Chapter 38
My footsteps sound against the mosaic tile with a ring of finality that echoes throughout my entire body.
What am I thinking?
Being around the Shadow Prince is complicated enough in a room full of people.
But alone?
With no buffer to help me fight the pull to him?
It’s downright reckless.
The connection linking me to him, be it from our deal or his incredible power luring in the small amount of Fae blood in my veins, is impossible to ignore when his masculine scent surrounds me, invading my senses.
Rian’s hand rests on the small of my back, searing my skin with delectable heat as he leads me down the corridor, away from the ballroom.
A pair of servants in wide skirts rush to step out of our way, wide eyes gaping at us as we pass.
The shadowed tendril around my wrist has dissipated. I suspect the shadows that had been hovering over Rian have also disappeared, but I’m too nervous to check.
We reach the main staircase.
I pick up the front of my gown and step onto the first stair.
“You’re quiet.”
I nearly trip when Rian speaks the words into my ear.
My cheeks warm. “I’m thinking.”
“Indeed?” On the second landing, Rian steers me left, his hand returning to my back as if he can’t resist touching me. “What are you thinking about?”
I press my lips together and peer at him from the corner of my eye. “You’re hiding things from me.”
His gaze stays forward. “I am.”
I stop walking.
He draws up beside me. When I turn to face him, his hand falls to his side, and he tilts his head.
“What is this, Rian? What do you want with me?”
He uses a single finger to brush a strand of hair over my shoulder.
His touch leaves a trail of sparks in its wake. “You already know.”
I swallow. “I’m working to heal Darius, but my magic… It won’t cooperate.”
His eyes trace the side of my face. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“But what if I don’t?” My pulse flutters when he reaches out and takes my hands.
“You will.” He stares at my palms, eyes moving back and forth like he’s reading a book.
“How do you know?”
“Because I have a feeling about you, Elara.” His gaze lifts. “And when I have a feeling about someone…I’m rarely wrong.”
Whatever compliment I might’ve found in the declaration is swiftly washed away by a wave of insecurity.
How many women has Rian lured in with his handsome face and enticing words?
My romantic experience is limited. Lev is the only man I’ve been with.
And to say that didn’t go well is putting it lightly.
I sigh and step back.
Rian follows. “What is it?”
I shake my head and try to rein in my lust. “I’ve already told you, I don’t want to play games.”
“And I have already told you,” he replies, forehead furrowed, “this is no game.”
“It is,” I counter.
It has to be.
I take another step back.
Again, he follows. “It’s not.”
“As long as you’re hiding things from me, whatever this is”—I motion between us—“it’s nothing but a game. A ruse. And I’ve already let you deceive me one too many times, Prince.”
His irises flare silver. “The draw we feel to one another is not a ruse.”
“Then what is it?”
His lips don’t move.
“See?” I pull my hand away. “You can’t even tell me that.”
“I can’t tell you because I do not know.”
I frown. The marks on my arms bristle.
I take another step back, expecting to bump against a wall, but my heel lands on a ledge.
“Ah!” I swing my arms to regain my balance, but gravity pulls me backward.
Until one of Rian’s shadows snaps forward, wraps around my arm, and yanks me forward.
“Mother’s curse,” Rian spits out as I stumble into his chest. “You are the clumsiest female on the planet.”
My body flushes from head to toe.
I push away from him, but I don’t go far. I turn and take in the dim stairwell I hadn’t realized was there.
The opening is so narrow, even Silas, the slenderest of the Shadow Fae, would have trouble fitting through it.
“Where do you think those stairs lead?” I ask.
The oddly placed stairway angles down, not up.
“To concealed passages,” Rian says. “Likely the ones Hali plans to utilize during her grand escape.”
I whirl around, eyes wide.
Rian’s face is smooth, but flecks of blue spark through the silver that continues to swirl in his eyes.
“You…” I swallow the lump in my throat. “You know about Hali’s plan?”
“I do.”
My muscles tense. “How?”
He smirks. “Don’t you remember? My shadows hear everything.”
His voice deepens, and my thoughts are sent back to the Late King’s Festival—to the night Lev revealed his involvement in the human rebellion.
The night Rian stepped out of the shadows after hearing everything.
The night I was abducted by Verdanthian soldiers.
The night my life irrevocably changed forever.
I shove the memories aside with a huff. Then—
“Hali is Jaxon’s sister,” I blurt out, crossing my arms over my chest.
Rian blinks. “And?”
I scowl. “And how can you all just stand by while the leaders of Virendrell are planning to force one of your friend’s sisters to…to…to breed with someone else? A coupling that will be based solely on the strength of their magic?”
“Who said we were standing by?”
“I…” My jaw drops. “You—”
“Just because my cadre and I are not racing headfirst into battle like your foolish lover did does not mean we are not taking action to ensure Hali’s freedom.”
Darkness hovers over his shoulders, flickering in and out of sight like a waning candle.
My heart beats a slow, disbelieving rhythm.
I stare at the manacles on Rian’s wrists, manacles my sister allegedly created by using her unknown Fae Fire.
“How are you able to use your power?” I ask.
Silence answers me.
My gaze snaps up. Rian’s expression is a mask once more.
“I don’t understand you!” I throw my hands in the air. “You say we’re connected. You act as if I should trust you. But you give me absolutely no reason to.”
“No?” Shadows carve over his features. “Are you saying that saving you from living the rest of your life in that shithole town doesn’t warrant some trust?”
“I never wanted to leave Verdanthia!”
“Now who is the liar?”
I open my mouth to argue, but snap my lips shut.
He’s right.
Ferria and I did want to leave.
“Not like that.” I shake my head. “You didn’t give me a choice. You forced my hand.”
“You agreed to the deal.”
“Because I had no choice!”
“There is always a choice!” He steps forward, infiltrating my personal space.
The heady scent of spice and incense fills my nostrils with every ragged breath I take.
“You chose to stand up in that meeting hall,” he continues. “You chose to make a deal to save your pathetic, corrupt town. And you chose to do it a second time to save your lover.”
“Lev is not my lover!”
Not anymore.
“Oh, I’m aware.” His hand rests on my shoulder.
My breath catches as his thumb begins to stroke my flickering pulse. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Swirling eyes hold mine. “You already know. Fae senses are…superior. It will be the same for you once you tap into your true abilities.”
My thoughts spin.
Does he mean…
Gods.
The flush throughout my body deepens.
He can smell the fact that I haven’t bedded anyone?
“That’s…” Mortifying. “Invasive,” I spit out, my rapid pulse spiking.
Thank the Gods Darius turned me down after I threw myself at him…
Rian cares for his friend, but I don’t know if their friendship would save Darius from the prince’s unhinged behavior.
Rian continues to caress my throat with his thumb.
My accelerated heart rate starts to slow, my body foolishly lowering its guard in the presence of our most formidable enemy.
I squeeze my eyes shut to escape the unsettling lure of his stunning face.
“I don’t understand you,” I mutter again.
“I know, Sunshine.” His deep voice brushes against my forehead before he leans down to rest his forehead against mine.
I don’t pull away.
I’m not sure I could even if I wanted to.
My power has skittered throughout my body, warming my veins, relaxing muscles I try to tense. With each inhale of Rian’s masculine scent, my desire to flee fades.
I lose track of how long we stand like this.
I keep my eyes closed. Rian’s hand remains on my shoulder. His thumb continues its caress. Only now, it’s soothing.
My power flows over his hand and arm, inching its way to where it longs to be. It crawls up his strong jaw and caresses his face.
I sigh.
It’s been less than a fortnight since I left my homeland, since I resolved not to let my guard down around the Shadow Prince.
I viewed him as my enemy. Part of me still does. But there’s no denying that there is something else here. Something instinctual. Something beyond my control.
And I’m so tired of fighting it.
I open my eyes. Breath catches in my throat.
Rian’s eyes are a vivid shade of blue. Like the color of the deepest part of the sea. So dark, I’d almost mistake them for their usual black. But this close, there’s no mistaking their true hue.
I lift an arm.
Rian stiffens but relaxes when I rest my hand against his face.
My pointer finger brushes over his brow and down his temple as I stare at his vibrant gaze.
“Your eyes are blue,” I murmur.
He stills, his gaze sharpening with unmistakable surprise before it disappears behind careful control. “Indeed?”
“Mm-hmm,” I say, stroking his face again.
A shudder ripples down his body.
“Elara…” This time, it’s his eyes that squeeze shut.
I cup the side of his face and whisper, “When will you tell me the truth?”
He leans into my touch. “About what?”
“Everything.”
His eyelids part. The blue hue remains. And for the first time since I met the daunting Shadow Prince, a tendril of vulnerability weaves through his beautiful gaze.
“I fear what I have to say will frighten you.”
"Much of what you say and do frightens me.” I tilt my head to the side and study this unguarded version of him. “And yet I’m here.”
Gods only know why.
His eyes dart between mine. “You will run from me.”
“I can’t,” I whisper. “Remember?”
I glance pointedly at my arms where the marks from our deal slither and dance, overjoyed to be in such proximity to their master.
Darkness falls over his eyes.
“It’s fine,” I’m quick to say.
I don’t want to lose this moment—to lose the openness I sense from him.