Page 10 of Blooms of Darkness

I hoped.

Meeting his gaze, I narrowed my eyes at him. Oh, what a mistake. Abigmistake—because those eyes were as unique as Storm’s fire power. They appeared as though clouds of a thunderstorm itself had settled in them. The grey coloring stood out even more due to his tanned skin and midnight-black hair.

I swallowed, praying it wasn’t as audible as it felt. This particular Fae—Kade—may use his strikingly good looks to get what he wanted in any other situation, but I would not be swayed.

Turning away from the two men, I moved toward Ian, but my step faltered due to the pain in my arm.

Ian reached for me. “May I?” he asked.

Nodding my agreement, he immediately took in my injury, inspecting as much as he dared before we returned home. His gaze met mine and I realized he worried, likely thinking the same thing as me. “We’re leaving before anything else decides it’s out for blood tonight,” he said.

I stumbled over a rock, displaced from the fight. I attempted to right myself as fast as I could, while Ian clutched onto my good arm to lead me away. He’d observed the depth of the wound and knew I needed to see a healer, much to my dismay.

Besides, Ian had a point. If additional attackers returned, my assistance would be limited in my current state. Even if Storm and Kade’s magic outmatched any I’d witnessed, neither Ian nor I were prepared for another ambush tonight.

As subtle as possible, I looked at the two men once more. I refused to think about my lack of magic, myweaknesses, in front of strangers. Not wanting them to scent the fear I held so close to my heart.

“May nature guide you,” I said, imparting the line of luck all of Brookmere bestowed on friends.

Storm inclined his head, but Kade acted as if he didn’t hear.Asshole.

Ian didn’t wait to see if our companions walked away, instead quickly guiding us back toward the city walls. “At least Storm had his friend on a tight leash,” he huffed. Stopping in our tracks, he spun around to look me straight in the eye. “They’re dangerous.”

“It’s likely they can hear you,” I said. I didn’t look over my shoulder to perceive how far the two men were. Hurriedly, we moved toward the wildflower field once more. Clouds drifted freely through the sky, obscuring our moonlit path.

A soft caress touched my skin before we cleared the woods, likely my imagination as adrenaline from the battle faded.

A tremor coursed through me, and I tugged my arm from Ian. It quickly turned to all-out shaking, which took a few breaths to get under control.

His perceptive gaze studied my every movement as we continued. Clearly, he had concerns about what had happened tonight.

“You’re going into shock.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Come on, the quicker we’re inside the palace the sooner we can come down from the fight properly. And get this arm healed.”

My silence spurred Ian to intertwine his fingers in mine. “You did everything right. You were fantastic, Lan.”

I nodded, keeping up with him until we were practically jogging toward the safety of the palace walls.

Twenty minutes later, we married up with the shadows of the gates, slipping back inside the city through the grate, unnoticed, and moving along the cobblestone streets once more.

It should have been concerning how easily we could escape from the palace and city, but together, we’d done it enough times, it had become second nature. The consequences of getting caught were not ones we were willing to consider.

At the foot of the north end of the castle, Ian shifted his weight into the side of a large, loosened slab, revealing the tunnel we utilized to get in and out of the palace. Known only to a select few, it provided the perfect route into the palace, avoiding most of the guard stations.

Gingerly, I placed my uninjured arm against the cool rock, steadying the hammering of my heart. I stabbed someone. Ihelpedkillsomeone. The blood coating my hand hadn’t come merely from my own injury, the “dark ones” blood mixed with it as well. The one man I’d killed, in particular.

A cursed man if Storm and Kade were to be believed.

What kind of curse plagued our lands so much so that it caused such feral aggression?

The meeting had promised to be strange, finding the letter requesting aid had reached Corbin directly at the castle, instead of being left at the forest drop spot he checked weekly. Add in the attack, and there were suddenly far more questions than answers.

As we moved through the tunnel, my wound throbbed, and an ache settled deep in my bones. The blood continued flowing.Damn it. I’d definitely need the healer. The deep injury would likely become infected if not cleaned properly. A wound like this would draw too many questions from the king and queen.

It should have been an injury I could handle on my own.

Ian looked back, his hand slick from sweat, mixing with blood from my arm. Ripping his mask off, he stuffed it into his pocket, steadying his hand on me.

“We need to get you to Elisabeth, quickly, before your arm becomes any worse.” Ian read my mind more often than I cared to admit. After knowing someone for twenty-two years, it was to be expected.

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