Chapter 17 #2
“It was necessary,” Lorcan said after a minute. “Rasimir doesn’t hold dominion in the sky. At least not yet.”
“How did you know the werewolves were going to attack last night?” Too late, I realized the question placed us perilously close to discussing his kiss.
He glanced at me. “I told you. Rasimir wanted to show you off in front of the court. You drained the merman under controlled conditions.” Lorcan’s jaw flexed. “Rasimir is impatient. He wanted to know if you were capable of performing when it counts.”
Anger kindled in my gut. “You could have warned me sooner. And if you ever threaten to spank me again, you’ll regret it.”
Another glance, this one accompanied by a lifted brow.
“It got your attention. As for warning you, too much advance notice would have made you nervous. Worse, you could have slipped and given us both away. Rasimir is a master at ferreting out emotion. Your face is…expressive. You need to learn to be cold around him.”
The acrobat tumbled through my memory, his power and grace a splash of beauty against the courtiers’ bloodlust. “Is that what you were doing when you murdered the glomarid? Being cold?”
Lorcan met my stare and held it. “You’re awfully bold for someone five thousand feet in the air.”
My stomach wobbled. “You won’t drop me. I’m a legendary creature, remember?”
He shifted his gaze to a distant point ahead of us. “Maybe there’s a reason your kind are so rare.”
A jest? Impossible. But I was right. He wanted me to kill Rasimir. He wouldn’t ruin all of his scheming by letting me fall. And apparently, the sky was a safe place to talk. Which meant Lorcan was a captive audience.
“Can you read minds?”
“No.”
“Can Rasimir?”
Lorcan looked at me again. “Only a handful of witches possess the gift of pulling thoughts from another’s head.
And it’s a heavy burden. They live in the north, where it’s cold and isolated, and they train for years to control the constant flow of others’ thoughts.
Even with training, many go insane. Years ago, Rasimir considered hunting one of the mind-keepers and taking the gift.
He eventually decided it was too risky.”
But he spied on my dreams. At least, Delphine had seemed to hint at that being the case. Not even my bed was safe. Still, relief coursed through me knowing I didn’t have to shield my thoughts.
“What did Rasimir want to talk to you about last night?” I asked. “You left with him right after the attack.”
Lorcan returned his gaze to a spot in the distance. “The wedding.”
Despite our steady position in the air, my stomach did another precarious wobble. “We have to get out of it.”
His wings buffeted the air. “As I told you last night, you have the power to change things.”
“Yes, but now I only have two weeks.”
“Then you’ll have to learn quickly.”
He made it sound like I was picking up a new hobby. No big deal. Learn to knit. Practice singing. Overthrow a murderous tyrant.
“You don’t want to marry me either,” I said, hearing the frustration in my voice. “You have just as big of a stake in making sure a wedding doesn’t come to pass.” Because you care for Vander. The words trembled on my tongue.
But Vander had kissed me. Touched me. And then let me know it affected him. How would that impact Lorcan?
Maybe it already had. If Lorcan knew Vander had followed me to my room last night, that might explain why we were meeting Vander separately.
I chewed the inside of my cheek.
“Ask your question,” Lorcan said quietly.
My stomach did its third cartwheel of the morning. “You said you couldn’t read minds.”
His chest swelled against my shoulder as he sighed. “I also said you’re terrible at disguising your emotions. You should practice in front of a mirror.”
“Something to do between murders. Why didn’t you and Vander fetch me together this morning? You couldn’t carry two people with your wings?”
Lorcan gave me a look. “Rasimir demands absolute loyalty. He doesn’t have ex-advisers.
Only dead ones. If he suspected Vander and I were planning to overthrow him, he’d kill us both.
It’s best if he believes we dislike each other to the point of spending as little time in each other’s presence as possible.
We’ve worked hard to cultivate that impression. ”
My heart skipped a beat. “Rasimir came to my room before the ball last night. He asked if I trusted you and Vander.”
Black eyes flicked over me. “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing,” I said, and I bit my tongue before I could add that the Drachvis’ arrival had saved me from answering.
Lorcan’s expression didn’t change. “A wise response. Hang on.” Abruptly we began to descend.
Clouds whipped past, and a feeling of weightlessness made me tighten my grip on his neck.
The wind burned my eyes, so I turned my head into his chest and closed them.
As soon as possible, I’d confront Vander about what happened after the ball.
The problem was, private moments were almost impossible to come by in the Drakhold.
“ Zid vedara ,” Lorcan murmured.
I squinted up at the underside of his jaw. “Vander called that the ‘don’t notice me’ ward.”
Lorcan nodded. “Two vor s in one. Zid means ‘wall.’ Vedara means ‘forget.’ Together, they create a ward that discourages people from wandering too close.” He tightened his grip. “This will get bumpy.”
I squeezed my eyes shut once more as we began to spin. Never again would I complain about walking.
“Touching down,” Lorcan said a second later. The wind ceased, and my body jolted. When I opened my eyes, beauty surrounded me. We’d landed in a forest, but not the one outside the Drakhold.
No, this place was different. Softer. Flowers spread over moss-covered ground.
Trees stretched their limbs into the air and then tilted, their branches tangling with their neighbors to form a canopy.
Flowers bloomed there, too, tiny blue and white blossoms mingling with glowing orbs.
The lights twinkled everywhere. They had to number in the thousands.
“The lights are the same as the ones in the Drakhold,” I said as Lorcan set me on my feet. A smile pulled at my lips as I wandered forward. Some of the lights bobbed in the air, their flights carrying them into the ceiling of branches. “They’re beautiful.”
“They shine more brightly when they’re free.”
I turned back as Lorcan buttoned his jacket. His wings were gone, his eyes clear.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He nodded toward the weaving lights. “They’re hobflies. A species of fairies too small to see with the naked eye except for their light. Rasimir killed their king centuries ago. He keeps their queen under a glass in his chamber. The hobflies serve to ensure her safety.”
Nausea swept me. Every chandelier. Every candle. Each time Delphine brought a lamp, she added more captives to my chamber.
I had to swallow before I could speak. “Is anything in Nocta free from Rasimir’s cruelty?”
“No,” Vander said, stepping from behind a tree. “Nothing in Nocta is free.” He looked past me to Lorcan. “Took you long enough.”
Lorcan smoothed his hair as he moved to my side. “Headwinds.”
They stared at each other, and my nape tingled. Was I imagining tension?
Vander grunted.
No. The tension was real.
Finally, Vander glanced around. “We shouldn’t linger.” He extended a hand to me. “Come, Princess.”
My throat dry, I took it, letting him guide me forward. “ Zid ,” he murmured, and blue raced from one tree to another. Vander brought me to a halt, his silver eyes finding mine. “ Mesu .”
The Everless materialized, its soaring wall, ruined steps, and solemn statue the same as before.
I looked around. When I turned back to Vander, he watched me as if he’d never stopped. My stomach did a flip. “What does mes —?” My throat closed. An invisible fist squeezed the air from my lungs.
“ Mesu means ‘middle,’?” Vander said, guessing my question.
Lorcan strode to the grass. He stopped and faced Vander and me, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Time to train.”