Chapter 8 #4
Only a moment before, I’d been ready to confess, and I wasn’t sure I could’ve continued my lies if it’d been Hannan who’d walked in. But Daegal and his instant distrust ignited a sense of defiance in me, willing me to keep fighting. If not for me, then for Lili.
“You didn’t know your little signal spell worked, and I’ve seen them teach teenagers that one.
Besides,“ he pointed at me, and I suppressed the urge to look away as his eyes studied me. “You don’t seem too bright. You’re physically weak as well, so that couldn’t have helped you escape either. So how did you escape?”
My cheeks reddened and my hands grew sweaty. He stared at me nonchalantly, crossing one ankle over the other.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I hissed, storming toward him, and prodding him harshly in the chest with my forefinger.
Our eyes were level as he was perched on the table, eyes flicking to me in alarm at my sudden outburst. Though that was the only sign he showed that I’d surprised him.
The rest of him remained annoyingly calm.
“I escaped. It was pure luck, but I did it.”
He shot a suspicious look at my bag that I’d dumped on the floor, then cocked an eyebrow at me and my clothes.
“With all your stuff?” he asked in a superior tone that told me he thought he had me cornered. As he waved his hand dismissively in front of my face, the smell of sweet citrus and earth filled the air.
“I stole it back,” I retaliated quickly.
“You stole it back?” he repeated mockingly.
“Do you have to repeat it to understand it? And you call me stupid,” I sneered, and his warm eyes sparked in anger.
He stood up to his full height, making me back away to avoid getting bumped by his broad chest. He followed my movement, stepping toward me. My fight or flight instincts sharpened as he did so, and I was careful to not get caught between him and the wall.
He smirked, snapping his fingers, displaying the many silver rings he wore around them.
A string of sunlight encircled the both of us, and I leapt forward as I felt the hot sensation on the small of my back.
A small whip of light shot from his hand, slamming the door shut. My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I stared up at him. The image of Kenric swam before me as the whip disappeared. My body ached with phantom wounds.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled, tugging my hair in front of me to avoid it catching on fire. Daegal was a lightcaster. It was all the explanation I needed for his abysmal behavior.
The bodily decorations suddenly made sense. Tattoos curled up his arms in intricate details and his pierced ears were decorated in silver. A matching chain dangled loosely from his wrist.
Noticing me examining him, he laughed mockingly. “Yes, I’m a suncaster, Prudence. I’m still more of a rebel than you’ll ever be.”
Suncaster.
Before I had the time to process his words, he asked again. “How did you escape?”
His hand hovered at my eye-level, his fingers ready to snap if I didn’t confess. He didn’t know I’d endured way worse pain than he could ever put me through.
“You think you can scare me into confessing something that isn’t true?” I hissed. “What would Hannan say if he knew you were doing this?” I tilted my head slightly back to look at him, challenging his stare.
Even if I hadn’t been here more than an hour, I could tell Hannan was important. Daegal had obeyed him the few times he’d shown authority.
“He won’t find out, will he?” he said, almost snapping his fingers again. Before he had the chance, I grabbed onto his hand tightly with both of my own.
“Don’t,” I warned. “I’ll tell you my story when the others are present too. I don’t like to repeat myself.”
He shook his head at me, stray dark locks falling into his eyes. “Do you not understand the situation you’re in, Prudence?” My name sounded poisonous on his lips.
“I’m supposedly safe now, correct? I was a prisoner, and I escaped,” I said, pulling the shadows close around us to demonstrate my own, feeble powers.
“Now, instead of being taunted by Defenders and guards, I’m stuck with a giant, pouty conspiracist,” I finished, releasing the shadows at last to stop my cold fingers from twitching.
His eyes darkened as he jerked his hand from my grasp.
He didn’t acknowledge my display of dark magic at all.
His hand dropped to his side and the heat on my back disappeared.
“I’ll watch your every step,” he said calmly, brushing past me toward the door.
“And when you finally slip up, I’ll be there to… catch you.”
A clever spin on the familiar phrase normally used for comfort promised my demise instead.
I loathed him. He flung the door open and left, leaving it ajar.
I welcomed the cool breeze, still feeling the hot magic that had encircled me a moment ago.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I released a breath, shaky from rage and defeat.
I jolted as his low voice rumbled from the doorframe again.
“Welcome to the district, neighbor.”