And his first one …
Everything clicked into place.
Foolish. I had been utterlyfoolish.
He hadn’t asked me to wish for a curse to be broken. He wanted an army, an unbeatable one at that. I had no choice at the time, but I had agreed to help the king, thinking I would help innocent people. Save lives. Instead, I would condemn them byhanding Terym a weapon of untold proportion. He could wish for anything. Three times over.
“There isn’t a curse, is there?” I whispered, voicing my realization to the entire tent and everyone within it. A few chuckles sounded from the lords, but I didn’t take my eyes from the king. His expression didn’t deter from the unreadable calm he always portrayed.
“This is war, my dear Adelia. That is the truth.”
Bile rose, burning my throat, but I forced it back down. I couldn’t believe a word he said. He manipulated me the way only a king could, and I bowed to him as was demanded of me because I had no choice, lest I risk his wrath on my sister and me.
Eleanor.
She was here and on his radar.
If he lied about this, how could I trust he would stay true to his word and protect her.
I glanced around the tent as if I could see the camp beyond the canvas walls.
I had to get her out.
She wasn’t safe. Sheneededto be safe.
Something brushed my hand. A wispy warmth. Not solid or liquid, something … ethereal. It calmed my racing thoughts enough for me to focus on my next breath, and the oddly familiar scent filled my lungs, clearing my mind enough to focus.
The king barked my name again. “My patience wears thin. Make my wish!” Terym demanded, gesturing to the man who still stood before me, his head now tilted to the side as silver eyes drilled into me.
Still, I hesitated. The king had lied to me, demanded I wish for what would surely end in hundreds of deaths. I couldn’t be the cause of that.
I glanced around the tent, every man’s gaze intent on me, some expecting, others eager.
Captain Gensen stood closest, gripping his unsheathed sword. It wasn’t just the man who emerged from the lamp he eyed carefully but me as well. The warning in his piercing stare clear.
I had to do it. Had to make the wish the king demanded of me.
My stomach churned. I didn’t want to. I despised the choice I was forced to make, but I couldn’t defy the king, not now. Not when it would risk Eleanor’s life. He couldn’t doubt my loyalty; it was the only way to keep her safe. Safe and hidden.
For now.
“How?” My quiet question was aimed at the beautiful man, not the king.
He blinked once, then murmured, “Only under the Goddess’s rays may you wish for it.”
His voice sent me back to another time, another place. One I didn’t recognize but knew in the marrow of my bones. Another shiver rolled through me, settling in a way I refused to acknowledge. Not now. Not ever.
I dug my fingers into my palm, willing the sharp pain to bring me back from distraction. I couldn’t get lost in him and this strange feeling, not with what I was about to do.
Instead, I focused on his words. He must mean Vanimalis, Goddess of the Sun.
I glanced to the king again. “I need to stand in the sun.”
Terym made a small noise of impatience and gestured to the tent’s entrance. I shuffled past him and into the sunlight, a procession of lords following me.
Clear of the shadows created by the sea of tents, I found a small space that encompassed my entire body with the sun’s rays.
“Like this?” I asked the man.
