Page 48 of A Tale of Treachery

Whatever had happened, whatever I’d just become…scared me.

Ryken held me as I shook and panted, my pulsing heart slowing to a steady beat. When I was finally able to speak, I looked up at him, my vision narrowing at the corners. “Did I kill them?”

“No, I can hear their heartbeats. You only knocked them out. I promise.”

Well, that was a crafty little trick. “Was that Fin?” I croaked, barely hanging on to reality.

Ryken chuckled. “Yes. I had to knock him out. He was going to get involved and end up hurting you or himself. He was scared for his mate.”

I couldn’t be sure if I’d heard him correctly over the whooshing in my ears, but I was pretty sure he’d saidmate. Mates were destined. Fated. Mates were the deepest form of romantic connection in the world. “Who?” I asked, coughing out the word.

“Your friend. Eulalia.”

My shock came out in a coughing fit. I tried to speak but couldn’t, my mind lighting up with exhilaration. Eulalia’s obsession had been her mate this entire time. I couldn’t wait to tell her!

My heart dropped when I realized that I wouldn’t be the one to do so. Everything that had happened tonight had been washed away and erased for a moment, but some things could never be forgotten.

I scanned the pile of incapacitated witches, eyeing the one who would have been elated to hear this news. If only we were friends…

“Oh.” The air whooshed out of me, and I leaned back into Ryken’s hold, my body dragged down by a heavy weight.

He pressed me tighter to his body and whispered in my ear, “Go to sleep, little crow. I’ll take care of you.” He glanced at the damage surrounding us. “We can worry about this tomorrow.”

Tomorrow sounded good. It sounded brighter. And with that thought, I shut my eyes and let go, sleep sinking its frosty claws into me.

I was finally safe and sound.

Only with him.

CHAPTER18

Groaning, I rolled over in my bed, clueless as to how I’d gotten there. I stretched, feeling the tight pulling of my muscles, the soreness in my shoulder blades and gumline. Everything hurt. Even my fingernails hurt. I whimpered and sat up.

“You’re awake,” Redmond said. I turned my attention to him, my eyes hazy from sleep. He was sprawled in a chair in the corner of my room, a blanket haphazardly thrown over his legs. His brown, wavy hair was messy and unkempt, sticking out in different directions. A little extra gray peeked through the strands, as if last night had managed to age him an additional decade.

“What happened?” I moaned, scrubbing my hand down my face.

“I returned from my expedition and looked everywhere for you, but you couldn’t be found, so I waited here. Ryken carried you in a few hours ago, fawning and fussing over your unconscious body,” he explained. “I told him to leave, but it wasn’t easy to get him out of here. He was being all fae-territorial, puffing out his chest and trying to boss me around. Me! Can you believe that?”

I chuckled a little, but it hurt. It was Redmond’s fault for befriending the man in the first place, but I couldn’t exactly blame him. Last night’s memories grew a little clearer—the tribunal and the aftermath—and the last thing I remembered was falling asleep in Ryken’s arms.

If he hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened. I’d probably still be lying in the forest, unconscious and easy prey for the Gallows Coven.

“I take it last night didn’t go well.” Redmond’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I fell back against my headboard. “No, it didn’t…” I trailed off, remembering how out of control my magic had been—how out of controlIhad been. “Something happened. It was like I transformed into something else, and I couldn’t stop it. I need to find a way to get my magic under control, and Eulalia’s help is no longer an option.”

“That bad?”

I nodded grimly and spoke, my voice breaking. “She tried to kill me.”

Redmond’s face dropped, and he stared into space. “I’ve suspected for some time that a shift within you might take place. You need to remember that you are not fully human. You’re half shade, and shades have always had a different form than mortals.”

I could hardly remember the shade gods of my childhood. Malachi and I had been born and then abandoned, so it’s not like we regularly saw them. But the images in the books had painted them out to be monstrous things. Winged creatures with fangs and claws and pitch-black eyes. Malevolent in every version of the word.

I didn’t want to become a shade.

“Well, if Eulalia is out of the question, then maybe Ryken could help,” said Redmond. “Fae typically have powers and are trained from birth in how to control them.”

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