Page 16 of The Illuminated
“I could’ve told you that wouldn’t work,” I said, breathless. “Now, can you tell me what the hell is going on?”
He eyed the trolley of hanging gowns that Clarice had brought up. “What in the high realms is our secret weapon doing in the lair of the enemy? In plain sight?” he asked incredulously, an eyebrow raised.
I crossed my arms, frustrated by his refusal to answer my questions. Not to mention his reduction of me to an inanimateweapon.
“If you don’t leave now, youwilldie. Do you understand that? And if you call me anything of the sort in front of the King, you could get me killed too.”
He scoffed, his eyes wildly searching mine. “He must know! I could see your power for miles.”
I rubbed my neck, and the man’s face fell, his energy swarming with timid blue wisps of guilt.
“I’m sorry—” he began, but I cut him off with the flick of a hand.
“Again, I think there’s been a miscommunication. I have a plan. I don’t need rescuing. At least not at the moment. If you don’t want to die here or be tortured for the rest of your life in the dungeons, then you need to go.Now.”
“Dungeons? God, this place is sick.” He ran his hands across his short wiry black hair, his defined jaw clenching. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, join the club,” I muttered, and in a Hail Mary of magick, I grabbed his shoulders and willed my power to show him what he needed to see. With a frenzy of channeling, I watched as his aura grew blindingly white, but unlike Taryn and the servants, I could sense this man was already whole, already strong in a way that seemed untarnished by Lucius’s reign. I couldn’t make sense of this subtle difference. His eyes moved rapidly behind his closed eyelids before opening wide.
“I’m too early,” he said, and to my surprise he grinned. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Áine. But I’m afraid we won’t meet again for some time. Summer follows winter, fire follows ice.”
Oh, lovely. Good to see my power was as clear about its mystical messages as usual.
He took in a deep breath, his features dissolving back into a calm determination. “We need to make this look like I was a powerful energy vampire, hungry for the greatest fix of the kingdom. Okay?”
“Whatever you say, my knight in shining armor,” I said, and he shrugged sheepishly. His aura reeled me in, tasting of freedom and sunshine, like an eternal summer.
“My name is Cyrus. May I?” he asked, tentatively lifting my wrist.
“Go for it.”
And for the first time in my life, I let a stranger freely channel my power, and as it moved through me, I felt the winds of travel, tasted saltwater on my tongue, heard the calls of brightly colored birds, and I saw the otherworldly palm trees, the white sand and clear water, the towering of a mountainous volcano. The air was heavy with nostalgia and belonging, and I felt a pulling sensation, as strong as a runaway riptide. I wanted to go with Cyrus. I wanted to go home.
I could’ve sworn his lips brushed my forehead, but when my eyes opened, he was gone. At the sound of what I assumed to be Lucius breaking down my door, I leapt to the bed, contorting my face into my best show of weary anger at my supposed violation.
Lucius, and three guards entered: Daelon, Harry, and Simon.
“Took you long enough,” I muttered, sitting up on my forearms. “You’d think the security of this place would be a lot better than this.”
Lucius glared, his eyes darting around the room before landing back on me. “Where is he, and what has he done?”
Daelon scanned me, and I imagined he was searching for signs of injury. I followed his eyes from my neck to my right wrist, which was marked with a slowly fading deep blue bruise. I lifted it in a silent explanation for Lucius.
“Good to know my binding spell still works on you. And that you’re… unharmed.” Something curious flitted across his features. “Right?”
I lifted a brow. “Yes, I’m fine. He just used my power to jump somewhere cold. He was an energy vampire. I guess he realized that he wouldn’t be able to leave with me, so he took what he wanted and escaped.”
Lucius gave a curt nod and turned to the men. “The fact that this happened is a disgrace,” he spat. “She ismine.My Queen. An extension of myself. An attack on her is an attack on me. And it shows a weakness to the heretics and scum of the kingdom that we simply cannot afford. I want the guard the intruder subdued for their uniform immediately discharged. Conduct a full sweep of the castle and grounds now. Make his face known to the officials of every city and region until he is found and brought to me for interrogation.”
“Of course,” Daelon said.Are you really okay?he asked me and only me.I’m so sorry, Áine.
I’m fine. It wasn’t what it looked like. We can talk about it later. If you can ever get away.
The guards made their leave, though Daelon hesitated at the door, glancing back at me one more time.
“And you,” Lucius said, turning back to me. “It’s embarrassing you couldn’t defend yourself from this.”
“I personally didn’t really fancy the idea of getting my throat slit,” I shot back. Lucius’s glaring reply was downright ugly. His hand twitched, and he warred against the tide of his anger for a moment before stepping closer.
