae side?
The question died quickly as Lora pushed it away, locking it into a box that erased her treacherous thoughts.
Chapter16
Amira
From the balcony, Amira could see two guards holding a fae tightly by his arms. His hands were bound behind his back and a black bag covered his face. By the strength the guards had to use to restrain him, Amira figured that he must be a high-level fae, either a four or a five. She wondered if he was from a powerful family. High-level fae tended to have high-level parents. But Amira knew that didn’t guarantee strength and special abilities—she was the living proof.
The prisoner made an abrupt move to try to escape. He freed one of his hands, but the guard pulled out a longsword coated in a red tint and pressed it against the flesh of his neck without drawing blood. The struggling fae went limp.
“Almandine,” Amira whispered to herself. His body now looked like a ragdoll in the arms of the guard. The prisoner’s head flopped to the side and the bag fell off, revealing a younger face than Amira had expected. His eyes were closed and a strand of his wavy red hair covered his forehead. He looked almost peaceful, like a child fast asleep. On his stomach, she saw a recently closed wound. The almandine was slowing the healing process, leaving the gash an angry red.
Amira suddenly felt the urge to help, to scream, to do something. Even if he was a criminal, and he must be, did he deserve this treatment? Amira couldn’t bear the sight of such gratuitous violence, but she forced herself to observe it anyway.
Pressing her body against the railing, she leaned in, trying to grasp details. Should she try to intervene? She turned around to the door leading back to the party but quickly realised she didn’t even know how to get to the passage the guards were taking.
When she looked back over the balcony, the three men had disappeared. She closed her eyes, fighting back her exhausted tears.
The sound of the party startled her. Someone had opened the door to the balcony. Amira turned around and was surprised to find Rhay staring at her. He had seemed to be enjoying the company he was in when she had left the party, so she hadn’t expected him to abandon his good time. But no, instead of kissing some random fae, he was studying her with a concerned look. She realised that she was shaking and that her braids were completely undone.
In two big steps, he was next to her. “Amira, are you okay?” he asked as he grabbed her hands.
She could feel the warmth coming from his skin slowly calming her. A sense of wellness and peacefulness overcame her. She realised that, for the first time, Rhay had called her by her first name. It made her smile.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” she said, trying to sound reassuring. She didn’t think it wise to bring up the incident she’d witnessed, accusing Turosian guards of something she wasn’t even sure she understood.
Rhay didn’t seem to believe her. “Well, I was worried, I couldn’t find you at the party. I thought…”
“You thought someone grabbed me, pulling me into one of the dark corners?”
“Oh, no, no one would dare do that to Karwyn,” he said, avoiding her gaze.
Amira’s happiness disappeared as she was reminded once again of her new fate, of the new wielder of her chains. Rhay must have noticed the change in her eyes but he didn’t say anything, he just put his arm around her shoulder and led her to the door. “Come on, princess, let’s get you to bed.”
They walked in silence across the room. All the while, Amira avoided looking at the couples around her. Instead, she opted to look at the sky. The moon was already fading in the morning light. She hadn’t realised that much time had passed.
They stopped at the exit and Amira lowered her chin to face the stone wall. Out of thin air, the door reappeared in front of them.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
One corner of Rhay’s lips pulled up into a half-smile. “It’s always there. You just can’t see it until you really want to leave.”
As they exited through the door, Amira looked back one last time. Some guests were still dancing, but their movements were slower and more languorous. Amira felt like she was seeing something that wasn’t made for her. She turned her head and got swallowed by the darkness of the staircase.
