Chapter 13
The wheels in Imani’s head were spinning, and she felt dizzy with the knowledge that half-breeds from the Upper realm were living here in the Mesial realm.
Her heart skipped a beat. She was filled with joy that she wasn’t alone.
Questions tumbled around in her mind, as well, but Imani didn’t trust Master Heirwyn.
Because there was only one murdered king in recent Essenheim history, and the murderer wasn’t exactly someone to befriend.
“You’re… you’re Zolyn,” Imani stated.
“I go by Zadie Heirwyn here. We never even utter the name Zolyn except under critical circumstances—this being one of those.”
“I figured you were dead.”
“For all intents and purposes, Zolyn is dead.” She sighed and recast her glamour over her brands. “It isn’t for lack of trying by many parties, though.”
“Kiran trusts you.”
“He does. I was allowed sanctuary here in exchange for training him to use and control his magic. I’ve known him since he was a boy.”
Imani had a feeling she’d taught him how to fight dirty, too, with how he’d tripped Tanyl the day they’d left Essenheim.
A reverence swelled inside Imani. “Why would you waste your time teaching me?”
“Because you went and got yourself more tangled up with us—against my advice—and without control of your magic, you’re a liability.
We can’t have you killing random people, or yourself.
And while not illegal, we can’t afford too many people knowing about it, despite the more tolerant openness to different types of magic Essenheim does not endorse. ”
Imani nodded. It made sense.
Zadie stood up. “Enough talk. And this time, remember your opponent isn’t going to follow rules. They are going to use everything in their arsenal to win, and you need to, as well.”
“I’m not sure you can truly take my shadows or the darkness they turn into.”
Zadie smiled. “Oh, I can. Now, shut up.” Then, like before, she instantly attacked.
The nymph managed to stave off the shadows and put Imani on her ass five times. Her raw magic and mastery of skills rivaled Ara’s. It seemed that growing older had only made the witch better.
“You’re holding back,” Zadie snapped. Her warm, gold magic pulsed from her like the sun, unlike the chilling bone coldness of Imani’s.
Propping herself up on her elbows, Imani made a frustrated noise. She was holding back.
“What are you afraid of?” Zadie probed, stalking to stand over Imani, where she glared at her.
“Another Fabric event,” Imani grumbled.
Zadie kicked her side, and Imani grimaced, curling into a ball. “Get up. I want to show you something.”
By the time Imani got to her feet, Zadie was back across the room with her arms spread wide.
“Build the shadows into darkness, then throw them at me. Everything you have, I want to see it.”
Imani hesitated, but after seeing the disbelieving look in Zadie’s eyes, Imani wanted to prove her wrong. If she wanted the darkness, Imani would give it to her.
At her command, her magic grew heavy in her veins, spreading out through her fingers then streaming from her nails.
It was already getting easier to bring them forth and call them back.
Within seconds, the shadows coalesced into a thick column, impenetrable to any light.
Imani could no longer see the nymph witch, but she felt her.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent her creation surging forward. It didn’t explode like it did with Malis, but the mass of magic groaned as it grew bigger still and spread itself wider, preparing to devour the witch whole.
Flinching, Imani covered her face with her arm. Unlike the others, she didn’t want to taste Zadie’s blood.
The blast shook the room. Imani gasped, the air yanked from her lungs in one dramatic pulse.
Pitch-black consumed Imani as the shadows threw themselves backward into what seemed like smoke.
A coughing fit followed as she tried to shake away goosebumps the cold magic caused, and she squeezed her eyes shut as the darkness dug itself back inside her signature.
A massive flash shone behind her eyelids.
When Imani opened them, an even larger ball of light surrounded the darkness.
And with a snap, any darkness blinked out, swallowed whole by the light.
At that, both Zadie’s and Imani’s magic dissipated, and Zadie stood exactly as she had been before.
The only difference was the faster rise and fall of her chest. Otherwise, she was perfectly fine.
Imani clenched her jaw to keep it closed. She had a lot of work to do to hope to be as powerful as Zadie.
Zadie bared her teeth. “I know you’re fighting your own nature. Your brand is red—Kiran admitted that to me—and that type of atrophic magic comes from the Under. So, I know there’s more darkness in you, desperate to get out. It calls to you, and you’re suffocating every time you resist.”
The Under? She’d known this since her conversation with Kiran about Malis, but she’d been ignoring the implications. To hear it confirmed again shook her identity to its core, and made her feel more alone than ever.
“Again,” Zadie growled.
Pushing aside her worries, Imani obliged, and this time when the shadows came forward, they blackened her limbs, and Imani could feel herself become the shadows.
It was only seconds later, but she reformed again a few feet away.
Shadows swirled around her and began preparing to attack again, and this time she imbued the mass with everything she could muster.
Imani was so wrapped up in her magic that she didn’t hear the hard, repetitive tapping of footsteps against the stone floor until it was too late.
She looked up and paused at the man leaning against the archway, an infuriating smirk on his face.
Without her focus, the shadows broke apart and started dancing around the room instead.
Although he was unshaven and his dark hair was mussed, as if he hadn’t bothered to look in a mirror for days, Kiran looked as handsome as ever. She hated him for it.
“Job well done, Imani, and your first time, too. Wow. That must have been quite the feeling to finally harness those unruly shadows into darkness the way you did. If only you had enough control to truly wield such a force … I’m sure you would have easily taken her down.”
Kiran’s sarcasm planted rage in her belly.
The wand in Imani’s hand started trembling.
Gods, she hated that he had seen her move with her shadows, and she hated when he treated her like some stupid child.
But Imani kept her composure. She wasn’t going to let him get under her skin like he had in Essenheim.
“Your enthusiasm is breathtaking. You should have let me fend for myself in front of your father, by the way.”
He arched a brow at her. “Did you want to lick his boots? Because as powerful as your soul draw is, I guarantee he’s stronger, and that’s exactly what he would’ve made you do if you’d tried to argue about the illusion magic. How did you get past the direct order from the binding?”
A humorless laugh escaped Imani’s mouth.
All he’d said was that she should let everything out, but that wasn’t a must. “You should choose your words more carefully around me, Your Highness. I chose to keep the echo shield out of an abundance of caution. I truly didn’t think a monarch could sense it. ”
“Hmm, I suppose you were wrong. Did you ever consider that lie took his attention off you and put it on me? You can’t solve everything by being a whore, you know?”
Imani had made every attempt to leash the fury snapping and growling inside her up until that point. But at that comment, her composure broke.
She wrapped her fingers tight around a nearby glass vase full of flowers and threw the whole thing at his head. He ducked, and the vase shattered, spraying glass shards and water all over Kiran’s back and floor.
He chuckled. “Such a temper! Now, that wouldn’t have helped with my father, either.”
She marched up to him and pointed her wand at his chest.
The sight made him laugh again. “Oh, you want to fight me, do you? Do you think you’d win with such terrible control?” He took a slow, pointed step forward.
Her heart was pounding like a drum. He was so much bigger than she was, and with her shadows curling around them, caging them in, it felt as though he were the only thing that existed in the world.
“No, not today.” Imani lifted her chin to stare directly at him. “But you might have made a mistake making me train with Zolyn—I’m a fast learner. So, eventually, when you treat me like an object, a belonging, and a slave, I’m going to lash out. This is your warning.”
If he was surprised she knew the nymph’s true identity, he didn’t show it.
“I’d adore that, my bloodthirsty elf,” he purred, cupping her face. He smiled, both vicious and warm. “Now, leave. I need to speak with my advisor.”
His demanding tone made her bristle, but she kept her mouth shut.
Her reactions were what he enjoyed most, and Imani didn’t want to give him exactly what he expected or be too predictable.
She wanted him on his toes from here on out.
Besides, she couldn’t stand the thought of being in this room with him for another moment.
She sauntered out without a word.
Shadows rippled across the flagstone, soft and blue, as Imani stalked through the palace halls. Dawn was coming. Outside in the east courtyard, Imani tightened her cloak around her shoulders to protect herself from the harsh wind and smattering of raindrops. It truly was miserable here.
Looking up, she saw the sky was moving from pitch-black to a gray color, clouded even more by a dense fog rolling in.
It drew a cloak across the solid inky sky, stretching between the trees, broken only by the occasional burst of lightning.
When the sun rose, the bright orange star would be barely noticeable.
Lowering her eyes from overhead, her gaze fell on the east wall with the strung-up bodies. There was a fourth one now; a new body on display.
It was a female—Nida, Aiden’s heartmate—hanging from the other side of the wall, swinging slightly with her head tilted unnaturally. Imani’s breath quickened. A few minutes earlier, Imani might have witnessed the whole gruesome act.
It churned her stomach to see the body because she was on borrowed time in both kingdoms. That could be her someday soon. If it wasn’t a hanging, then the pyre would take her.
Unsettled, she wanted to stare, but she only had a second to make a decision.
In the next instant, she tore her eyes away and turned on her heel, walking briskly in the other direction.
Luckily, the palace was deserted in this area, and she prayed it stayed that way.
If someone laid eyes on her anywhere near here, there’d be questions Imani didn’t want to answer.
A better person would have probably called for help. They would have ensured Nida’s body wasn’t some sight to be gawked at, leaving her a shred of dignity.
So be it. Imani could worry about the Under realm’s judgment of her sins later, when she was dead. At present, she was in a strange, hostile kingdom with few allies and on shaky ground in her own kingdom. Being accused of involvement in the death of an Essenheim witch was the last thing she needed.
Esa exited her rooms as Imani approached her own neighboring suite. With a pause, Esa turned to Imani and gave her a funny look. “Where have you been at this hour?”
“Assignment for Kiran,” was all Imani said. Liar, liar, liar, she thought.
Esa merely blinked a few times. “Nida was just found dead on the wall. Do you know anything about it?”
Feigning as much concern as she could muster, Imani’s brow wrinkled, and she shook her head. “What happened?”
“I heard she hung herself.”
“Do you believe that?” Imani asked carefully.
A moment passed before the pixie replied, her voice softer this time. “I do. It’s a common enough occurrence after someone loses their heartmate.”
A long pause stretched out between them.
“You have an alchemy brand, do you not?” Esa asked softly.
“I do,” Imani replied.
“I need the protection potion. One for sexual diseases and other ailments.”
“Of course. Do you want the pregnancy one, as well?”
Esa shook her head. “He’s not my heartmate, so no need to waste ingredients.”
Imani nodded. She understood. The ingredients for the pregnancy potion were harder to find and expensive.
Before Imani could reply any more, Esa walked away.
It was then that Imani remembered that Esa had murdered her own heartmate, and Kiran knew something about it. Interesting. Esa had her own nefarious deal with Kiran. Imani would uncover the details as soon as she had the chance.