Chapter 10
Isla
I pull on my magic with everything I have, feeling it surge through my veins like wildfire. The silks respond instantly, wrapping around Sebastian’s chest. I yank hard, using both my natural strength and the full force of my magic.
It feels good to let it flow. To wield it without restraint.
It’s also terrifying, but I won’t think about that right now.
Sebastian flies upward, his body rising from the courtyard in a blur of motion. The guards below shout in alarm, their voices fading as I haul him higher and higher.
My arms burn with the effort. My magic flares, hot and bright, beneath my skin. The silk cuts into my palms, but I don’t let go. I can’t. Up he comes. My heart pounds so hard I can hear it in my ears.
Finally, he reaches the top, pulling himself up. I help him scramble up, unwrapping the silk from around his torso as his feet find purchase on the stone.
For a moment, we just stare at each other.
Kakara help me because he’s utterly devastating.
His dark hair is wild, falling to his shoulders. His eyes are something else. They should look unnatural, freakish even, but on him they’re…utterly beautiful.
His shoulders are impossibly broad. He is all male with a frame that makes it clear he’s spent years training. He looks deadly in every possible way.
Heat coils low in my belly, moving down…down…until it settles between my legs.
I’ve been with a man before. I’m not some na?ve maiden. But I’ve never felt this immediate, overwhelming pull toward another person.
For a split second, I regret saving him.
Then an arrow whistles past my ear, so close I feel the rush of air against my skin.
“Who are you?” he growls.
Why would he ask such a thing at a moment like this?
“Now is not the time. We need to move!” I shout, grabbing his arm.
More arrows fly toward us. One grazes Sebastian’s shoulder, leaving a red line across his skin. He doesn’t so much as flinch.
Guards pour into the courtyard below. More are emerging onto the adjacent towers, their bows already drawn.
I’m sure that even now, they are climbing the tower stairs. They will be here soon. I may have rescued him, but we’re still in terrible danger.
“Hold on to me,” I tell him.
“What—?” he starts to say.
I don’t give him time to finish. I throw the loose end of my silk toward the next tower, using my magic to guide it, to make it wrap around the far edge. Then I grab Sebastian around the waist, using the end of my silk to bind us together.
“Wrap your arms around me. Now!” I shout as I leap from the edge.
We swing through the air, suspended by the silk. The ground falls away beneath us. Wind rushes past my face.
Sebastian’s arms close around me, his body pressed against my back. He’s solid and warm, all hard muscle and coiled strength. His breath is hot against my ear, quick and unsteady.
The contact sends a jolt through me.
We reach the next tower. I catch the edge with my free hand, using my momentum to pull us up and over. My feet hit stone. Sebastian’s do the same a heartbeat later.
There are more arrows and more shouts. The fae guards run after us.
We’re going to have to be very quick if we have any hope of getting away. I release my hold on him and throw the silk again, this time toward a lower rooftop. The crimson fabric flies through the air like a living thing, responding to my will as much as my physical movement.
“Do not let go!” I tell him.
His arms wrap around me from behind, his chest presses against my back. One of his hands finds my waist, the other crosses over my shoulders.
I leap, swinging us toward the lower roof. We fly through the night air, suspended between towers. An arrow whistles past so close I feel the air displace.
We land on the sloped roof of one of the castle’s outbuildings. My feet slip on the tiles, but Sebastian steadies me, his arms tightening around my waist.
I gasp.
The guards are climbing the towers now, following our path. More are moving through the courtyard below, trying to anticipate where we’ll land next.
I need to even the odds.
I reach for my magic again, this time pulling at something deeper. Something I’ve kept carefully hidden for years.
My shadows.
They pour from me like smoke, dark and writhing. They spread across the rooftop, then down the walls, creating a thick veil of darkness that swallows everything. Within seconds, we’re completely obscured.
I hear Sebastian’s sharp intake of breath beside me.
“You’re shadowfae,” he says, sounding confused.
My ears are rounded, so I don’t blame his confusion.
“Still not the time,” I whisper.
The guards below shout in confusion. I hear them stumbling around, unable to see through the shadows.
“We need to get down,” Sebastian whispers. “Can you—?”
“Yes.” I wrap the silk around both of us, creating a secure hold. “Hold on. Keep very quiet,” I whisper.
We rappel down the side of the building, moving through my shadows like ghosts. The silk slides through my hands in a controlled descent. Sebastian’s weight presses against me.
Our feet touch the ground. My silk flutters down.
We’re in a narrow alley between two buildings. The shadows here are thick, concealing us from view. The guards run past the mouth of the alley, their boots pounding against cobblestones.
We crouch together in the darkness, our bodies pressed close. Sebastian’s hand finds mine, his fingers warm. He squeezes once, as if to say we’re going to make it.
I squeeze back, hoping he’s right.
More guards thunder past. Torches flicker in the distance. Shouts echo off the stone walls. If they look into the alley, all they will see is darkness and undisturbed shadows.
“Search everywhere!” someone yells. “They can’t have gone far!”
I maintain my shadows, keeping them thick and impenetrable. It takes concentration, especially when my heart is racing, and my body is still humming from the adrenaline of our near escape.
We’re not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot.
Sebastian leans close, his mouth near my ear. “We need to move. Stay low and follow my lead. I know of a safe haven.”
I nod, even though he probably can’t see me do it.
We move through the alley, staying in a crouch. My legs burn from the awkward position, but I don’t complain. Sebastian keeps hold of my hand, guiding me through the darkness.
We emerge onto another narrow street. Sebastian pulls me against the wall, keeping us in the shadows. His body is pressed against mine, shielding me from view, his heart pounding against my back. Or maybe that’s my own heart. It’s hard to tell when we’re this close.
I look up when bells toll from the castle towers and trumpets blast.
Footsteps approach. Two guards round the corner, their swords drawn. They step into my shadow cloak, which means they can now see us. I start to panic. I’ve never used my magic against anyone before. I’m not sure I want to. I freeze.
Sebastian springs to action. He steps away from me, his hand already reaching for the sword at the first guard’s hip. Using the element of surprise, he grabs the weapon and yanks it free before the guard can react, then spins and slams the pommel into the man’s temple.
The guard drops like a stone.
The second guard lunges; his blade slashes toward Sebastian’s chest. Sebastian feints, ducks, and drives his shoulder into the guard’s chest. The fae’s breath is pushed out of him with an “Oomph.”
The guard stumbles backward. Sebastian follows him, punching the male square in the jaw, disarming him with a quick twist of his wrist. He grabs the sword before it can clatter to the ground. The guard falls into a heap. He’s unconscious. The king must pack some punch.
The whole thing takes less than five seconds. If I’d blinked too long, I would have missed it.
One of the guards moans.
“We need to go,” Sebastian whispers.
I nod, refocusing on the shadows around us. I pour more power into them, making them thicker, being sure not to let them spread too far away from us.
Sebastian takes my hand again. We move quickly but carefully, staying close to the walls, sticking to the dark.
More guards run past, their shouts growing more frantic.
Thankfully, they can’t see us. My shadows keep us hidden.
We reach the south wall. Sebastian crouches next to a drain hidden behind overgrown bushes.
I frown.
He pulls the grate aside, revealing a dark opening below.
He gestures for me to go inside.
I have to trust that he knows this castle – he is the Shadowfae King, after all; this is technically his court – so I lower myself into the passage using a metal ladder. Sebastian follows immediately after, pulling the grate closed before he descends.
The darkness down here is complete. I let my shadows dissipate, conserving my energy. My arms are shaking from holding them for so long.
“I used this drain to sneak out when I was young. This way,” Sebastian says. “Stay close.”
We move through the passage. It’s narrow and damp, the walls slimy with moisture. I cover my nose because of the stench.
After what feels like forever, we reach the exit. Fresh air washes over my face as we emerge into the forest beyond the castle grounds.
We don’t stop. Sebastian pulls me forward, moving quickly through the trees. He seems to know exactly where he’s going.
Behind us, the shouts grow distant. But they’re still there. Still searching.
We reach a dirt road. Sebastian pauses, looking both ways. Then he pulls me to the left, moving at a run now into the forest on the other side.
We plunge into the dense bush, shrubs, and trees. I’m grateful for the advanced vision my fae blood has gifted me.
Sebastian still holds my hand tightly. By now, I’m exhausted, my breathing coming in rapid pants. The only thing that’s keeping me going is the fear of capture. This time, they won’t let me go.
My secret is out.
There’s shouting from not too far behind us, and adrenaline floods my system. I need to do something, or we might get caught.