16
The next morning, I woke to an arm wound tightly around my waist, my back pressed against a hard chest. I moved slightly as Nik’s chest expanded, his breathing deep and even.
He was still asleep.
How had we ended up wrapped in each other’s arms in the middle of the night? We had fallen asleep on entirely opposite sides of the bed.
The fact that I wasn’t entirely displeased felt like a knife in my chest, as if I was betraying myself by letting him get this close. I desperately needed him last night, but in the light of the morning, I was seeing things more clearly. I had been slipping up lately, letting him get close again. Despite my feelings on the matter, I couldn’t let that happen again. I still couldn’t trust him…not entirely.
Tess did always call me a grudge holder.
As I made the decision to sneak out of bed, the door banged open.
“You better be decent, you little witch…” Tess trailed off as she took in the scene before her.
Nik and I were in bed together…his arm wrapped around me. Thank God we were both clothed, otherwise I would have some serious explaining to do.
We both jumped with a start, my eyes going wide. Nik had been woken from a sound sleep by the sound of Tess barging in.
“Mother above, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Tess smirked, raising her eyebrow at me.
“You aren’t interrupting anything,” I replied, extricating myself from Nik’s arm and sliding off the bed.
I wrapped myself in the sweater hanging from the armoire and slipped my feet into my cozy slippers. Nik rubbed the sleep from his eyes, letting out a groan.
“Good morning to you too, Tess. Always good to see you.” He leveled her with a deadpan stare.
She truly did have incredible timing, another few minutes, and I would have already been downstairs drinking my coffee.
The awkwardness of the situation was not lost on me, but the memories of last night came flooding back, reminding me I needed to tell Tess and the rest of the council what I saw in my dream.
“We need to talk,” I told Tess.
She hadn’t left, simply crossed her arms over her chest and stared Nik down with a cold glare.
“I was coming in here to talk to you. I think we need a girls' day in town. Shopping and all that. You down?” she asked, turning towards me as her expression softened.
“I had another dream,” I explained, pushing the curls back from my face. “I have to talk to the council.”
“Can’t that wait?” Tess whined impatiently. “We haven’t had time to ourselves in ages, and I, for one, need a break from all this gloom and doom.”
I started to shake my head, but Nik spoke from his place in the bed. “I think that’s a great idea, actually. If Zion is on his way, it will be easier to loop everyone in together. You need a break, Diana.”
Tess shot him a glare that said he shouldn’t be telling me what I do or don’t need, before turning back towards me. “See? Even he agrees.”
“I don’t know…” I started.
I wasn’t sure I was up for anything as lighthearted as shopping when the knowledge of Donika creating a black magic army complete with disfigured monsters was looming over me.
“You have to wear a glamour. I have some in my room.” Nik slid out of the bed, stretching his arms over his head.
I averted my gaze, cursing myself at how easily both my thoughts and my eyes traveled to the tanned toned strip of bare skin revealed above his pants.
“I don’t need you to agree. I am kidnapping you either way,” Tess told me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“A glamour?” I asked, skeptical.
Nik nodded, joining us by the door. “And Kenna and Saanvi as bodyguards. At a safe distance…of course. Girls’ day and all that.” Nik winked, turning to pad down the hallway to his room, presumably to grab the glamours.
Back to his old self, I see.
“We need to debrief, especially seeing as I just caught you in bed with loverboy,” Tess whispered, looping her arm through mine.
“It’s not what you think.” I sighed, running a hand through my mess of curls.
“That’s the point. I don’t know what’s going on with you. All of your spare time is taken up by Isaac or Warrick. What about Tess time?” She gave me her best fake pout.
I shook my head, laughing softly. “Fine, but only for today. Tomorrow, it's back to magic training. And we need to dig into the Kotova grimoire.”
“Agreed.” Tess flashed me a toothy smile as Nik appeared outside the door to his room down the hall.
“Catch,” he called, tossing two glass vials one after the other. Surprising myself, I caught them both.
“You’re lucky I’ve been training, or these absolutely would have been wasted all over the floor,” I told him.
“I have every confidence in your training, firecracker. Have fun today. We can talk to the council later tonight.”
I nodded. I did need a day to unwind, even if I felt like I needed to train harder—now more than ever. I needed to wield stronger spells with my storm magic, and I needed to find a spell in the Kotova grimoire that could save us all.
I couldn’t help but think of the vision the grimoire had sent me, and how the spell with the key had been missing when I had gone searching for it. Could that spell be exactly what we needed to defeat Donika? Is that why the grimoire had sent me that particular vision?
I dressed quickly, Tess waiting impatiently on the edge of my bed. We found Saanvi and Kenna waiting downstairs for us, having already been called over to the townhouse by Nik. They agreed to follow us at a safe distance, in case anything should happen.
“I guess it’s time to take this glamour,” I said, investigating the contents of the tiny vial with suspicion. “You go first.”
“Why me?” Tess splayed her hand over her chest, feigning offense.
“Because this was your idea,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, yeah.” She rolled her eyes, un-corking the glass vial and holding it out. “Cheers.”
She clinked her vial against mine and downed the bright red liquid in one gulp.
“Well?” I asked.
“It’s surprisingly…sweet,” she replied as her features began to change.
At first it was subtle, but as I blinked and refocused, I couldn’t recognize her any longer. Her hair, which was once a rich chocolate color, turned black, her eyes turned a muted shade of brown. Her warm complexion turned porcelain, and her features almost…blurred. As if you couldn’t focus on any one feature too closely.
“Well…that worked,” I replied hopefully, inclining my head. “I definitely cannot tell that it’s you.”
I un-corked my own vial and downed the liquid, surprised at the sweet, tart flavor. To be honest, I had expected it to taste terrible. I didn’t feel anything, but by the widening of Tess’ eyes I could tell the glamour had already taken effect.
“Well?” I asked, doing an exaggerated spin for Tess.
“Unrecognizable,” Tess replied resolutely with a nod of her head.
I pulled a lock of hair forwards and was surprised to see the shock of auburn faded to an ashy blonde, the curls falling in straight strands.
“And nobody will recognize Kenna or Saanvi?” I asked, grabbing my bag and moving towards the door.
I unconsciously ran my fingers along my thighs to ensure Stormslayer was safely sheathed there along with the throwing knives Warrick had gifted me.
“Nobody knows who we are,” Saanvi replied with a raised eyebrow.
“Good point.”
Kenna and Saanvi kept a safe distance away from us as we made our way through the cobblestone streets of Dragon’s Hollow and past Alastir’s charm shop towards the shopping district. I told Tess about the dream I’d had and how we desperately needed to prepare ourselves. I had no idea what those creatures were capable of, and we needed to be ready.
Tess and I ducked into a shop that sold clothes similar to what you would find in the mortal realm.
“This is absolutely your color.” Tess laughed as she pulled a leopard print blouse out from the rack of clothes.
“Ha, Ha. Very funny.” I smiled, giving her a gentle nudge back.
It had been so long since we had time together, only the two of us. In this moment I felt lighter. As if maybe the fate of the realm of Istmere didn’t rest on mine and my friend’s shoulders. As if Donika wasn’t searching for me and creating armies of mutilated monsters and deranged witches to fight us.
It was just me and Tess.
“Are we going to talk about this morning?” Tess asked, watching my expression out of the corner of her eye.
“What about this morning?” I asked, feigning confusion.
I thumbed through the rack of clothes, not meeting her gaze. Tess could always see right through me.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe how I found Nik in your bed?” she asked, her tone light as she glanced at me from under her eyelashes.
I shot her a deadpan glare. “We were clothed.”
“Yes, clothed. But he was still in your bed,” she pointed out.
“And?”
“And? Diana…the last time we talked boys, you wanted to stab him in the eye. How did we get from stabbing to cuddling?” She sighed.
“We were not cuddling,” I replied.
“That’s not what it looked like to me. His deliciously tattooed arm was wrapped around your waist, if I remember correctly.”
I shook my head at her. “We must have tangled together during the night. He was only keeping me company after the nightmare. I didn’t want to be alone.” I bit my lip, meeting her searching gaze.
“Sure. I’m sure that’s all it was…” she trailed off.
“There’s nothing going on,” I replied, grabbing a black t-shirt that appeared to be my size.
“Not yet, there isn’t,” Tess replied.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, raising my brow at her.
“It means that I could see this coming a mile away. He has been weaseling his way back in, and you are letting him, whether you want to admit it or not. There’s no judgement from me. I know the connection you two have. I only want you to be happy.” She gave me a half-smile as she took the black shirt from my hand and placed it back on the rack. “No more black clothes, you have enough.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “And what about you and Puck? You were awfully quick to forgive him, if I remember correctly.”
“That’s different.” She shook her head. “Besides, we aren’t talking about me. We are talking about you.”
“I haven’t forgiven him if that’s what you’re getting at.”
I threw the straight blonde hair over my shoulder as it fell into my eyes. I could never get used to the appearance of this hair and was glad the glamour was only temporary. We would have to get back to the townhouse before it wore off.
“Does that mean you have zero feelings for him?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t forgive him, but he has been there for me when I’ve needed him. He had Stormslayer crafted for me when we were locked in the Stormvault, and he just…” I trailed off.
“Just been a wee bit overprotective, don’t you think? You know he picked that fight with Warrick to show off for you, don’t you?”
“He has nothing to worry about with Warrick,” I replied.
“No?” Tess’ eyebrows shot up her forehead as she gave me a pointed look. “Things appeared awfully hot and heavy during your training session the other day.”
“We were only training,” I told her.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
She nudged me in the side with a wink as she handed me a slinky silver number. Where on earth would I have a chance to wear that between training my storm magic, learning to wield a dagger, and defeating Donika? I pointedly shoved the top back onto the rack.
“Things are too complicated right now. The last thing I need is boy problems. I need to focus on controlling my storms and studying the grimoire. If Donika were to find us, if she were to set that army of black magic infested creatures on us…we need to be ready.”
“Amen to that,” Tess replied.
“But…what is going on with you and Puck?” I asked.
“Things are…complicated,” she replied with a laugh.
Complicated appeared to be the theme of the day.
“But you’ve been spending the night in his room?” I asked.
“How do you know that?” she asked, scandalized.
“Tess, my love, you are many things, but discreet is not one of them,” I told her with a shake of my head.
“If you are asking if we are back together…I guess the answer is yes.”
“Good.” I smirked. “I’ve always liked Puck.”
“So you’ll forgive Puck but not Nik?” she asked, leveling me with an expression I knew all too well.
“That’s different,” I replied. “Puck didn’t quite deliver us into the hands of Donika like Nik did.”
“But Nik didn’t,” she reminded me. “He told you to run. He never wanted you to be captured. And you said it yourself. He never thought for a moment there would be a reality where he didn’t figure out a way to get you out. He played his part to stay under the radar, all while plotting our jailbreak and crafting your custom little blade.” Her eyes moved to Stormslayer, strapped at my thigh.
I opened my mouth to respond…but nothing came out.
I wasn’t even sure what to say. In a way, Tess was right. But in my stubborn heart, I still wasn’t ready to believe him yet. I didn’t want to open myself up to being hurt by him…again. I didn’t think I could handle that heartbreak a second time. I had been so angry at him, and that anger had turned to hatred in my time locked in the Stormvault. But since our time in Prins, I have felt a crack in my armor, and that anger and hatred have slowly started to dissipate.
I wasn’t ready to come to terms with it yet. Things were still volatile, and with Donika’s ongoing threats looming over our heads, my emotions were all over the place.
I needed to focus on the resistance and on training. I didn’t have time to be thinking about Nik and how I did or didn’t feel about him. I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts and turned back towards Tess.
“I’m not ready to move on yet,” I told her resolutely.
“I understand,” she replied with a nod. “You always were a tough nut to crack.”
I shook my head at her and laughed. Leave it to Tess to make me laugh even when I felt as if I was drowning in my own emotions. Nik had been right about one thing…I needed this. Flipping through racks of clothing and having girl talk with Tess was its own kind of healing, and thoughts of dark magic were pushed to the back of my mind…for now at least.
By the time we had filled our arms with shopping bags, the glamour was starting to wear off, and we made our way back to the hidden safe house to meet with Liss and Isaac.
When we entered the safe house, it was completely empty, the lamps on the first floor having burned out. A trickle of fear slid down my spine at the sight of the empty bar stools, the darkness covering every inch of the first floor.
We made our way to Isaac’s office, and Kenna and Saanvi went first, opening the door with their daggers in hand. Inside the tiny office were Isaac, Liss, Warrick, Nik, and Puck, along with a figure sitting across from Isaac with shorn black hair that appeared awfully familiar from the back.
As he turned towards us, I met his hazel eyes, and relief washed over him as he stood. He closed me into an embrace, his arms so tight around me I couldn’t take a full breath.
“Diana, you are safe. Thank the mother you are safe.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, extricating myself from his grasp, confusion creasing my brow.
“Donika didn’t only send Nightshade soldiers after me when I left The Stone City. She sent her Noctani. They have unparalleled speed and power, if they had found you…” his words trailed off as he hung his head.
“Noctani?” I asked, meeting Liss’ gaze, then Isaac’s.
It was Isaac who answered me. “Her idea of the perfect Shade. She is creating an army of demon witches corrupted by black magic and blood magic.”
“Like what I saw when I was dream walking?” I asked, my eyes flickering towards Nik, who stood in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest.
He nodded. “Yes, I have filled them in.”
Good. The less I had to relive that nightmare, the better. My eyes softened as he met my gaze and gave me a half-smile, the corner of his mouth turning up.
“Why am I seeing Donika?” I asked, turning back towards Isaac and Zion. “I have dream walked before, but I never have control of where I am or what I dream. The last two times I dream walked, I have been pulled into her throne room.”
“I think you were linked, somehow,” Zion replied.
“Linked?” My voice came out somewhere between a squeal and a croak.
Zion nodded. “During your time at The Stone Palace, your magic recognized her magic. You are sisters, after all. I’m not sure if it goes deeper than that, if she performed a spell or not.”
“That’s great,” I huffed. “Exactly what we need. We are trying to plan her demise, but I might be linked to her? If she dies, will I?”
“We aren’t sure,” Liss replied from the corner where she stood next to Nik. “But I believe the answer we are searching for will be in the Kotova grimoire.”
I nodded. One more thing I needed to find out from that grimoire. Maybe I would get lucky, and the grimoire would send me visions of exactly what I needed…but the chances of that happening were slim. The grimoire had a mind of its own, and thus far it had only shown me exactly what it wanted me to see. Which still didn’t explain the spell with the key…
“We will study it. We will find out if they are truly linked or if it is merely…a familial connection,” Tess offered.
“Good,” Isaac replied, pushing out from the desk and standing. “For now, Zion needs his rest. He has had a long journey from The Stone City.”
“And you’re sure you weren’t followed?” Nik asked, his eyes narrowing on Zion.
Zion might have helped us escape Donika’s prison, but if I had to hazard a guess, Nik didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him.
“I wasn’t followed,” Zion replied, meeting Nik’s gaze with a challenge in his eyes.
Nik returned his gaze with his chin turned up, his jaw set.
“Diana, I will see you tomorrow for our next session,” Isaac said, inclining his head towards me.
I nodded, following Tess and Nik out the door. I had so much on my mind between the Araneoch and the Noctani. What else was Donika conjuring up? We would need to attack her offensively once we were ready—once we had the numbers. Isaac estimated we were nearing close to four thousand members in the resistance, but I wasn’t sure if it would be enough. Maybe if we were only fighting her Nightshade soldiers…but her monstrous creations?
I needed to split my time between studying the grimoire and training with Isaac and Warrick. We needed to figure out why the spell with the key was missing, what spell was in the grimoire that Donika was after, and if Donika and I were magically linked. There would be no more time for shopping trips into town with Tess.
Donika was killing and experimenting on more innocents by the day, and we needed to put a stop to it. We needed to win this war, and that meant it was time to start acting like a queen.