Jyuri stopped in the doorway, his head tilted towards Alandris. “He grows stronger and your time grows shorter.”
Alandris’s jaw went taut. “I understand.”
I propped myself up in the bed I was lying in as Jyuri and Zorinna left the room.
“What happened?” Alandris folded his arms across his chest, his face stern, as if scolding a child.
“I imagine you are angry.”
A laugh bubbled from his throat and took me by surprise. “Yes, though I am also impressed. To threaten a Fae lord, you’ve done something akin to shoving your head inside the maw of a starved grizzly bear. Reckless, chaotic, and so utterly like you, I can’t help but be humored.” He sat in a chair beside the bed. “Now, then, what happened?”
I didn’t correct him—note that he knew nothing of me at all—because he was eerily correct. I’d always lived in such a way. Acting on impulse. Ignoring the consequences. I did what was necessary to survive, to protect myself and those I loved. The same applied when defending myself against Jyuri. It was rash to wield my magic against the Fae, but when faced with the split second decision, I’d chosen to throw caution to the wind.
“I struck a nerve when mentioning Zorinna,” I mumbled. “He took it rather personally.”
“Ah, yes, that explains a lot. A slight against Zorinna is a slight against Jyuri. Worse, actually. You are lucky to be alive.”
I rolled my eyes. From what I recalled, I’d had the upper hand in the latter half of our bout, and the latter half was what mattered. “What is his deal with her?”
Alandris took in a deep breath, hesitating, and I anticipated a vague response to avoid the question. To my astonishment, he was thorough. “Zorinna made a deal with him many years ago in order to help save—” he paused “—a friend she cared deeply for. I don’t know the exact terms of their trade, but I know he and his magic are hers to call upon until that comes to fruition. I am confident she gave up something enormous in return for such a boon, but she will not tell me when I press for answers.”
“Making a deal with a Fae is a death sentence. She must’ve truly loved this friend.”
He nodded. “Stubborn as she is, she would never admit it if you asked her, but yes, yes she did. She does.”
“And Jyuri, he’s become... obsessed with her?” The most fitting term for the crazed look in his eyes when we’d fought. It was beyond adoration or love.
Alandris pursed his lips. “He is a most useful and powerful ally, despite his... passions. As for the details of their relationship, I tend not to pry. Zorinna has assured me she can handle the Fae, and I have chosen to take her for her word. He has been mostly manageable until today.”
“Today. When he tried to kill me.” I snorted. “I find it hard to believe that I’m the first.”
His jaw tensed, and his eyes met mine with searing intensity. “I won’t let it happen again.”
“But it will,” I started, watching confusion line his face. “Unless you continue training me. If not Jyuri, someone else. I can’t control my magic.” Shame reddened my neck. “I heard a voice speak to me, urging me to take revenge, to relinquish control. It felt good, so good, to have that much power coursing through my veins. I— I couldn’t stop. It felt like I was behind my eyes, watching someone else take the reins, and all I could think about was that I wanted more.”
“Nairu....” I expected him to react harshly to my honesty, but he gently and familiarly whispered my name, leaving me utterly dumbfounded. “You can tell me when these things happen.Pleasetell me when these things happen.”
“We aren’t exactly on the best of terms.” I gripped the blanket between my fingers. “It would be insane to trust you after you kidnapped and threatened my friends and I. You are forcing me to stay here. I do not know what you want from me, and you will not explain it!” I clenched my teeth. “At times you are cruel, andother times you are kind, and it’s—it’s infuriating! Why are you doing this to me?”
He winced as though I’d struck him, and a pained sorrow filled his eyes, but it was gone within a blink, replaced with cool apathy. “It is complicated.”
I gripped the blankets tighter until my knuckles ached from the pressure. “Of course it is. I’m going back to my room.”
“Stay. You need to rest. I will go.”
“I’m fine.”
“Look at yourself,” he bit back. “You are far from fine, Nairu. Have you not looked down at your arms?”
I did as he said and bit back a gasp at the sight of them. My hands were completely tinged black, with tendrils traveling up my arms all the way to the shoulder and possibly beyond. I scanned the room for a mirror to see if they had marred my face, but thought better of it. The last thing I needed was that thing to find me again. They would fade—it didn’t matter how bad they were. Impossibly, I didn’t feel pain beyond a light stinging sensation.
“Rest,” Alandris repeated, seemingly satisfied with my reaction.
“Why don’t they hurt?”
“We had you swallow a tincture for pain relief while you were unconscious. It should last through the night and hopefully come morning, the marks will have faded in entirety.” He turned his back to me. “If you need anything, I am one door down. Just knock. It doesn’t matter the time.”
I hummed a noncommittal response and waited for the door to close before letting my head fall back onto the pillow. I was so frustrated I could feel tears stinging the corners of my eyes. Speaking with Alandris filled me with fire nearly every time. His entire personality towards me was a contradiction. Cruel—the captor who could only have the worst intentions. Kind—themale who comforted me and healed me. No matter how much I mulled it over, I couldn’t discern which version of him was the real one. Maybe they both were. Maybe he was simply that paradoxical.
