“Not so fast,” Storm said, taking a step toward Leap. Hatred glimmered in his eyes as a cruel smirk twisted his lips. “You didn’t bring me my fan.”
Leap crossed his arms over his chest. “So? You told me you were going to tell my uncle about me, but I don’t care. I’m leaving the city now—there’s no way he’ll catch up to me. And besides, you never expected me to get the fan. You were hoping Madame Gale and her cronies would have me killed after they caught me.”
“I was,” Storm agreed, his eyes narrowing, “but you’re a slippery one. You escaped Madame Gale, and even managed to evade General Slaugh and his shadow guards. Oh yes,” he said with a laugh, noting the murderous expression on my face. “The moment I saw those wanted posters going up, I went straight to him. He was already here in town sniffing around. I was rewarded handsomely for the tip, too.”
“You slimy piece of gutter trash,” I snarled, igniting a fireball in my palm. In an instant, all five of Storm’s crew turned their crossbows on me, and I froze.
“Ah, ah, ah.” Storm wagged his finger at me. “I suggest you snuff out that fireball now, unless you’d like to become a pincushion.”
“You seem to be under the false impression that we’re outmatched,” Mavlyn said, drawing Storm’s attention. “But have you taken a minute to look down?”
“Keep your eyes on them,” Storm barked at his crew, and I cursed inwardly—that would have been a perfect distraction. Slowly, he looked down, and I did as well, noticing for the first time the thin vines wrapped around all their legs.
“I wouldn’t move too much,” Mavlyn said with a sly smile as Storm tugged experimentally on one of his legs. “Leap and I spotted you, and I scattered those seeds behind us when we walked in. Those vines have tiny thorns on them that secrete a very special poison. If you move too much, you’ll be dead.”
Storm bared his teeth in a snarl. “We can still kill you,” he snapped, raising his crossbow and pointing it at Leap’s chest. “You take one more step—”
“Storm,” Leap interrupted in a quiet voice. “Enough of this. I know why you’re angry, and it isn’t just because of me. You screwed up that night, too.”
“Iscrewed up?” Storm hissed, his face turning bright red with anger. I tensed, noticing how his finger trembled on the trigger. One slip, and Leap would be dead. “You’re the one—”
“Yes, yes, I’m the one who didn’t vet our insider,” Leap said. “But you’re the one who got distracted by that stupid jewel-encrusted saber hanging on the wall on our way out. You’re the idiot who justhadto stop and pry it off the wall—”
“—I was trying to make sure the night wasn’t a total loss!” Storm protested.
“—and you’re the reason Skye jumped in front of that crossbow bolt that was meant for you,” Leap finished coldly. “Are you really going to dishonor her memory by killing me in the same way they killed her while sacrificing her life for you?”
A heavy silence descended in the alley then, and several of Storm’s comrades lowered their crossbows. “He’s right,” the girl with the pigtails who’d caught us sneaking into the city said in a quiet voice. “Skye wouldn’t want this, Storm.”
“We don’t know what Skye would have wanted,” Storm said through gritted teeth. Tears gleamed in his eyes as the last of the sunlight disappeared from the sky, plunging the city into twilight. “She’sdead.”
“She is,” the girl agreed, “and I think we’ve had enough death, Storm. Let Leap and his friends go. Even if we kill him, that earth fae girl will kill us in retaliation. And I don’t know about you, but I think Skye would be real pissed if all of us showed up to meet her in the afterlife with each other’s blood on our hands.”
A long silence passed, and I was just beginning to wonder if we really would have to fight when Storm finally lowered his crossbow. “Fine,” he said with a sigh. “But will you at least release us?”
“The vines will loosen on their own once we’re far enough away,” Mavlyn said coolly. Her easygoing nature had evaporated, reminding me how deadly earth fae could be, especially the ones who controlled plant life.
Leap and Mavlyn turned away to leave, but I stood my ground for one last moment, looking Storm in the eye. “If Adara is harmed in any way because of your interference,” I said in a quiet voice, “I will personally come back here and flay every strip of hide off you, boy.”
I allowed a tiny bit of the shift to come over me, and Storm’s eyes widened. I knew he could see the outline of wings behind my back, and the reptilian slits of my pupils. He nearly took a step back before he remembered the vines, and I grinned at him, baring sharp fangs.
“You’re not fae,” he accused, pointing a trembling finger at me. “What are you?”
“Let’s hope you never find out,” I said, then turned and followed my friends into the darkness.
33
Adara
“Mother!” I cried, jumping to my feet. My chair skidded across the floor behind me, but I paid it no mind as I raced around the tabled and tried to get to her side.
But before I could manage more than a few paces, a powerful hand closed around my wrist, pulling me to a halt. “No closer,” King Aolis said, and though his voice was mild, I could sense an undercurrent of something sinister beneath it. “You can speak to her from here.”
“Youbastard.” I spun around to face him, yanking my arm from his grip. “Look at what you’ve done to her!” I jabbed a finger in my mother’s direction as I glared up at him. Standing, he was a towering figure, and I had to lean my head all the way back to look him in the eye, but I refused to allow that to intimidate me. The key that guard had slipped into my pocket was burning a hole in my skirt, and I wanted so badly to use it to free myself so I could incinerate the king where he stood. “She’s skin and bones, and riddled with shadow sickness!”
“A regrettable side-effect of spending too much time in the castle,” King Aolis said with a sigh. “I make the staff take everbright potion, but we’ve had severe shortages recently, and I can’t waste such precious supplies on traitors. But,” he added with a sly smile, “you’ll be able to restore Gelsyne to the picture of health. You just need to master your powers first.”
I clenched and unclenched my hands several times, trying for patience. Too furious to even address Aolis’s comment, I slowly turned back to face my mother. The guards had deposited her onto the stone floor, where she knelt, her ragged dress pooled around her knees. Her normally lustrous hair was dull and stringy, her skin sallow, and her green eyes glittered with anguish as she looked upon me.
