Page 43 of Threaded

He wasblind.

Mariah’s light, a force which was supposed to be harmless, hadblindedhim.

But that realization wasn’t the true reason why her panic began to creep in like a thorny vine, twisting and digging its way around her heart.

Because across from her, slumped in his chair, completely unmoving, eyes still wide in shock and pain as they stared back at her, was Lord Beauchamp. His chest didn’t rise or fall, and a line of spittle already began to drop slowly from his agape mouth.

Her explosion of light had done far more than blind a Lord of Onita.

It hadkilledone.

Suddenly, Ryenne stepped into her line of sight, pushing her back from the edge of the table, desperation rampant in her blue gaze. She searched Mariah’s face, likely looking for some hint the magic might return, but was placated quickly. Those threads of magic had shrunken back into the dark place in Mariah’s soul, the tension released, content with their work.

Over the past two days, she’d felt no fear towards that power growing within her.

Until now.

Ryenne darted a look over Mariah’s shoulder to where Sebastian stood, his hand still gripped on Mariah’s arm. Her voice was cold as she spoke to him.

“Get her out of here. Now.”

Mariah didn’t hear Ryenne’s next words as she let Sebastian pull her away, leading her through the doors and down the winding hallways toward her chambers. Her sworn guards followed them, eyes watchful and wary, hands on the hilts of their blades until she stepped through the safety of her suite doors. They remained in the hallway, figures tense.

All excepthim.

Mariah was too lost in the spiral of her emotions to notice fully, but a part of her still caught his movement as Andrian peeled away from the group not long after leaving the conference room, blending into the shadows against the hallway walls and vanishing from sight. She couldn’t process it then, but when she would reflect upon that moment later, she would recall what seemed to be the hint of a dark, wild smile on his full lips, his tanzanite eyes gleaming with something far from fear or worry.

CHAPTER20

Mariah sat on one of the couches in her suite’s living room, the past few minutes a haze. She knew little about how she’d gotten there, only that Sebastian now knelt before her, worry thick in his hazel eyes.

She still wore that stunning green gown, her hair still fell in waves around her face in loose, dark tendrils. She thought for a moment that it looked like whispers of shadows, of the darkness that must be seeping steadily into her soul.

Or, perhaps, that darkness had always been there, lurking beneath the surface, desperate for a chance when she would be uprooted just enough for it to be set free.

For how else could she have killed a Lord of Onita, simply because he’dinsultedher?

Mariah felt herself falling again, spiraling into that place of darkness and silver and gold, tendrils of her magic whispered words that promised more death, more pain, should she continue to be denied that which she—whichit—was owed.

And the same dark part of her that reveled in the power she’d unleashed begged her to listen, begged her to want those things, too.

She was still lost to the shadows and anger when she faintly heard Sebastian’s voice filter through the haze of her consciousness.

“Mariah. My Queen. Come back to me. It’s over now; we’re safe.” He squeezed her hands tighter before he repeated, “Come back to me.”

She blinked her eyes once, twice, three times, struggling to clear away the fog before meeting his gaze. The punch of his calm hazel eyes was almost immediate, washing away what remained of her maelstrom of anger and fear. She fell headfirst into it, losing herself in the steady gaze of the man who still knelt before her, her hands gripped in his.

They stared at each other for several heartbeats as the drum of magic continued to fade from her veins. Her entire body settled as she forgot for a moment what had just happened, what she’d done. Sebastian must’ve felt the shift in her; his jaw relaxed slightly, his hold on her hands loosened, and his shoulders sagged an inch in relief. He rose from where he’d knelt and moved to sit beside her on the couch. She watched him carefully as he sat close enough for her to feel the warmth from his shoulder and thighs. That nearness, the presence of another being, only grounded her further, settled her enough that she was able to press her own feet to the floor, twist her toes into the plush white carpet.

She wasn’t sure where her mind wandered to right then, but as she continued to hold Sebastian’s hazel stare, she felt her mouth fall open, and words she couldn’t source spilled from her lips.

“I miss them.”

Sebastian cocked his head. “Who?”

“My family.” Mariah turned her head away, gazing out the windows to the Attlehon Mountains. She didn’t understand why this was what her mouth had chosen to speak at that moment, when there were so many greater issues rearing their ugly heads, but … she couldn’t help but lean into it, nonetheless. “It may sound childish, but … I miss them.”

Somehow, Sebastian immediately understood, even when she didn’t. His voice was gentle as he spoke. “Tell me about them.”

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