Page 39 of Kissed By the Sun

In one fluid motion, Echo drew a dagger from his belt. My heart rate spiked, but before I could react, he flipped it in the air, caught it by the blade, and held it out to me, handle first.

"What's this?" I asked, not moving to take it.

"A gesture of good faith," Echo replied. "Before you ask, the dagger is enchanted. It can't harm me, but you can use it againstanyoneelse."

A key dangling from a cord on the hilt glinted in the low light. Not daring to voice my hope I raised an eyebrow at him in question.

Echo nodded. "The key to your cuffs, yes."

My mind raced. This had to be a trap, right? "Why?" I demanded. "Why would you do this?"

"Because I want you to trust me," Echo said simply. "I want us to talk, openly and honestly. I truly don't agree with my father's course of action, Thorn. I believe there's a better way, and I think you might be the key to finding it."

I hesitated, my gaze flicking between the dagger and Echo's earnest face. Every instinct screamed that this was too good to be true, but what choice did I have? If there was even a chance this could help me get Senara out of here...

With a deep breath, I reached out and took the dagger. "Alright, kid. I'm listening. But don't think for a second that I trust you yet, and don’t think I’m going to leave these cuffs on out of respect or something like that.”

Echo nodded, a look of relief crossing his features. "That's fair. Please remove the cuffs whenever you wish.”

He was a strange one, putting so much trust in a stranger from what had to be an even stranger land to him given how young he was. “You realize that I could roast you alive as soon as I take them off, yes?”

“Yes, but you won’t. It wouldn’t do you any good. You certainly couldn’t get to your companion with my corpse in your cell. As soon as I was discovered the entire city would go on lockdown and since you have no idea how to escape you would be trapped. I have actually thought this through, you know,” he chastised me slightly.

I grunted at him, let him take the sound however he wished.

“Shall we sit? We have much to discuss."

“You want to sit here?” I asked, incredulous that the heir to the elven throne would sit on the floor of a prison cell.

He sat before I could question him any further. Most fae nobles wouldn’t touch the ground in a place like this if they could help it. Yet, here was the elven heir, sitting on the floor with his back resting against two of the bars of the cell. He was not what I expected, especially after meeting his father.

As I moved to the opposite side of the cell and sat, leaning back against the wall. Before anything else happened I slid the key into the lock of the cuffs. It was awkward given the angle, but I got it done. As soon as the latch was open my magic seemed to rush back into my body. I knew the suppression was gone because my sun mark glowed once more, lighting the dingy space with a soft orange glow.

Finally, I looked up at the young elf once more and when I saw his satisfied smile, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was walking on a knife's edge. But for Senara's sake, I had to try. I just hoped I wasn't making the biggest mistake of my life. Of both our lives.

Chapter

Nineteen

Thorn

The cell feltcold and dark, but a flicker of hope sparked in my chest as I studied Echo's face. His bright blue eyes seemed earnest, imploring me to believe him. I wanted to.

"I can see you truly want change for your kingdom," I said slowly. "To make it a place of openness and inclusivity, while still remaining true to yourselves. It’s an admiral goal, if a hard one to achieve."

Echo nodded vigorously. "Yes, that's it exactly! I know in my heart the fae could never have caused this blight upon their own people. It's unthinkable, too cruel." He shook his head, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've seen it, Thorn. The corrupted fae at the borders, the devastation the blight leaves...It's horrific."

A chill ran down my spine at his words. The blight was a plague upon the fae lands, and what Echo had seen? That was only a small fraction of it. "How do you keep it at bay?" I asked. "What prevents it from spreading unchecked?"

"The druids," Echo replied. "They are nature mages, able to purify and cleanse the land where the blight has touched. Thatis why the border regions are so open and bare - anything the corrupted ones could infect must be removed swiftly, before it takes deeper root and becomes harder to heal.” His gaze shuttered for a moment before he continued, “In the beginning some elves became infected, this was before we had a protocol in place, and thankfully we were able to keep them isolated otherwise I don’t think we would have been able to purify the land, no matter how hard the druids tried. And they did try to heal those that were infected, but it was no good. The corruption had rotted away whoever they used to be and when it was removed we realized that there was nothing left to save. That’s why we’ve taken to fighting from the trees by the border. Harder for the corrupted fae to find us and reach us when they do get through."

I pondered this, imagining the tremendous power and discipline it must take, the toll it surely had on those tasked with containing this sinister force. The responsibility the guards of the Veil bore was immense. One slip up and they could end up in a similar situation to the fae.

My mind raced with the implications, with what this could mean for the future of both our kinds. If the fae were not to blame, if we had a common enemy in this blight... perhaps there was a chance for understanding between us after all. A fragile hope, but a start. And perhaps, if we were able to work together the druids might have a way to restore the fae land as well.

It was a tiny pinprick of hope, but it was there.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor outside my cell. Echo and I both froze, our eyes locked. Without a word, he slipped back into the hidden tunnel, pulling the stone door shut behind him. The smear of blood he’d used to open it was absorbed into the rock as the box slid back into place, concealing any trace of the passageway.

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