Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
T he strange woman stayed on her knees before me, looking up at me like I was a damn deity or something, and I couldn’t help the grin that pulled at my mouth.
She was a stunning creature, though I wasn’t entirely certain she really was a woman at all with the way she seemed to be able to shift her features - or grow a fucking penis if she wanted one - and the shifting metallic hue of her skin was more than a little unusual.
Her purple hair swayed around her shoulders like she was underwater, and I found myself staring at it as it kept moving like that, despite the fact that there wasn’t so much as a breeze blowing right now.
“So if I just tell you I want the wealth I need to present myself as a suitor for the princess of Osaria then you’ll do the rest?
” I asked her dubiously. I seriously wanted to believe in all the things she claimed to be, but I had more than a little mistrust of magic, and I was still waiting for some trick or curse to present itself.
Cassius seemed to be expecting an attack at any moment, barely blinking as he watched her unwaveringly.
“Yes,” she breathed and the way she was looking at me made me feel like she might even love me, her eyes fixed on every move I made, and her lips parted to allow shallow breaths to pass between them as she stared.
It was…well fuck, strange didn’t even cover it.
I didn’t know what to make of it at all and I certainly knew I was deserving of no such emotion as love.
No doubt she’d quickly figure that out for herself too.
I snorted a laugh at the turn of events, wondering if I really could be that fucking lucky.
“Why don’t I just ask you to make me the emperor then?” I asked, wondering if Cassius had been right in thinking that wouldn’t work based on the rules she’d laid out earlier. “Cut out the middle ground?”
“Well, I could make you the emperor of your own empire. But I couldn’t give you anyone to rule over...” she said hesitantly, seeming almost afraid of giving me any answer other than a vehement yes.
“She told you she can’t affect other people,” Cassius muttered and I got the feeling this was pissing him off a bit.
He’d come so close to claiming the coin for himself and now he had to watch me wielding its power instead.
That had to sting like a salty little bitch, but it really wasn’t my problem. Sucked to be him right now.
“Alright. Cassius here came up with an idea for me to enter the royal pageant.”
The magical woman nodded like that made perfect sense, though I doubted it did with how little information I was giving her.
“It’s a series of fights and challenges where I would have to beat every other contestant in order to claim the hand of the princess and become emperor via our marriage,” I explained and understanding sparkled in her eyes.
“So can I wish to win this tournament thing?” I asked, testing the limitations of her power.
She bit her lip nervously then shook her head. “I can’t make you beat someone else because-”
“That would affect them. Got it.” I sighed. This power was starting to seem a little too restricted to me and I hadn’t even made use of it yet.
Kyra’s face dropped as she seemed to realise that I was disappointed and I frowned.
She was seriously hung up on my opinion of her.
I was all for people adoring me, but I wasn’t sure I was so keen on my moods dictating someone else’s like that.
This blind adoration thing might actually get old fast if all she did was stare at me like I was her sun and moon combined.
“Do you wanna maybe stop grovelling at my feet?” I asked, beckoning for her to stand. “And maybe lose the creepy dog collar?”
She shot upright and smiled at me like she could only be happy if I allowed it. “I can make it so that the collar is not visible,” she agreed, touching her fingers to the iron which was clasped tightly around her throat and making it shimmer out of existence.
I stared openly, feeling Cassius’s attention riveted to her just as heavily as my own as we tried to adjust to this casual use of magic which should have been impossible.
The woman shifted a little uncertainly, her gaze never moving from me as she seemed to drink in the sight of me, and I wetted my lips as I tried not to let myself get distracted by the way her thin gown clung to her curves, leaving tantalising glimpses of flesh on show across her waist and chest.
“Are you ready to make your first command then, Master?” she breathed uncertainly.
I don’t hate being called Master though.
I ran my gaze down her body, the way she said that word giving me ideas which probably weren’t the best I’d ever had, but I couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was.
If she hadn’t had silver skin and purple hair, I was certain she would have been a beauty worthy of the songs of heralds, but as I still didn’t really have a grasp on precisely what she was, I was guessing it would be best not to try and make any moves on her.
I glanced at Cassius and he nodded his encouragement, urging me to attempt a command.
I imagined he wasn’t too concerned over the chance of it going horribly wrong for me though – if I died, he would be able to claim the coin and destroy it as he desired all the easier.
But my gut was telling me that wouldn’t happen and I was inclined to trust my instincts. They’d gotten me this far after all.
“Alright. Fuck it. I want you to make me into a suitor good enough for the princess of Osaria,” I said, raising my chin and bracing myself for whatever the fulfilment of that command might cost me, though I was hoping I was right about trusting her word.
Kyra’s bright eyes flared with magic and a warm breeze swept around us.
I flinched at the graze of something against my flesh, shifting uncomfortably as invisible, grasping fingers caressed my skin and the clothes on my body were reformed.
I gasped in shock as instead of practical cotton and linen, I found myself suddenly dressed in finest silk.
My britches were a deep blue, inlaid with what looked a hell of a lot like sapphires around my waist and an ice white tunic fell over my chest, brushing softly against my skin like feather-light kisses.
I felt her magic removing every trace of dirt from my flesh and hair more thoroughly than any bath and I ran a hand through my dark locks, marvelling at the softness of them as I tried to get my head around the idea of something being capable of such incredible power.
It wasn’t natural, something long lost and terrifying, yet here I was bathed in it and didn’t feel all bad.
It felt like something I’d been missing my entire life.
“You look like a prince,” Kyra breathed appreciatively as her magic fell from me like grains of sand spilling across my skin, making the hair on my arms stand on end and a shiver track down my spine before it retreated, leaving me in my finery looking just like one of the powerful, upper Fae bastards I hated so much, and she bit her silver sheened lip as she gazed at me with real warmth in her eyes.
“You look like a peasant in a nice tunic,” Cassius contradicted, backing up a step from me like he could sense the magic hugging my body and I scoffed.
I could tell he was putting on a brave front, not showing an inch of fear in the face of this wild power, but even a royal guard had to be shaken by this.
“Jealous much?” I taunted.
“Hardly. I’m simply stating a fact. You don’t move like a noble. Or talk like one. You certainly don’t act like one. They’ll see you for what you are from a mile off. And just like the way an honourable fight gave me away to The Forty, the way you fight in the pageant will give you away too.”
“So? I thought the rules said any man rich enough to pay the emperor a dowry could put themselves forward for her hand. Why does it matter if I’m low-born?” I asked.
“Technically, it doesn’t. But they’ll wonder where a peasant got all of that money, not to mention the fact that they won’t fucking like it.
And then rumours of some low born Fae entering the pageant will travel to the city, and Egos will hear tales of a handsome commoner who turned up out of nowhere with a fortune in tow just around the same time as you disappeared after heading out to find treasure buried in the desert. ”
“Point taken,” I said with a sigh, having no desire to ever go anywhere near Egos again. I didn’t need him now. Not if Kyra could do what she claimed she could do, so why would I return to him and risk him figuring out what I had claimed for myself?
If this coin and the woman linked to it was even half as powerful as she said, I would never have need of The Forty, The Den, or any of them ever again.
My gut twisted a little at the thought of leaving Pip behind, but what other choice did I have?
Besides, in my position he would have made the same choice in a heartbeat and I wouldn’t expect any less.
“You’ll have to teach me how to fake being a noble, Cass. I could do with a guard anyway if I’m supposed to be rich.”
“The problem is, people know me in the palace,” Cassius pointed out. “I can’t just wander back in there-”
“Kyra, can you disguise him for me?” I asked, wondering if that would break her rules.
“If he agrees to it, I can,” she said, the wind which billowed through her purple hair seeming to pick up in intensity as it was tossed about her even more forcefully. “That’s the only way I can affect anyone with my power besides you directly.”
“And maybe you could disguise yourself too? As Fae? You could be my maid or something? Instead of…well I don’t think you actually got to the part where you told us what you were?”
“I’m a Blessing,” Kyra repeated once more, smiling up at me from her tiny height like that actually meant anything at all.