The chain chimes softly as the noisy hallway quiets, and each of the guards drops to their knees at my approach.
I can’t stop my cold smile, that, effectively, they’re kneeling to Thyra before me. Some of them seem to realize it, hovering a little until I’m closer to them, but all it takes is a glare, and they drop to their knees.
I steer Thyra toward my quarters. It’s possible to get to the training tower by following the interconnected corridors. Cassia often walks there since her quarters are much closer. But flying will be quicker.
Reaching my quarters, I prepare to pass through, only for Thyra to snag my arm.
“Antony! Look.”
I follow her gaze to the location of the panel in the wall where I stowed the assassin’s dagger.
The panel is chipped and scratched, with pieces of plaster scattered across the small table beneath it.
Quickly, I open the panel and reach into the compartment behind it, pulling out the small chest. “It looks likewhoever forced open the panel was smart enough not to tamper with the box.”
Removing my glove, I quickly trigger the blood magic to open the chest, revealing the dagger nestled safely inside.
“If they wanted the dagger, why not take the whole box?” Thyra asks. “Unless they thought the blood magic would hurt them?”
I rub my chin. “They might have feared it. The blood magic would give them a shock, enough to knock them out, if they tried to force it open.”
Now the question is whether or not the dagger’s more vulnerable to theft if I carry it on my person. Not that any fae has been foolish enough to ever try to take one of my weapons.
With that thought, I slip the dagger into the empty holder at my waist.
Moments later, we emerge onto the landing platform outside my quarters, where Azul waits.
As soon as he sees Thyra, he becomes alert, shuffling forward, but she’s already closing the gap, bounding across the platform nearly faster than the circlet will allow and wrapping her arms around his neck.
He closes his eyes, nudges his head to hers, craning his neck protectively around her.
When I take a closer step toward them, conscious of the tightening chain, his eyes snap open, and he casts me a glare that tells me to back the fuck off.
Okay, this is his moment.
“Are you hungry?” Thyra murmurs to him, her voice muffled against his feathers. “I’m sorry, I don’t have any thistleberries for you.”
“He isn’t hungry,” I say, provoking another crimson-eyed glare. “Trust me on that.”
“Good.” She finally steps back, at which Azul lowers himself as far as he can to the ground.
Without further hesitation, I scoop her up and place her safely on his back, once again aware of the shadow that follows us when we take to the air.
The morning sunlight strengthens as we fly, and the magical stars in the sky have fully faded.
“The white towers and white streets aren’t accidental, are they?” Thyra asks me as we fly.
“They strengthen and reflect all light,” I reply. “The brighter everything is, the safer we are.”
Teams of lowborn fae are paid very well to keep everything clean.
A pristine exterior behind which darkness simmers.
When we finally reach the main room within the training tower, Cassia’s waiting for us, dressed in a black suit, her feet bare, and her hair braided, while her expression is tense.
“You just missed Hadrian. He came to give me my invitation.” She waves the white envelope in the air before scrunching the paper in her fist. “I assume you both got one?”
Thyra’s quick to respond. “Well, technically, only Antony did. But I’m certain I’m supposed to be there.”
