Page 35 of The Light Falls
The lights dim, and my mind is so busy imagining dessert, I can barely pay attention to the rest of the play.
“Are you ready?” Lorn asks, standing beside me with his palm out.
“Definitely,” I tell him, my voice husky.
Lorn and the guards get us through the crowd and to the street pretty quickly.
“The restaurant isn’t far.”
We’re passing by an alley when I hear a child crying. I immediately stop. “Do you hear that?” Pushing against Lorn, I try to gain some distance to listen, but he immediately pushes me behind him. “Ansel. Can you please check it out?”
Wind in the shape of a miniature tornado appears in Ansel’s left hand, and a sword in the other. He nods at Tiernan, who throws a light above the alley. Holding his palms up, fire flames instantly. Ansel shouts an order at Laken. Ice forms in the back of the alley, slowly coating every inch. It moves forward in an attempt to drive the person out of hiding.
Garren motions for me to follow, but I refuse. With a fierce frown, he moves into position behind me.
Wailing pierces the air, and I push against Lorn. “It sounds like a child.” I move to the side, but he steps in front of me. “We need to help.”
“A lot of things can sound like children in this world. It’s a tactic they use to lure innocents into their lair. Wait,” he says harshly.
“Fine, but I want to see what’s happening,” I tell him.
He shuffles a couple of inches to the right.
Ansel walks three feet into the alley and stops behind a pot full of flowers. He swings his sword forward to point at something on the ground. “Get up.”
Small in stature, the boy slowly stands up. “Please don’t kill me. I’ve been sent to deliver a message.” His head twists unnaturally until he’s staring right at me. “Tell the sorceress to return what she stole, or he will unmake her abomination.”
“Who’s sending the message?” I ask, dread filling my stomach.
“His Majesty, the Dark Fae King, Denir,” he says reverently.
Laughter spills out of me. My mother tried to kill me. Dear old Dad is threatening to unmake me. Wow. Talk about winning the parent lottery pool.
“Nobody knows where she is, but tell him, if he can find her, I’ll deliver a message.” Not that one, of course. I have one of my own.
His brow creases in confusion, but he inclines his head toward me. “I’ll pass on the message, Your Majesty.” Snapping his fingers, he takes a step to his right and drops into the shadow beside him.
My message will probably get him killed, but there’s nothing I can do. Leandra is exceptional at hiding, but if it’s important enough, he’ll find her. Either way, it helps me.
Ansel’s eyes flick from one corner of the alley to the other. “I don’t like the look of those shadows on the wall. It’s time to go, Your Majesty.” Walking backward, he keeps his sword ready. “Garren, open the portal.”
Lorn turns around to face me. His eyes are full of questions, but he simply pulls me into his arms and gives me a tight hug. “Thank you for a wonderfully surprising evening. I haven’t laughed this much in a long time. I’m sorry we didn’t get to the dessert I promised you, but if you like, I can bring it by tomorrow?”
Here I thought he meant a different type of dessert.
“I have training in the morning, but come by in the afternoon,” I reply, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and inhale his scent again. “Thank you for taking me to my first show.”
Ansel pulls me from him and ushers me into the portal.
When I look back, Lorn’s staring into the alley.
The second my foot touches the marble floors of the palace, Ansel leaves to find Kaius, and Tiernan escorts me back to my room.
Safely in my suite, I pick up my phone.
Meri: What did Leandra steal from the dark Fae king?
Cormal: …
