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Great. I’ll be surrounded by dozens of Anderkanians. And I’m wearingjeans.Not my best pair, either.
I hear that voice. The one I strive to quieten. She always creeps back in. She’ll never leave me alone.It has been too long since my last cleansing. She’s gaining traction inside me, quietly feeding on my fears, on my weaknesses.
And on my strengths.
You could get changed. It wouldn’t take any effort at all. Not even a word. Not even a spell. Just will yourself into a lovely gown and you’ll dazzle this gorgeous morsel of manflesh. He’ll want you. He’ll wantus.
I need a swim.
Well, what I need is a freaking syphoning, but that’s not possible until Lughnasadh. During festivals, eight times a year, the witches of all the mortal kingdoms gather to release energy—into the soil, into the air, into the waters that shape the planet and the fire that lights our star. Where they’re pushing their magik doesn’t matter to me. I simply use the spells to get rid of mine, letting it mix into the chaos. I don’t even have to use a curse. I can simply join their circle and let go of the thing inside me.
Power, coward. The thing inside you is called power.
I shut the connection tightly, shoving my inner self back where she belongs, in the dark.
I force my attention back to the present, at the back of Reiks’s luxurious hovercraft. It’s polished white on the outside, but the soft leather seats are ink black.Reiks is sitting in front of me, his back to the driver’s seat, a privacy panel behind him.
He looks up from his paperwork, brows furrowed, pinning me with a questioning gaze. “Where did you go?”
I don’t see a reason to lie. “Inside myself. Don’t you ever reflect?”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine, don’t tell me. Just don’t take me for an idiot. And while you’re with me, try to stay here. You owe me your time, remember?”
“I don’t owe you my every thought,” I shoot back. What an entitled prick. “Besides, you’re clearly busy. You don’t need me.”
“Incorrect.” That’s it. That’s all he says.
Oh, no. I’m not letting this go. “The king of Ravelyn said it at your royal pride meeting. That you didn’t need me. He was right, too. Why do you insist on this farce?”If I understand his motivation, I have a better hope of changing his mind.
“Royal pride?”
“It kinda fits.” I’m unapologetic. “You’ve never had anyone taking notes. If it was something needed, you would have arranged it before now. So why was I there? Why am I here now?”
“Because,” he replies, leaning in across the empty space separating us. “You’re at my disposal. You promised me your service and your discretion. And I know your word is binding, feather. You cannot break it.”
I stare at him, trying to read his stormy eyes. See if he’s bluffing me, trying to make me admit to something he can’t possibly be certain of.There aren’t many creatures in Xhera unable to slither their way out of a promise. As far as I know, it’s just the fae and me. How could he be so certain of this? He shouldn’t know anything at all about me.
And yet I remember how he looked at me—me, and not beautiful Mar—that first day at school.He knows I’m not what I appear to be, somehow.
That’s dangerous. Not to mention impossible. Even in my family, there are few who actually possess more than a passing knowledge about my origins, my difference. As far as most of the Frejr are concerned, Estelle adopted me.
Scan his mind. Tear the answer out of his thoughts. Make him forget.
I’m oh so tempted, but I shove the darkness away.
Reiks sits up, and lets his back relax on the comfortable leather headrest. “You don’t realize how valuable that is, feather. Half of my servants spy for my father, the other half for themselves, the priory, the rebels. You name it. I need someone herefor me.”
I blink in surprise.It sounds honest, and it shows a vulnerability I would never have expected from him. I certainly wouldn’t have shared as much with a quasi-stranger.
I decide that means it isn’t the whole truth. No one shares their entire agenda.
“So what?” I ask. “Am I to be your friend?”
“I don’t see why not. But a silent presence will do, if that’s all you can muster.”
I consider my stance. Having another friend couldn’t hurt. I’m quite short on those. I have my family, Daria, and that’s it. But Reiks can command me. He’s aware of the fact that I’ll have to obey him, having given him my word. Can anyone be friends with their master?
Furthermore, he’s still intent on making the world think we’re together, and that can’t end well. I have to stay guarded.
