The raging chasm threatening to split my chest open only deepened as I took in the new threat standing cloaked in darkness.
An onslaught of nausea hit me the second we landed in this unknown place, though it was initially masked by myemotional turmoil. My stomach lurched, bile rising before I could stop it, and I lost its contents all over the man’s shoes.
‘Oh, what the fuck?’ he groaned in disgust, jumping back and wiping the sick off on the grass. ‘They’re new as well. You owe me!’
‘What am I doing here?!’ I shouted. Torrents of fire erupted from me on instinct, spiralling around my arms and down my back like a living cloak. Unable to see what was happening behind me, my flames, like sentient beings, would have to warn me of danger.
‘Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?’ the man drawled, entirely unimpressed.
The sun. It had been nearly dawn when I arrived back at the castle, yet this land was still blanketed in moonlight.
How far had he taken me?
Hyperventilating, but desperate for answers, I screamed, ‘Who are you?!’
‘Alec.’ Shooting me a mock salute, he turned and began walking leisurely toward a large wooden estate ahead. ‘The house is there. You’re cordially invited, but not as a human torch.’
I stood dumbfounded, watching him stroll away. At last, I rushed to catch up, not knowing where I was or why, too hesitant to stay alone.
‘Release me!’ I demanded, gaining on him, venom burning in my voice. ‘Now!’
‘Pardon me, but I don’t see any shackles. Unless you mean it metaphorically, in the inconceivable expectations the universe forces upon us? Then I can’t help with that either.’ the man chuckled, joyful and unbothered, taking in the dishevelled mess that was me.
‘Is this a joke to you? You just kidnapped me!’
‘Such strong words. I merely brought you home,’ he said without breakingstride.
‘Well, thank you for the invitation, but I’d like to go back. Where am I even?’
‘Isles of Shadow, of course.’ His dark eyes gleamed with mock perplexity. ‘Would you rather return to a man who sees your worth as equivalent to cattle he can trade as he pleases?’
The need to defend River bloomed in my chest before I could crush it. ‘His brother’s cursed.’
The kidnapper reeled back, grimacing. ‘So you’re worth a measly cleanse?’
Anger surged through me. Who did this man think he was, talking to me like that?
‘The value of something depends on its availability,’ I shot back, raising an eyebrow. ‘Why did you bring me here? To criticise my personal life?’
‘Perhaps you need a reality check,’ he said lazily. ‘My job was to bring you here for the Lord of Isles, and I don’t dabble in therapy, which, I might add, you clearly need.’
What a complete arse.
Men were a constant hassle, a plague of thorns I was forever stepping on. And this one would pay for it.
‘Why. The. Fuck. Am. I. Here?’ Maybe speaking to him as if he were mentally challenged could get me a straight answer, since he clearly lacked basic comprehension skills. It took two to dialogue, and the bastard had a tenacity for monologues.
Following him, I couldn’t help but notice how different this place felt. Gone was the liveliness of Fogoya; here, the land pulsed with something strange and inquisitive, like it couldn’t decide if it welcomed me or not. The air itself felt heavier, as if shadows had weight.
Clusters of speckled, bioluminescent flowers, snowdrops in deep blue, glimmered across long stretches of dark grass.
Black grass.
My witch senses hummed uneasily. My green power itched to explore it, but dread outweighed curiosity. How had I managed to get myself kidnapped for the second time?
We neared an elaborate carved door lit by bright lanterns on either side. My abductor shoved it open with his still-soiled boot and announced, ‘She’s your problem now.’
What an insufferable prick. He’d dared to snatch me from my… River’s kingdom and still acted like I was the intruder.
