At the last moment I leap, replaying in my mind every movie that involves a secret service agent taking a bullet for the president.
My arms wrap around his shoulders, and we fall to the ground as the horse explodes into a mist that’s swept away by the wind.
I sit up on my knees and pull him to me. “Are you okay? Are you all right?”
“Y-yes.”
I hold him at arm’s length and search his face for any signs of injury. My thumb brushes his freckled cheek. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I promise, Addie. I’m okay.”
I hug him again as a dark shadow falls on both of us. I don’t have to glance up to know who it is, but eventually I do. Feylin offers his hand to Ryals, and Ryals jumps up and throws his arms around Feylin’s waist. The king’s head falls, and he closes his eyes tight.
“Addie saved me,” the boy tells him. “Did you see what she did? She threw herself at me. It was just like in the movies.”
“Yes.” He opens his eyes and strokes Ryals’s hair. “She saved you.”
My legs tremble as I push off the damp grass. Blades stickto my hands and knees. This dress is ruined. It’s okay. Dresses can be replaced. People can’t.
As I scan the lawn, my stomach drops like it’s been thrown off a cliff. The damage is bad. Fae glare at me. Witches stand in shock. But Feylin doesn’t notice any of it. He’s still holding Ryals.
There’s a knot lodged deep, deep in my throat. I’ve got to say something, or he’ll think I sabotaged the ceremony—again. “I’m?—”
His eyes shoot to mine, and he gives a slight shake of his head, silently telling me not to say one word. “We need to talk.”
My entire body sags with the weight of the inevitable that’s coming. “Yes, we do.”
25
FEYLIN
The lawn’s finally clean after the horses nearly destroyed it. As fae pick up the last shattered plates, a heavy sigh loosens from my chest.
I step back from the office window and roll the tension from my shoulders.
“Feylin?”
Ryals stands in the doorway, pressing the bare toes of his right foot onto the hill of his left.
“Feeling better?”
He nods. “I’m tired. I wanna go to bed.”
“Give me a hug.”
It’s when I wrap my arms around him that a weight clamps down on my chest so hard it threatens to smother me. If Addison hadn’t pushed him, Ryals would’ve been trampled. Sorrow clenches my gut just thinking about it. It’s deep, like a bottomless pit. I haven’t come close to feeling this powerless since Tess died.
And Iwaspowerless today—my magic spent, I barely smashed that last horse. I owe Addison his life.
And I know how to repay it.
“Good night.” I ruffle his hair as he pulls away.
Ryals palms it smooth. “I just combed it.”
“Well now it looks better.”
“Are you joking?”
