Page 60 of The Shadow Heir

But the taste of victory quickly soured as the feathered one lifted his hand and cut off my air supply with a silent spell. My hands grasped at my throat, but it was no use. I couldn’t draw breath.

Purple dots swam before my eyes and I sank to my knees, knocking over the gravy and a plate of grapes.

When I sank onto my hands, the purple spots turned to gold flecks that blurred the table beneath me. I thought they couldn’t kill me, but perhaps these shadow fae didn’t bother with the rules while the heir was away.

Just as I was about to collapse onto the table, a loud voice rang out.

“Stop.”

Air returned to my lungs.

Head splitting, I looked up to see Casimiro striding between the tables toward me. Without a word, he raked his arm across the table, scattering dishes and goblets onto his surprised courtiers’ laps. He propped one foot on the large table and reached two hands under my shoulders. Drawing me forward, he pulled my limp body against his, then lifted me and set my feet on the floor beside him.

The wine on my dress stuck to his white shirt, staining it.

His eyes traveled down my frame, pausing at the strawberry smear and the other stain near my knees. Still lightheaded from lack of air, I gripped Casimiro’s shirt in two fists as I heaved ragged breaths.

“Breathe, little spark. It’s over now.”

I nodded, swallowed, and nodded again. I glanced at the table of silent, shocked fae.

“Look at me, Valencia.”

I did.

His dark eyes flared with a magical blue light, and I cowered, still unreasonably clinging to his shirt. He blinked and the light died from his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid.”

I was. I was afraid of them all. I hated them all.

In a deep and commanding voice, Cas spoke to the fae still staring at us. “You know the rules. You are not allowed to harm them outside of the trials.”

Leaving his grumbling courtiers behind, Casimiro led me from the cavern amidst a flurry of whispers. I let him, though my one desire was to flee not just this cavern, but this wretched palace altogether. Perhaps I could find another door to fall through and never again face these vile creatures.

Outside the cavern, I could no longer contain the shudders that started in my chest and worked their way down to my toes. I hated how shaky I was, hated how good it felt to have Cas’s arm holding me steady.

He stopped at the bottom of the stair leading up from the wide atrium. “You don’t have my stone with you tonight.”

“I gave it to Ariana.”

Cas quirked a brow at me. “You gave the stone away?”

“She needs it more than I do.”

“Do you really think so, after tonight?”

My fingers traced my throat, which still burned on the inside, but I didn’t respond.

“How am I supposed to keep you alive if you give my protection away?” he asked.

I turned so I could look him fully in the face. “I didn’t think you could kill me outside of the trials. I might not have given the stone away had I known you can.”

He flinched at the wordyou. Then his thumb rose and touched my shoulder, where sticky wine clung to my skin. Black lines bulged under his skin, racing up his hands into his wrist. His jaw muscle tightened.

I exhaled loudly at his touch, drawing his eye.

“I wish things were different,” he said as he turned away, eliciting a thousand unspoken questions in my mind.

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