Chapter 11
Terror cuts off my voice. I shove Rian’s chest, but I may as well be pushing a stone wall. His grip moves to my sleeved biceps just before he flips me.
The cot sinks when I land, the wood frame groaning in protest when Rian’s weight presses down on me. His broad hips separate my legs, and his eyes glow silver, the light revealing the sharp fangs snapping in my face.
“Who are you?”
My lungs seize when the cool bite of a dagger lands against my throat.
I take a staggered breath and choke out, “Rian…it’s me.”
His silver irises swirl like smelted astlerium in a crucible. I don’t think he hears me. His eyes are unfocused, like he’s trapped in a nightmare.
I press my fingers into his chest and swallow. Panic flares when metal presses harder against my skin. “Rian…please.”
“Tell the king to send someone better next time.” Hatred seeps into his tone.
The dagger presses deeper. I hiss at the sting, and a trickle of blood rolls down my throat. Rian’s dazed eyes flash, and his nostrils flare. His fangs descend farther.
“Rian!” I cry, twisting my arm to reach up and grab the wrist holding the dagger.
A bolt of fire tears through my palm, and the magic sleeping in my veins goes haywire. “Ah!”
I tear my hand away, breathless. The burning ceases, but a phantom sensation lingers.
What in the six hells was that?
The tent is dark aside from the glow of Rian’s eyes, but the shadows adorning my arms twitch and slither. My magic whimpers in the back of my head.
Was it not Darius’s curse that caused me pain? Are all Fae able to debilitate a human with something as simple as skin contact?
I’m so preoccupied with my thoughts, I don’t immediately notice Rian’s eyes have lost their faraway look. He wrenches back. The weight on top of me disappears, and I dismiss the odd sense of loss that flows through me.
Disbelief flares in Rian’s molten eyes as he stares at me from his position at the end of the cot. I sit up and scoot as far as I can without falling off the other side. I couldn’t stand if I tried. Not with how my entire body shakes.
“Elara.” His voice is low, rough. The silver glow in his eyes begins to fade. “What are you doing here?”
I rub my neck where the dagger pressed against my skin, my fingers coming away sticky with blood.
I take a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart. “I-I was looking for someone to take me home.”
A stream of moonlight comes through the tent flap, shining on Rian’s face. He frowns as he stares at my throat.
Silver flares brightly before he blinks, and the unnatural hue is gone. “Jaxon was meant to take you home hours ago.”
I bend my legs and wrap my arms around my knees, hugging them to my body. “Well, as you can see, he didn’t.”
His gaze flits over my face, then my body, focusing on my hand—the one I used to grab his wrist.
“I hurt you.”
I tighten my hold on my legs. “It’s fine.”
He lifts an arm.
I flinch.
His lips flatten, then he snaps his fingers.
Light flows back into the lantern on the table next to him.
“Wow.” My gaze shifts between him and the lantern. “I didn't know Fae could manipulate fire.”
“We don’t. I simply withdrew my shadows.”
I frown. “Oh.”
A huff that almost sounds like amusement leaves his mouth. “You sound disappointed, Sunshine.”
“Not disappointed. Just confused. Fae magic is a mystery.” I swallow and stare at the flame flickering behind the smoky glass before dragging my eyes back to him. “And don’t call me Sunshine.”
Fae are dangerous. I have no business making demands of the powerful creatures who rule our land. But I just…couldn’t help myself.
Fortunately, Rian ignores my demand. “You have questions about our magic?”
I tilt my head to the side. “Wouldn't you?”
His expression is unreadable as his gaze searches mine. “Shadowbound Fae don’t have elemental power. Our magic comes from our shadows.”
He says it like it’s a disadvantage. A burden.
“Your kind seems powerful enough without it.”
His eyes lock onto me with the force of a predator sighting prey. “Indeed.”
I avert my gaze, mortified to feel my cheeks heat under his scrutiny as awareness of the fact I’m alone with a Fae male in bed seeps into my mind.
Well, on a bed. A cot.
But still…we’re alone. And the intense way he looks at me has me on edge. I don’t know what he’s thinking.
“How is Darius’s treatment going?” he asks.
“Great,” I clip out, holding my legs tighter. “I’m making great progress.”
“I taste your lies.”
My head snaps up. “What? Really?”
“No.” He grins.
My breath catches.
Woah.
I acknowledged the otherworldly beauty of the Fae males when they crashed the town meeting, but that smile… It transforms Rian’s face. It highlights his strong, masculine features and brightens his smoky eyes framed by lush, dark lashes.
“Was…was that a joke?” I croak.
“Yes. And one I’m surprised you fell for, Sunshine.”
I bristle. “Excuse me for not knowing the extent of all your little magic tricks.”
“Trust me, nothing about my power is little—or a trick.” His voice drops into a dangerous cadence as a shadow peels from his shoulder, gliding across the tent like smoke.
It caresses the lantern’s glass, swallowing its light until the space plunges into darkness, then slithers back to coil against his frame.
The shadows buried in my own skin stir restlessly, flickering up my forearms.
I force myself to meet Rian’s stare. “Are you trying to scare me?”
“That depends.” Two more shadows slink from him, sleek as vipers, winding down his arms before curling around his waist. They climb back up, tugging at his shirt, baring a strip of golden skin at his throat.
My breath hitches. “On what?”
His head tilts, predatory, shadows rippling with the motion. “Do you want to be scared?”
The air in the tent grows thick, oppressive.
My scowl feels brittle against the sudden chill in my veins. “Why would I want to be scared?”
“Because fear”—His voice is a silken blade—“reminds humans that Fae are their enemies. And if we are your enemy, it gives you permission to act against us.”
Ice trickles through me. “I’m not acting against you.”
His lips twitch, neither smile nor snarl.
“Not you,” he concedes. Shadows flicker sharper along his jaw. “But the rebellion? That’s another story.”
My stomach twists violently. “Are you honestly saying the rebellion is real?”
“Trust me.” His eyes flash silver once more. “It’s real.”
“That’s…hard to believe.”
“Why?”
I scoff and wave a hand toward him and the shadows gliding over his flesh. “Because you’re Fae. You have powers humans can’t hope to fight against and win.”
We’ve already tried once, and look where that got us.
“You underestimate your kind.”
“Do I?”
The Shadow Wars made it clear Fae are the stronger race. Their magic enabled them to conquer our continent with relative ease. Humans had no chance.
“Yes.” Rian’s stare bores into mine. Thoughts swirl among the smoky darkness. “You do.”
My pulse spikes.
If he’s being honest and humans are capable of undermining Fae, then rumors of a rebellion are even more dangerous for my fellow Verdanthians.
“There are no rebels here,” I insist.
“How do you know?”
“Because we are all too busy trying to survive.” I throw my hands in the air. “No one has the time or energy to waste working with a pointless rebellion.”
He shrugs a broad shoulder. “All the more reason for your kind to rebel against their oppressors, don’t you think?”
I snap my mouth closed and frown. “Do you have any proof there’s a rebellion here? Have you spoken to the Elders, to anyone, aside from me, about it?”
“Why would I do that? If you fulfill our deal, it won’t matter if a rebellion exists or not. My brothers and I will keep our word and leave your town alone.”
My burden grows heavier. “You’d really condemn Verdanthia if I fail?”
“I will do what I must to protect my own.” His eyes harden. “As would your people.”
Typical Fae.
Why did I expect a different response?
One semi-cordial conversation doesn’t erase the fact that I’m beholden to him because of a deal I’m unlikely to fulfill. Especially not a conversation that began with a dagger pressed against my throat.
“You’re wrong.” I release my legs, swing them over the cot, and stand.
“About what?”
I look back at the male still sitting on the cot. His posture is relaxed, but the tension drawing at his mouth is hard to miss.
I answer, “Not all Verdanthians would punish innocents for others’ failures.”
“You do not know all your history, then.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Rian rises. “Tell me truthfully, how is your progress with Darius?”
A sassy retort sits on my tongue, but the flicker of concern breaking through his smoky, sharp gaze makes me swallow it.
“I don’t know… I’m not sure anything I’ve done so far has made a difference, but I’m hopeful that will change soon.”
Just as soon as I find a miraculous cure in the forbidden Fae book in my satchel.
“I see.” The shadows flowing over Rian’s body press against his shirt, their color deepening into the hue of the darkest night. “Well…we all appreciate your continued efforts.”
I think of Draven’s threats that punctuate every demand he makes when he speaks to me and snort. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
“You had a choice.” His gaze pins me in place, dark and unyielding. “You chose to speak up in that meeting hall.”
“Others would have suffered if I stayed silent.”
“Most of the humans in that room wouldn’t have been swayed by such a sentiment.”
“Well, I’m not like most humans,” I snap.
My quiet magic trills in my blood, as if agreeing with me.
“No,” he murmurs, the word thrumming with heat. His gaze drags over me. “You are not.”
My heart thumps, and my core tightens as the molten silver light shines once more in his smoky eyes. The hand that touched his wrist tingles.
What is happening to me?
Rian is Fae. I can’t let his predatory good looks make me lose my head. No matter how he’s staring at me right now…
I drop my gaze.