Reagan held her stare with a stiff, unbending stance, as if he were weighing the options. To my desperation, he nodded, muttering a low farewell and leaving the room.
I hesitated before following him, taking one last look at the judge. “Why am I going to need luck?” I asked when we were alone.
She released a weary sigh, lifting her gaze to meet mine again. “Because, Miss Darling, as a human, your position is not free of concern. Not merely because you are among a kind that has advantages over you, but also due to the hazardous position ofthatlord”—she extended a frail finger toward the door through which Reagan had left—“who rules the very territory where you now find yourself. He is already facing a sentence of his own, with far graver stakes and more dangerous foes circling him. My advice is: keep your wits about you.”
I cursed inwardly, debating whether to ask if that man was at fault for this. When I didn’t say anything, she turned her head to the desk. A silent dismissal.
I fought the urge to argue against the sentence she gave me and left. I was almost out of breath when I caught up with Reagan in the hallway.
“What if you just take me to the train station and let me go? Would she come after me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
It was as if he’d already accepted that there was no other option.
“Well, there’s got to be something else that you can try,” I urged, the despair palpable in my voice. “I told you, I can’t stay here. I have a life. I have people waiting—”
He scoffed, coming to a sharp stop in the corridor. “I’m sorry,” he said, taking a slow step toward me, pressing me closer to the wall. “Did I somehow give you the impression that my priority is catering to your needs? Let me make myself clear.” His tone turned cold as he leaned in, his shoulders looming over me. “I have no interest in breaking the law to free you from your sentence, nor could I care less about your life. You’re coming with me because the law requires it, but thesecondyou put my people at risk, and trust me, your presence here is a risk to every mageborn alive, I won’t hesitate to end you and call it a necessary precaution to protect us. Is that clear?”
I sealed my mouth, taking a scant step back, my attention entirely on that cold anger. All my instincts told me not to speak. I nodded once, keeping my face neutral, and he resumed his walk.
A quiet exhale relieved the pressure in my chest. I fell into step behind him, my eyes locking on the back of Reagan’s head. What would that threat entail if it came to that?
We reached the elevator without exchanging another word. A queasy feeling hit my stomach when his arm wrapped around my waist again.
Beside the angry man next to me, the nausea came from a thought in my head. When my family found out I had vanished, I wasn’t sure if they would be able to find me, nor if I wanted them to risk it. I tried not to let the creeping, unhelpful desperation take hold.
Instead, I drew a slow, deliberate breath, willing myself to stay steady. I could bide my time, wait for a window. But I would not stay here.
CHAPTER 3
“Why can’t people know about you?” I asked, sitting at the edge of a long, rectangular dining table, surrounded by the same distrustful faces as before.
When we returned to the ominous, forsaken castle, the Mage Lord had summoned his staff for a meeting, announcing that, despite the obvious discomfort my presence caused, I would be staying. The others showed little reaction.
“It’s not just about us,” Gwinifer drawled, twirling a dagger between her fingers. The candlelight glinted off the blade as she leaned back in her chair, legs crossed. “All those capable of wielding power are kept secret. Humans don’t handle power disparities very well.”
Reagan smirked. He had been bitter since we arrived, but now he glanced at me with amusement. “A brave bunch.”
Gwinifer gave a throaty chuckle.
The apathetic tones, the mockery—it all made my skin prickle.
“Yes, very amusing,” Barracus added flatly. “It will be particularly entertaining the moment she runs off, reaches human territory, and tells the first person she sees.”
Silence followed, the others turning their gaze to the older man. The long shadows cast by the flames danced across the walls, the movement terribly lively for the tension that settled.
Reagan clicked his tongue, breaking the quiet.
“What exactly do you propose, Barracus? Should I challenge Malory on this?”
“No, the woman doesn’t like to be countered,” Cerridwen said, examining her nails.
“What if I said I would keep your secret if you let me go?” I asked, though it was a desperate attempt at this point.
Still, their flippancy was beginning to gnaw at me. I had hesitated to ask again ever since his threat in the Court.
“So you say,” Gwinifer mused, her expression shifting into a wry smile. “But can we trust you?”
