Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Araya felt it before she heard it.
The whole room shuddered, the tea set rattling on its tray. A fine curtain of dust fell from the ceiling, catching the aetherlight as Kai jumped up from his chair.
“What was that?” he demanded.
Araya stared at him. How was she supposed to answer that? She was just as trapped in here as he was.
Kai turned to the door, rattling the handle. “Hello! I need you to open this door and let us out now.”
“It’s warded for sound,” Araya said. “They can’t hear you.”
“They can’t just keep us locked in here.” Kai banged his fist against the door, raising his voice. “Open the door!”
Another shudder shook the floor. Araya stared out the window, gripping the sill so hard her knuckles whitened as she watched the trees bend in the sudden wind.
Lightning flashed in the dark clouds overhead, the rumble of thunder coming immediately on its heels.
Someone was working the weather—someone fae.
Human weatherworkers didn’t get results this quickly.
Araya spun away from the window, her throat suddenly tight. He’d come. He was out there—with Jaxon and the terrible staff she’d helped him make.
“Everything will be fine,” Kai said.
Araya swallowed hard, fixing her gaze on the door. She couldn’t reach for the bond with the sor’vael rune twisting its claws into her, but it sat like a beacon in her chest, so bright and warm she couldn’t help but hope.
Keep him safe, she begged a Goddess she wasn’t sure she even believed in. A Goddess even the fae didn’t expect to answer their prayers. Let him reach me.
The door slammed open so hard it crashed into the wall with a bang, rattling the aetherlamps in their sconces. Araya’s heart leapt into her throat, hope surging for a single heartbeat before dying.
“Where the fuck are those guards?” Blood matted Jaxon’s hair to the side of his head, his dark eyes wild in a face pale from stone dust. His gaze flew to Araya, raking over her.
“I’m not sure how you expect us to know,” Kai snapped. “You locked us in—”
“Half the house is gone, Kai,” Jaxon snarled. “Araya, come here.”
The command was laden with power, her feet moving before she even decided whether or not to fight it. Jaxon’s hand closed around her arm, his fingers digging into her bicep.
“You will not run,” he said, his magic sparking against hers. “We are going to walk out of this room and get in a carriage. You will not speak, or scream, or do anything to draw attention to yourself. Do you understand me?”
Araya nodded, a thousand questions no one would bother to answer bubbling on her tongue. But he’d ordered her not to speak.
“What happened out there?” Kai asked.
Jaxon pulled her forward, half-dragging her through the door.
Araya coughed, immediately choking on stone dust and smoke. Debris littered the floor, shards of wood and broken glass ground into the fine carpet. Araya made it exactly three steps before she gasped and stumbled, something sharp biting into the sole of her bare foot.
Jaxon swore, scooping her into his arms without breaking his stride. He tucked her into his chest, glancing down at her face. “Do you see what he did, Starling?”
Araya sagged in Jaxon’s arms, her voice caught in her throat. Even if he’d lifted his command for her to be silent, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to speak. Because where the ceiling should have been above them she could see dark clouds, lightning lancing between them.
“Gods,” Kai said, his voice hoarse. “What happened?”
“Some weatherworking bitch.” Jaxon stepped over a fallen beam, skirting a weak spot in the floor. “She’s probably dead now. Fell into her own sinkhole.”
Nyra. Araya closed her eyes, blinking back hot tears. She hadn’t seen the sharp-tongued weatherworker since her first days on Eluneth, but if what Jaxon said was true, Loren had lost one of his oldest friends trying to save her tonight.
A fat raindrop fell, bursting cold against her skin. Then another, and another.
By the time they reached the side door it was coming down in sheets, pelting the carriage already waiting outside for them. A single guard scrambled to open the door, holding it as Jaxon climbed in and dumped her onto the bench.
“Where are we going?” Kai demanded, climbing in behind them. “I need to send a message to my father—”
“You need to shut up and sit down,” Jaxon said. He hammered on the wall of the carriage, practically falling into his seat as it lurched forward. “There are protocols for this sort of thing.”
“I don’t think there’s a protocol for the High Magister having his home destroyed by fae rebels—”
“I said shut up,” Jaxon snapped. He jerked his head toward Araya. “She’s silent, not deaf.”
“She’s freezing,” Kai retorted.
He shrugged out of his coat, leaning across the carriage to drape it around her shoulders.
Araya tugged it close, too cold to throw it on the floor in protest like she wanted to.
Her thin shift stuck to her chilled skin, doing nothing to warm her or hide her body from either of the men in the carriage.
Outside, rain pounded against the carriage roof. Araya stared out the window, waiting for each flash of lightning to throw the city into sharp relief. Loren was out there. He would be following, making a new plan to get her back. She just had to be ready when he came.
Jaxon leaned over, yanking the curtain closed.
None of them spoke again, the only sound the rain and the clatter of the wheels across the cobblestones. It had slowed to a drizzle by the time the carriage finally lurched to a halt, stopping so suddenly that Araya nearly tumbled off the padded bench.
“Easy, Starling.” Jaxon gripped her arm, pulling her to her feet. “Here, you’ll need to put this on now.”
Araya stared at the silk scarf dangling from his fingers like it was a snake.
“This is a clandestine black site,” Jaxon said, answering her unspoken question.
“And you’ve already proven yourself untrustworthy.
” He raised his eyebrows, studying her face.
“Either you wear it willingly or I order you to put it on. It makes no difference to me, but one is more pleasant for you, I think.”
Araya turned slowly, holding her breath as Jaxon looped the cool silk over her eyes, blinding her.
“Good girl.” His fingers tightened the knot, lingering at the nape of her neck. “See how easy this can be?”
Kai said something she couldn’t hear over the sudden rush of her own heartbeat in her ears. The silk pressed against her lashes, the world reduced to darkness and the sound of rain and Jaxon’s hands settling at her waist.
“Easy, Starling,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ve got you.”
He swept one arm under her knees, lifting her again. The whole carriage rocked as he stepped down, a last few cool drops of rain landing on her heated cheeks.
She should be counting steps, listening for any hint of where they might be—but Araya couldn’t even steady her breathing, panic threatening to break loose with every step Jaxon took. They were at a black site. A place fae didn’t come out of alive.
Metal shrieked—a door swinging open. Jaxon stepped through, the cold rain giving way to warmth. Araya winced as hinges screamed again, the door falling closed with a crash of iron on iron.
“Commander Shaw,” an unfamiliar voice greeted them. “Master Sterling. We’re glad to see you both made it. Is this the asset?”
“Obviously.” Jaxon rolled his eyes so hard she could practically hear it. “Is my father already here?”
“The High Magister arrived just before you,” the guard said. “He asked to see you as soon as possible.”
“I need to settle her first,” Jaxon said. “And we’ll need a medical kit.”
“Of course, sir. She’s down the second corridor. Third from the end. Master Sterling, we’ve made arrangements for your accommodations as well and will send a message to your father. You’ll all be safe here.”
“We’d better be for what this costs,” Jaxon muttered, already moving. Araya gasped, her fingers clenching in the folds of his shirt as magic rushed over her. Runes—dozens of them—flared to life all at once, crawling across her skin like a living thing.
“Just a little warding,” Jaxon murmured, his lips brushing the scarred edge of her ear. “It won’t hurt you.”
No. But he might.
Araya buried her face in his shoulder, listening to the sound of his footsteps ringing off the stone. Metal scraped—a lock, the groan of a door swinging open and the bolt sliding into place behind them.
Jaxon sat her down on something soft and padded, his fingers working the knot at the back of her head free.
She blinked in the dim aetherlight, waiting for her eyes to adjust. The front of the cell was barred, staring out at a featureless stone wall. The corridor stretched on in both directions, but she didn’t hear the sound of any other prisoners.
Jaxon dropped to his knees, ripping open a medical kit. “You can speak now,” he said, his warm hands cradling her injured foot. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Not physically.” Araya resisted the urge to jerk her foot out of his grip. “Where are we?”
“I told you—” Jaxon carefully wiped the wound clean, ignoring her hiss of pain. “It’s a black site. Not much to look at, I know. But it’s secure. We won’t be here long. A couple of days, probably.”
“It’s far nicer than anything you ever gave Loren,” Araya said coldly.
Jaxon’s hand paused, pressing a piece of gauze against the bottom of her foot. “You’ve had a trying night,” he said. “So I’m going to forgive that.”
He wrapped her foot carefully, tying off the bandage. But he didn’t stand right away, cupping her calves with warm hands.
“I’ve always admired your realism, Araya,” he said softly. “Don’t start making your life harder than it has to be now.”
Araya shivered, clutching Kai’s coat tighter around her shoulders. “You don’t have to do this, Jaxon,” she whispered. “If you let me go—”
“That won’t be happening.” Jaxon stood, tugging Kai’s coat from her grasp. “I’ve enjoyed you, Starling. But I would never betray my father for you. You just need to trust me when I tell you that you’ll be far happier if you simply accept your place in this world.”
“At your feet?” Araya asked, her lips twisting into a bitter smile.
“And in my bed.” Jaxon leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her chilled cheek. “You won’t be a queen, but there are privileges that come with belonging to me, Starling. You enjoyed them, at one point in your life. Didn’t you?”
Araya’s stomach turned.
Jaxon stepped back. “There are dry clothes and a blanket for you,” he said, nodding to the folded bundle at the foot of the cot. “I’ll be back when I can. Get some rest, Starling.”