Page 81 of Vicious Princess
“You’re the only human Decarios in my service. Of course, I know your name.”
I choke out a laugh and sag back onto the floor with relief. I only give myself a moment to breathe.
Slowly, I crawl back towards him. The General’s leg is twisted under the table. I missed it earlier, but from this angle, it’s clear.
The shadows move first—inky tendrils slither across the floor like smoke towards us. They coil around the heavy wood and lift it like it weighs nothing.
In their wake follows a tall figure. Taaslord Noire.
“Thank the spirits of the gods,” he says to the General. “Can you move?”
“Ribs may be broken. Legs could be better.”
The Taaslord looks at me. “Get him. The shadows will do the rest.”
I stare at the tendrils curling like fingers around the debris. My stomach clenches. What kind of power is this?
Dragons. Bows that have minds of their own.
Now this—shadows that obey the whims of the fae.
Ekios is a damn handful. I had no clue what I was signing up for when I chose to travel to the misty lands of the fae.
I slip under the General’s arm, helping him up as the shadows retract. He’s a big man and leans heavily on me. But I don’t complain.
Taaslord Noire surveys the dead. “Ah, Yal Absom didn’t survive.”
“No, Taaslord,” I say. “Apologies.”
He turns his strange eyes on me. They sparkle—not with amusement, but something sharper. Measured. Dangerous.
“You’re just as promising as we hoped.” He might be looking directly at me, but his words are to the General.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Coming back to real life after the mission feels surreal. Almost half the bunk beds are empty, serving as a reminder of how dangerous the path I have chosen is. And I’m not even an Ezkai yet.
I have only a few scratches here and there, plus aching muscles and a couple of rough bruises around my ribs. No broken bones. The gods must be watching over me.
We have one day to recover, and then we’re back to our lectures. As if nothing happened.
As if our lives weren’t altered forever less than twenty-four hours earlier.
As I sit in the emotional-manipulation lecture, I can see Ezkai Cassandra’s lips move as she speaks. But her words don’t register with me.
All I hear are the screams, the clashing of blades, and the deafening explosion that still rings in my ears.
I can’t believe I went on a mission with the Ezkai General of Ekios himself.
“—Wildarrow?” Ezkai Cassandra’s voice reaches me.
I blink, startled. Her eyebrows rise.
Clearing my throat, I sit up straighter. “Excuse me, could you repeat the question?”
“I asked if you’d like to be the first to give this exercise a go,” Ezkai Cassandra says.
Oh, shit.
