Page 18 of Beneath the Flames
I shook the reminder from my head, and met her pleading gray eyes.“Well,thisis your home now, so you better get usedto it.”
I watched as her eyes brimmed with tears before she skillfully shut them off, replacing them with a mask of cold fury.
Well, that was interesting.
I called on my magic, intending to try to feel her emotions and understand what she was thinking—though the sleeping gods only knew why—but found that I couldn’t.My magic was drained after using the portal to return to Avalea and then keeping the rivers of fire from consuming her.I let out a silent sigh.I used to be the most powerful Dark Fae in all of Avalea, even amongst the rulers of the other three kingdoms.But because of the curse, it had been reduced to pitiful Simple Magic—and eventhatwas difficult to control these days.
I was running out of time.
Thinking about it only made me angrier, which didn’t help this current situation at all.So I shoved everything down, down, down, and stepped through the gates and headed into the castle.“I suggest coming inside unless you feel like burning to death,” I called, flicking a hand in the lava’s general direction.It crept toward us, never ceasing.
For a second, I thought Maren would defy me and remain outside, though that would have greatly surprised me if she had.Thus far, she hadn’t proven to have much fight in her.She backed down, shut down, hid within herself at any sign of conflict.Just another reason why this girl would never be a cursebreaker.Mice didn’t fall in love with predators.
Finally, she kicked at the dirt and followed me inside.
It took several tries, but faint gold magic finally filtered out from my palm, closing the metal gates and sealing her inside the castle grounds with me, keeping the danger of the Scorching Rivers out.
If only she knew of the danger within.
Of all the questions that could have been bouncing around in my head, the only one that kept coming out was: Why the heck would aprince,let alone one with magical powers,have been in small town, middle of nowhere, Minnesota?
Though I imagined the sunlight and warmth was a nice change from this dreadful, dark and frigid place, I couldn’t imagine any reason why he, a so-called Dark Fae, would bother spending any time in my world.
And the fact that he had just happened to talk to me in the grocery store and then minutes later saved my life…It all seemed like too much of a coincidence.Why would he take me after going through the trouble of saving me from the other kidnapper?It felt like a box of puzzle pieces that I needed to put together, but half of them were missing.I just couldn’t figure it out.Couldn’t figurehimout.
The questions halted in my brain as I walked through thefront doors of the castle and froze.The winter air abated as the entrance was shut, and a blessed warmth attacked my skin, causing it to feel tingly.As I took it all in, my mind struggled to make sense of the interior.Everything was somehow simultaneously dark and light at the same time.
The floor was made of pristine white marble.The sweeping staircases to my right and left were some sort of light wood, with white velvet covering it all the way to the top.Despite the white, there wasn’t a single spot of dirt on it.The chandelier and sconces on the walls, and even the decorations, were all white.But despite it all, darkness settled on every inch, in the night outside the windows, and in the shadows in the corners, as though the evil of this world sucked the light out of everything.
What should have felt bright and open instead felt constricting, suffocating.
The room itself was so vast that it looked like a giant ballroom with huge windows lining the back wall, briefly separated by the balcony that connected the two staircases.The scent of something burning met my nose, and I wondered if the lava had made it to the castle doors and was burning through the wood in an attempt to devour me.
“Nico!”Rhydian shouted at the base of the stairs, and I flinched, instinctively raising my arms.When nothing happened, I slowly lowered them, my heart thudding in my throat.Hesitantly, I met Rhydian’s eyes, and he studied me for a moment, probably trying to figure out why I was such a mess, why I flinched at every sudden movement or loud noise.
Before he could tell me how ridiculous I was being, a door to the left of the staircase swung open, a barrage of white smoke billowing out.
A young boy, maybe twelve years old if I had to guess,stumbled out.His hurried footsteps scuffed against the floor.As he arrived in front of us, I fully expected to find fear in his crystal blue eyes.But instead, he looked up at Rhydian as if he were his own personal savior.
How odd.How could this killer be anyone’s savior?
Nico had blond hair cut short, accentuating the pointed ears on the sides of his head.His face was the perfect picture of innocence, despite the smears of dirt on his forehead and nose, and he wore a simple black tunic and pants, with a green belt around his hips.
“Yes, Rhydian?”he replied, coming to a stop in front of us, eyeing me curiously.I couldn’t help but wonder at the familiarity between them and the fact that he didn’t call him by a title like “Prince” or “Master.”
“Everything okay in there?”Rhydian asked, nodding at the door that had sealed off the smoke.
Nico’s cheeks reddened.“A little trouble with the food.Nothing I can’t handle.”His attempt at a reassuring smile was more of a grimace, and it reminded me so much of my brother, Joey, that I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back a chuckle.Rhydian’s lip twitched, but like I expected, no smile graced his face.
Did the Dark Fae even know how to smile?
He nodded as if Nico’s embarrassment were explanation enough.“Have one of the rooms cleaned and prepared for our…”—he glanced at me, considering—“guest.”His eyes roved down my body from head to toe and my cheeks inexplicably burned.“And perhaps some new clothes too.We don’t need her dying from the cold before she even has a chance to be…useful.”
Nico looked at me, and I expected him to ask who I was or why I was there, but he simply nodded as if this were an everyday request.My stomach sank at the thought.“Of course.”He scurried up the stairs, and I had a sinking feeling in my gut that this wasn’t the first time Rhydian had brought a strange person to the castle, nor was this the first time he’d “prepared a room” for one.
How many others had there been?How manygirlshad he brought here?
I internally scolded myself.I didn’t care if he brought other girls to Eroth.Why would I?This man was clearly a monster who stole people away from their homes and brought them to a place that was inescapable.I couldn’t dwell on the others—not when I needed to focus on finding a way home.
