Page 87
Story: Of Mist and Shadow
I couldn’t get any sleep in there.
But for the love of light, I couldn’t get any here, either. Instead, I found myself drinking in the sight of the powerful fae beside me. His strong jaw. That dark hair that was the color of night itself. Those powerful hands, calloused and rough. He was not someone who was afraid to get his hands dirty. That should scare me, but it only made me like him even more.
He infuriated me, yes, but…
I flopped over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. The memory of his kiss still lingered on my lips. It had been days, and I could not stop thinking about it.
“Tessa,” that voice whispered from the open door. “You’re hungry. You need to leave this place so you can find some food. I have a way for you to do that.”
My stomach betrayed me and growled.
“All I’m asking for is a conversation,” she whispered, her voice full of need. “I have something to offer you. A way out of here. Whether you take my offer is your choice. Nothing will happen without your consent.”
I scowled. “You expect me to believe that? I know what you are.”
She sighed. “All right then. I will you offer you something else. Your sister.”
My heart lurched into my throat as I sat straight up. Hand flying to the dagger beside me, I scanned the silent Great Hall, half-expecting to find a monstrous wraith watching me, knowing exactly what to say to rile me up.
I hissed out between my teeth as I slowly stood.
“That’s right,” the voice said. “I will return your sister to you if you do what I ask.”
I cast Kalen a glance before following the voice out into the hall. I knew what he’d say if I told him about this. He’d been more than clear many times—the god trapped here wanted out, and she was dangerous. I knew this, but I could not stop my feet from moving. Not with the image of my sister in my head.
Could a god bring a girl back to life?
My heart thundered at the thought of it. At seeing my sister smile again. At erasing the horror of what Oberon had done to her. WhatI’ddone to her by not falling in line.
If I could save her now, after failing her so greatly, what kind of sister would I be?
The god’s voice led me down the stairs, back to the ground floor where the horse pawed at the ground. It glanced up as I passed by, its dark eyes full of knowing. I swallowed hard when I came to another set of stairs that descended into the depths of the earth and pure, unyielding darkness.
I hesitated on the top step.
“I cannot hurt you even if I wanted to,” the voice said. “I am trapped. My powers are muted. All I can do is speak to you.”
“If you could hurt me, it isn’t as though you would outright tell me,” I mumbled.
“No.” The voice sounded amused. “I suppose not. Still, all I can do is swear to you that I mean you no harm.”
I blew out a breath. The god could still be lying, of course. But I needed to hear what it had to say about my sister.
And so I went down. Down into the dark where the shadows lurked like wraiths. At the bottom of the steps, I walked into a cavernous room where water trickled down the stone walls. A dim light shone ahead, casting a pool of gold upon a deep onyx stone embedded into the rock face.
It glittered as I approached.
The voice sighed, the sound coming directly from the gemstone. “Thank you for coming down here. It’s so much harder to speak with you when you’re above ground.”
I shifted on my feet and frowned. “So, you’re trapped inside that gemstone.”
“My power is. My body is somewhere else.”
“And you can’t get out? Or do anything as long as you’re trapped in there?”
“For the most part. Most importantly, I cannot do anything that directly harms you.”
“All right then. Tell me about my sister.”
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