Page 132

Helenka let out a high, nervous laugh. A last glance over her shoulder, as if to check her trees were still there and undamaged, then she blurted out, ‘What is Emelin Vedra to you?’

My heart stood still.

But Creon moved without hesitation, and the letters formed under his fingers as swiftly as any of his previous answers.I’d die to keep her safe.

He hadn't bargained for the full and complete truth, I realised only then – just for truth. And thiswasan answer, perhaps the easiest of them all.

Helenka sighed, and I couldn’t tell if it was relief or disappointment. Had she hoped for more scandalous details? Or feared that the situation would be worse?

All she said was, ‘Thank you.’

Creon rose to his feet, wings shifting a fraction against his back as he readjusted his posture. His face was unreadable. No impatience. No triumph. Just a blank invitation for her judgement, for her to fulfil her part of the bargain.

Helenka stared at the azure gemstone lodged in her dark skin, fingers prodding the mirror-smooth surface of the mark. Her hands trembled, but the line of her lips was firm, a sign of decisions made. ‘One night.’ Her voice had recovered that old edge of authority. ‘You will be allowed to rest here and make plans. Then you will leave and never return to this island. Is that clear?’

There was a tinge of arrogance to Creon’s smile, but it was not the sort of arrogance I usually saw in his dealings with the rest of the world. The Silent Death’s smile was a condescension to whomever received it, a soundless reminder that it was by the mercy of his ink-black heart that he hadn't yet killed every worm crawling around his feet. The look he now exchanged with Helenka, on the other hand …

A gesture from ruler to ruler.I see your power,it said.I respect it.

Helenka straightened her back so that the tips of her horns almost reached to the height of his shoulders. Her gaze shot back to me and Alyra, and for one sliver of a moment, I saw the bewilderment in her eyes, the weight of the world-shocking revelations that had rained down upon her in these past few minutes.

She recovered within the blink of an eye, though.

‘And you may stay as long as you wish, Emelin Vedra.’ She swept around, her flimsy chemise fluttering about her small body as she strode over the beach and towards the woods. ‘Follow me, then.’

Chapter 26

Wemayjusthavespent the past week wandering through another forest, but the differences between Tolya and Zera’s woods couldn’t possibly have been greater.

The place we’d left behind had been quiet and dignified and utterly devoid of life – as close to a graveyard as a living forest could be. The nymph forest we entered now, on the other hand, was as vibrantly alive as the creatures inhabiting it. As we followed Helenka along the winding path between the tangled vines and branches, movement broke through the dazzling shades of greens, blues, and violets wherever I looked. Mice and birds skittered between the leaves, butterflies broke from their flowers, and sometimes a storm of nervous cries and giggles betrayed that a flock of nymphs was unsuccessfully hiding in the foliage.

Curious as they seemed to be, they never showed their faces, darting away time and time again to avoid our gazes. At first I assumed it was because of Creon, who sauntered along next to me with blood streaking his sharp cheekbones and his sleeves rolled up to reveal the ink marks in his skin. Even without those mementos of battle, it would have been hard to overlook the raw force of his power in this place, where the colours were bright like gemstones and brimmed with the potential of magic. Of course the nymphs were frightened. Of course they were wondering why their queen was now leading him into their forest if she had staunchly refused him access until mere minutes ago.

But the first bit of comprehensible speech I caught from the hushed voices hiding behind a large, pink-flowered bush wasmyname.

And suddenly their thinly veiled hysteria took on an entirely different meaning.

Because it wasn’t just Creon strutting through their forest covered in blood and teeming with a power they could barely grasp. It was me, too – an unfamiliar face with godsworn magic and a tiny falcon on her shoulder, emerging victorious from a scuffle with an entire damn fleet. To these people, I was no longer little Emelin, clueless unbound mage. I was a force to be reckoned with.

And while part of me felt like shrinking and insisting they were vastly overestimating me, there was something oddly addictive about the realisation, too – about being a match to the predator beside me, rather than the hapless victim the world liked to make of me.

The whispers accompanied us as we progressed deeper into the woods, a razor-edged sound that contrasted sharply with the peaceful hum of the wind and the occasional trickling of water. Helenka never spoke, no matter how obvious the hisses from the foliage grew. We passed clearings full of flowers, where the air was heavy with the sweetness of honeysuckle and roses; crystal-clear ponds, where the mist smelled of moss and damp soil; thickets of trees heavy with fruit, perfumed with the fragrance of ripe berries and honey. Wherever we went, I caught no sign of towns or other organised habitations – not even the loneliest house or shed.

We had been walking for maybe ten minutes when a very different sound broke through the constant harmony of whispering voices and rustling leaves.

Screaming.

My feet faltered as the first shreds of it reached my ears – muffled yet desperate, voices of men and women who were too far gone to manage a single coherent word. Another attack? Another battle? But Helenka strode on as if she didn’t hear the distant cacophony at all, and Creon did not look perturbed in the least when he drew to a nonchalant halt alongside me and gestured for me to walk on.

What’s that?I mouthed, unwilling to let Helenka find out how my stomach had rolled over.

Prisoners.He threw a quick glance at the red-haired nymph queen, then quickly added,They don’t kill. Matter of religious principle.

I swallowed something bitter. ‘So they take captives instead?’

Yes.A wry smile.Fae tend to believe that’s a weakness. Until they find themselves in a nymph prison, that is. Coming?

Gods help me. I hurried after him and Helenka, mind spinning and unable to ignore the nameless pleas that came filtering through the foliage. Was the queen leading us past this spot on purpose, just a little reminder of what her people were capable of? Or had it not even occurred to her that her prison might be shocking to guests who had their fair share of fae blood on their hands, too?