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“I summoned every Sunborne in the city. They are all coming.”
I exhale loudly. “Good, because I don’t know how much time we have.” I reach up and take his whisky glass, drinking down a large sip and, this time, enjoying the burn in my throat.
I close my eyes, and a flash of Elodie’s face, and her throat, and the cobblestones enters my head. I push it away and push down the softness.
“Alana...” Eldrion sees it. I know he does.
I stand and push past him. “I’m going to get dressed, then we should summon the guards. I assume you have some kind of defence plans for the castle? But most of these guards are new. You lost a lot of your old ones when they left with Finn and the other Shadowkind. You should?—”
He strides over to me and takes my elbow roughly, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. “I like seeing you taking control,” he says. “But remember, this is still my city, Alana. My people. My kingdom. You are not in charge here.”
I shake my head, a wry laugh making my shoulders stiffen. Of course. He has been doing nothing more than humouring me. Letting me play war games, and enjoying the torment I’m suffering for trying to help him.
He has distracted me with the feelings he coaxes from my body, but when it comes down to it, he is no different from the rest.
He does not respect me, or admire me, or believe I am truly capable of anything.
He sees me as a weak-willed female, unravelling in front of him.
He wants me to give in to my emotions because then I will not be able to step into the strength that’s inside me. He will regret underestimating me.
“I apologise,” I say tightly. “I got carried away.”
Eldrion’s brow creases suspiciously. He puts his hand on my hip and tugs me a little closer. “Don’t apologise,” he says. “Just remember I’m the one making decisions.” His grip tightens. “And don’t kill anyone again without my permission.”
As his lips crash into mine, and my body comes alive under his touch, that word burrows into my psyche.
Permission?
Oh, hell, no.
I don’t need his permission. He has no magic. He needs me if he ever wants a chance of seeing his magic again.
I will show him exactly what I’m capable of. And he will be sorry. They will all be sorry.
When the Sunborne begin to filter in through the archway into the courtyard, I watch them cross the place where I took Elodie’s life, and I try to feel anything but a sense of rigid determination about what I’m going to do next.
Their feet gently meet the ground where she lay, and where her blood drained from her lifeless body.
And I feel nothing.
They all look so regal. Glittering, gossamer wings. Long, flowing robes, and an air of serene contentment – the kind of contentment that comes with knowing you are one of the most powerful beings in the kingdom.
My magic flickers in my hands.
I think I am starting to understand what that feels like. After tonight, I will know for sure. And no one will ever be able to tell me again that I am nothing or that I would be better off dead.
I will not need to rely on anyone but myself. I will save them, and they will be grateful.
Behind me, the door opens and closes softly. Briony is looking at me differently from the way she did a few days ago. Seeing me end Elodie’s life changed something in our friendship, but she will see it was for the best. I’ll make her see that.
“They’re arriving,” she says, bowing into a small curtsey the way she does for Eldrion.
“You don’t need to talk to me like that.” I turn around and stride over to her, wrapping my arms tightly around her smaller frame and hugging her closely.
She is stiff and awkward in my arms, and a flash of irritation burns beneath my skin. When I step back from her, I know my cheeks are flushed.
“Something is the matter?”
