Page 93 of A Kingdom of Shadows

I can hardly breathe.

When Lorcan had told me he loved me, he'd said it in a moment of fear. I don't think he meant it; I don't think he truly loved me. But as I look at Darius, I feel it. I feel it in his voice and how his gaze reaches my core.

I release the vines, branches—everything within my grip. "Darius," the name hardly reaches him. I try to move closer, but a clash further into the woods interrupts us.

Our heads swivel toward the noise.

Bickering voices—rough and nasally.

Trolls.

There's not enough time to finish the traps. Darius turns to me and grabs my hand as we careen through trees. He makes us duck beside a bush after skidding to a halt. Looking up, I observe a glade surrounded by trees with a brick well covered with moss in the center.

My gaze flickers to the two trolls standing guard dressed in animal skin. Flies buzz around them as one scratches their behind, grabs the fly midair, and devours it.

The meal Golrai had left in my room swirls inside my stomach, and bile rises to my throat.

Trying to shake that imagery out of my head, I lift my blade, but Darius's hand covers my fist and lowers it. I frown at him, perplexed, and then watch him tilt his head as he stares at the trolls with an intense flare in his eyes.

"Did you see that?" one of the trolls says, glancing in the opposite direction of the woods. The other raises his chin, his nostrils flaring.

"I don't smell—" They freeze, then start chuckling. "Looks like we got an intruder, Slig."

Slig shoots him a rotten, crooked grin before they creep towards the trees, away from us and away from the well.

When I glance at Darius, a self-satisfied smirk appears as he stares at them fall under the ruse of whatever Merati powers he must have used.

"Come on," he says, but I grab his arm before he can charge toward the well.

His head snaps down, and my eyes linger on every part of his face. I still cannot forget his confession.

"Darius—"

"Later," is the word he whispers as he pulls out of my hold and walks into the clearing.

I close my eyes with a sigh and clutch the gold coin around my neck as I follow him, unable to think of the task because of what he had said.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I have never been afraid of wells before. I was once forced to enter one by bullies in our village, but now, glancing over the side, it appears that I am staring into the pit of a monster's mouth.

I look across the well toward the lake, dark and uninviting. "I'll go down while you look out."

Darius's incredulous chuckle has me whip my head to face him. He shakes his head, grabbing hold of the rope. The screech and hiss of metal sting my ears as he pulls out an almost disintegrated bucket and looks at it as if it is useless. He throws it on the ground and begins fastening the rope around him.

"I'll go down first," he says, tugging on the cord so it is secure. "Make sure no trolls are lurking there, or you know—" He eyes me humorously "—creatures with an insatiable hunger for blondes."

"Such as yourself?"

He clicks his tongue, effortlessly standing atop the ledge of the well. Turning to me, he says, "I can't deny that you do taste sweet, Goldie." My cheeks flame. "I'll whistle to let you know I've landed."

One second, he is there in front of me. The next, he's going down the well. I rest my hands against the stone masonry, watching as he disappears. I'm on the verge of shouting his name when seconds pass, and there is no response. I grip the ledge harder, sharp edges indenting my palms.

He finally whistles.

It echoes on a lilting noise, and I release a breath.

I pull the rope back and mimic Darius by wrapping it around my waist. As I raise myself on my feet and turn away from the lake, my chest feels like it's twisted around a tight coil. And as I lower myself, I look up at the sky, a ring of stars and green hues whirling in the darkness. It shrinks and shrinks until enormous hands touch my back and I leap into Darius' embrace. An odd stale scent roams the air—a smell that brings me back to my childhood.

---