He met my gaze, his eyes sparking with familiar hunger. The need to say more, to do more, emanated from him. Instead, he turned and left us in the small, smelly room.
Elianna huffed and wrapped the thick, woven blanket around herself. “Sleep? In this hellhole? No way.”
“Sorry, it’s not a castle, princess,” I muttered and lay back.
I could feel Elianna glaring as I watched the door Vincent had left through.
“You know, when Nismera finds him, finds you, she is going to make you both suffer for what you did, what you took.”
I turned to look at her, my eyes narrowing. “What? The medallion?”
“No,” she said without a hint of malice. “Him. When she’s done with you both, death will be a kindness, and that is something I heard she was born without.”
Elianna turned away from me, and after a few moments, her breathing evened out as sleep claimed her. I rolled over so I could watch the door again. I knew she hadn’t said that to scare me. She had simply stated the truth. Nismera was searching for us, and I knew in my bones that we would not evade her forever, but my greatest fear wasn’t of her. I feared for Vincent and his remorse over the acts Nismera had forced him to commit. I feared the guilt he harbored would one day get him killed.
6
CAMILLA
The room was enormous, the ceilings soaring to such heights overhead that they nearly disappeared into the gloom. Marble statues of warriors, blades either drawn or kneeling with shields, filled the halls. Tapestries supported by large, spiraling columns wavered in the breeze coming in through the open balconies. I could see the wind in how the heavy fabric moved, but I did not feel it. I wondered where I was and stepped out onto the balcony. Mountains, half-hidden by rolling clouds, surrounded a silver city. I looked down at it, wondering at the blue lights racing across buildings and twisting through the streets.
Murmurs came from the hall behind me, and I whipped toward the sound. Guards marched toward me, their feet hitting the stone floor in unison. I caught glimpses of them as the tapestries shifted. A sash crossed their armor, bearing an image of a three-headed beast, and I realized this was not Samkiel’s reign. This was Unir’s.
I stepped back into the hall as the guards pressed forward. I blinked and somehow stood directly in their path. My eyes slammed closed, and I flinched, expecting to be trampled, but they walked right through me. I felt each of them as a whisper of heat. Opening my eyes, I looked down at my form as they passed. It shimmered like wavering smoke before solidifying once more.
“Look.”
My head jerked up at the feminine whisper. In a darkened corner, a woman stood wrapped in cloaks. Her short, dark hair stopped at the base of her jaw. The thick bronze belt that wrapped her narrow waist was etched with symbols that matched the bands encircling her upper arms and wrists. She felt ancient and powerful, and my magic sang in her presence. When my eyes met hers, I knew why.
Witch.
The anger in her glowing green eyes had me swallowing whatever question I was about to ask. She pointed after the retreating guards and commanded, “See it.”
I nodded, and she dissipated like smoke. My feet seemed to move of their own accord, following after the guards as they walked toward the end of the corridor. They split at the massive staircase, taking up flanking positions and coming to rest. It looked like they were guarding someone, and I wondered what was happening. I heard voices from upstairs and grabbed the edge of my long nightgown before taking the steps two at a time.
The voices grew louder as I neared massive twin doors decorated with intricate designs of gold and pearl. I rested my hand on the curved, smooth handle and leaned forward, hoping to hear more clearly through the thick wood. Instead, my body slipped through it and slapped against the floor. I stifled a gasp and looked up.
There was so much power in the room that my skin prickled with it. My magic went on high alert and surged forth, ready like a viper to strike out and protect me. When no one looked my way and continued talking, I pushed myself up. My eyes widened as I took in the massive room, but it was the beings sitting around the U-shaped table that roused my magic. I slowly walked toward them, stopping in the space formed by the tables. The power of the four men and women was like standing in the middle of a maelstrom.
“… power beyond our gates,” Unir said. He sat at the head of the table, a woman with wavy brown hair at his side. From her posture and crown, I knew exactly who she was. If her nearness to Unir wasn’t enough, the slope of her cheekbones and soft eyes screamed of Samkiel.
“Nothing you have to fear,” a strong voice replied. The man, or at least a being that wore the skin of one, tapped his fingers against the table. His dark hair was spiked around his head, and his eyes were so black there was no distinction between iris and pupil. When I looked into them, I felt like I was looking into the void of the abyss. His skin was not just pale by mortal terms but nearly transparent, and I could almost see the dark creature moving beneath it. His broad shoulders were draped in the same silver and white council garbs worn by all here, indicating this was some sort of council meeting made up of powerful ancients.
“Yet.”
My stomach dropped, and my blood ran cold at that voice. I looked across the table and met the eyes of Nismera.
I wanted to ask how. When was this that she was here, but Kaden and Isaiah were not? But as I looked closer at her, the age she wore was clearer. Her body was slender and softer, her features hinting at a teenage youth. This Nismera was less mature than the woman who currently claimed the realms and everything in between. This had to be before Samkiel was even born, perhaps even his brothers.
The dark man drew my attention as he shifted in his seat, resting his chin on his fist. His lips quirked, and his eyes held a seductive invitation as he stared at her. Nismera smiled at him, a glow touching her cheeks. With how the two of them looked at each other, I hoped I was wrong about her age. He was well past her senior, regardless of eternal, immortal beauty.
The dark man pulled his gaze from Nismera and addressed Unir, who had not missed what had passed between the two. “The medallion allows us to travel to places that would surely invade the second your realm becomes a threat. With all due respect.”
Unir’s eyes narrowed, his gaze sliding between the dark man and Nismera. “Peace must, and will, always be the foremost important thing in these realms. War has plagued it long enough,” Unir finally said.
The dark man smirked. “Thus, the treaty we so happily signed over the disintegrating corpses of my brethren.”
“And mine,” Unir said, his tone hard.
