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“You’re safe here,” she says again, catching my eye with a meaningful stare.
“Thank you.”
She doesn’t walk through the door as I expect her to, instead disappearing from view with a shimmer on the air. I blink at the empty space where she stood before deliberately turning from it and crossing to the bed.
Untying the smooth leather tie on the bundle, I pull back the fabric to reveal my clothes, the ones I arrived in, laundered, mended, and folded neatly. Beside them is my dagger, tucked into its sheath.
I waste no time strapping it around my thigh. The weight of it instantly makes me feel more myself. A welcome feeling after so many days of being so hopelessly out of my depth.
But I have a plan to remedy that as quickly as possible. As soon as I can find my way back to Rhagana, I’ll disappear. Then I hope never to see the Shadow Realm or its king ever again.
Chapter Thirteen
Crouching beside the River Loret, I scoop a handful of dirt from its banks and let it cascade through my fingers in a steady stream. The breeze carries it away from me, but even so, I feel the power pulsing through it.
This is how the realm used to feel whenever I soothed it with my blood. Like a flower with its bloom twisted toward the sun, soaking up the light. I cannot account for the change. Not in a way that makes sense to me.
It seems too good to be true that the mere presence of a mortal woman would have such an effect, yet the proof is all around me. In the beat of the wind and the timbre of the swaying branches and the thrum of power pulsing in my veins.
I’ve searched book after book, scroll after ancient scroll, only to come away without answers again and again.
Pushing to my feet, I survey the horizon. I should be happy the solution is such an easy one after so long without answers. But I only feel dread where there should be peace. It seems too simple to last.
But my skepticism cannot dim the effects she’s having, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Hayle mentioned a change in the air only yesterday, and all the boundaries in the realm are holding fast.
It’s good I’ve given this woman rooms. It appears she may be with us indefinitely. The idea makes my lip curl. I’d rather be rid of her completely, what with the way her scent clings to the air long after she’s left a room and washes over me when I least expect it.
And if it’s not her scent or the sight of her through a window or around the corner of a passage, it’s Kaia going on incessantly about whether Elora is comfortable or lonely or adjusting or if we really can keep her here forever.
As of right now, we have no other choice. Until I can uncover a better way to maintain the stability of the Shadow Realm, Elora stays. However much I might wish to never see her or smell her or think about her ever again.
The idea that I’m at her mercy as much as she’s at mine irritates me, and I shift back to my rooms with a scowl on my face. The last thing I ever want to be is at the mercy of another, let alone a mortal woman. One who, I imagine, has spent most of her time since being released trying to figure out how to escape.
Not that she could. I’ve warded the palace grounds so she can’t wander beyond them without an escort. I’ve no idea if she can cross the veil and make it back to Rhagana or what will happen to my realm if she does. Until those questions have answers, she doesn’t go anywhere unless accompanied by a member of my court.
A knock echoes as I pull on fresh robes, adjusting the collar and sleeves.
“Come.”
The door swings in on Railan’s broad frame, and he leans his shoulder casually against it as he takes my measure. Railan’s skill at reading people and their intentions makes him an excellent judge. In every other instance, it serves only to irritate me.
“What do you want?”
He lifts a brow, taking a step back as I move toward the door and then matching my pace down the hall.
“I thought I sensed you were grumpier than usual.”
I snort. “And is that all you wanted? To point out what a bad mood I’m in?”
“You don’t need me to point that out to you.” He grins, white teeth flashing against dark skin, and I roll my eyes. “I was coming to tell you we just welcomed a new batch of souls.”
I stop short. Punishing unredeemables would be the perfect distraction to my little mortal problem. But Railan anticipates my question.
“No one bound for Síra in this group, but we did send quite a few to Irios.”
“Traumatic end?”
Railan’s eyes go soft and he nods. “Fire. They were trapped.”
