Page 50 of Manor of Wind and Nightmares (Fae of Brytwilde #3)

Now

M y body went limp as I collapsed, my head cracking painfully against the floor.

But I didn’t wince, didn’t open my eyes.

I floated in darkness as I felt King Wystan’s presence hovering over me.

His palm struck my cheek in a stinging blow, but I remained still, my breaths shallow and my muscles loose.

The dagger I’d clung to was cold beneath my open palm.

Everything relied on King Wystan believing I was truly incapacitated.

Cursing beneath his breath, King Wystan pulled away, his voice growing more distant as his footsteps padded away from me. “Weak mortals, fainting in fear,” he sneered. Then he raised his voice. “Guards!”

My heart lurched into my throat as I rose, fingers securely on my dagger hilt once more. I sprang forward on sure feet, abandoning silence for speed.

King Wystan cursed again, but before he could fully turn, my dagger sliced across his arm, a swipe that drenched the blade in his blood. His orange gaze burned hatefully into mine as he spoke, before I could turn and race for the window.

“Stay still,” he said, his voice filled with the smooth, hauntingly charming tone of a fae using glamour. I could feel the magic heavy in the air, binding me to the king and his awful commands.

My body twitched and then froze against my will.

But I’d been ready, prepared with the protection he didn’t know his trainer, Kymelle, had gifted me.

“I didn’t go to Willowbark only for Callista,” I breathed, the truth of the confession buzzing through my blood, startling me back into full control of my body. I stumbled backward, fleeing toward the window.

“Stop!” King Wystan shouted, furious.

Footsteps pounded outside the war room and guards burst through the door.

But the power of the truth weakened his continued attempts at glamour.

I swung over the windowsill. “I also went for myself,” I panted as I began climbing down the castle wall, forcing the words through my lips so the glamour King Wystan was still trying to fling toward me would fail.

“I needed to see Kaede again. Even if he wanted to kill me.” My fingers burned, stone biting into skin as I rushed, nearly slipping and falling more than once.

Thankfully, the guards shouting at me through the window weren’t armed with bows, but I knew they’d call for reinforcements who would meet me in the castle grounds. My only hope was that Allvar’s magic would bring me back as swiftly as it had transferred me here.

Guards were charging through the gardens only moments later. An arrow soared past my ear, ricocheting off the stone. I choked on a gasp of fear. If I went much faster, I risked making a clumsy mistake and falling toward an awful injury or death, but if I wasn’t fast enough, I’d be skewered.

“Allvar,” I muttered, “now would be the perfect time to sense my success and bring me back to Willowbark.”

Another arrow grazed my shoulder, and I couldn’t hold in a cry of pain as warm blood trickled down my back. Each motion of my arm sent a bolt of pain through the injury.

“Allvar!” I repeated. “If you do not act soon, I will not live long enough to uphold my end of the bargain.”

Whether he’d been watching my progress, heard my words, or simply sensed what I’d accomplished somehow, the world around me vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

In a blink, I was standing on the floor in the Willow manor again, facing Allvar in that strange room.

The only signs that I’d been in Emberglade at all were my still-racing pulse, clammy, scraped hands wrapped in tattered pieces of my sliced tunic, my bleeding shoulder, and the vial of blood tucked securely in my boot.

“Very good.” Allvar clapped his hands together.

“All the other bargains made or discussed in your absence were rather dull. You can feed my magic for years to come.” With a yellow grin, he reached out a wrinkled hand, as if he’d snatch my soul right from my body or drain the years of my life with a single touch.

I lurched backward. “No,” I said firmly.

“Nowhere in our bargain did you state that I must make my sacrifice before you’ve concocted the antidote.

In fact, I stipulated that you must allow me to deliver it to Prince Kaede.

I want to be sure he receives it, to know that he has a chance, even if I do not live long enough to see whether it succeeds. ”

Allvar’s gaze narrowed. “You are not in a position to ask for much,” he said, “and nowhere did I say I would allow you to see him be healed. Delivering it to Willow Manor is sufficient under the terms of our agreement. No one could claim I didn’t fulfill my end.

” He teetered forward, arm extended, but I raised my voice, this time appealing to a different power.

“To withhold the antidote from the prince any longer than necessary when you have the key to crafting it would be a treasonous action. Would it not, Willow Manor?”

The warlock froze, scowling, but around us, the room shifted and shuddered as if in agreement.

Without warning, more roots and trees burst through the areas where the floor appeared to be more dirt than wooden boards, encircling Allvar.

Vines stretched between the branches, wrapping like ropes about the trunks until Allvar was caged within.

The sense of victory that gripped me was temporary. It was gratifying to know I was right and the manor was loyal to the prince’s interests, at least in this matter, but it did not change that soon, I’d have to return to Allvar.

Plucking the vial from my boot, I reached out, hoping to shove it past the ivy growing so thickly I could no longer see the hunched form within.

The branches moved like a living thing, twisting around the vial and gently taking it from me before withdrawing back toward the trees and depositing it within Allvar’s confined space.

Grunting and muttering under his breath, Allvar began shuffling about, his cane beating against the earth as he moved.

Unable to see what he was doing, I pulled back the collar of my tunic to examine my injured shoulder.

The arrowhead had torn through the top of my sleeve enough to graze the skin and cause pain and bleeding, but not enough to bite into muscle.

Already, the bleeding was slowing. It would need to be cleaned—or would have been, if I expected to live much longer.

Shaking my head, I replaced my collar and swallowed back my grief. Whatever future I’d imagined had grown dark and dismal anyway, ever since I’d murdered Kaede. Perhaps in death I’d find the peace to move on and into the afterlife.

“Here you are,” Allvar snapped, and the ivy surrounding him moved again, a branch extending toward me to deposit the vial into my open palm.

I stared down at the deep red concoction, my heart thudding dully in my ears. Allvar could not lie, but he had given me no guarantee that this would heal Kaede.

Without a word of farewell, I turned and rushed from the room. Whether the manor was helping me or time seemed to move differently now, I wound my way through the trees much faster than I had when I’d entered.

The door swung open to a narrow hallway crowded with the remaining contestants, all gathered together and whispering.

Tears clung to Hattie’s lashes as she clasped a sniffling Edith’s hand.

Audrey held her jaw tight, and Charlotte’s complexion looked rather ashen.

None of the other women looked very pleased either—all except perhaps Callista, who perked up at the sight of me.

She pushed off the wall she’d been draped against and ran to throw her arms around me.

I gritted my teeth against the flash of pain when she brushed against my wounded shoulder, but she didn’t notice. “Was I gone long?” I whispered.

“What? Oh no,” Callista said, pulling away to toss her dark, gleaming hair over her shoulder.

“I’ve been waiting to discuss something with you.

” She grasped my hand and pulled me away from the others with a furtive glance.

“The warlock offered me a deal,” she said in a low voice.

“Once the contest ends, he can guarantee that I would secure a betrothal to Lord Ainsley back home. I would never want for anything, hold a respected place in society, and run my own estate, far finer than the old, dusty one we shared with Mother and Father.”

My stomach twisted at the way she spoke of home. “His bargains come with terrible prices.”

“That’s just it,” Callista said, speaking faster, eagerness and hope written all over her face. “He asked for such a small thing—it would be nothing, really. He said it hardly even hurts. He said he could give that all to me if I could convince you to grant him your beauty to fuel his magic.”

Her eyes shone with hope, but I was frozen, my skin going hot, then cold, then numb all over.

It would be nothing, really.

She didn’t know what I’d already sacrificed, that I was giving up far more than that to spare her any pain at all. I hadn’t second guessed or doubted myself, knowing in my heart I could never see Callista suffer. But she wasn’t even sorry to ask me to sacrifice for her.

Like I always had.

The sister who’d always given up everything for her without question. The sister who had bargained for her. Who had faced the dangerous fae world for her. Who had killed the man she loved for her.

Nausea clung to my tongue, and I had to suppress the urge to wretch. It took everything in me to keep the disgust from showing in my expression.

Through the ringing in my ears, I realized Callista was still rambling on. “Will you do it, sister? I know you do not care about your appearance as I do.”

“I have to find the prince,” I choked out, pushing past her.

“Aurelia, wait!” she cried out tearfully, but I didn’t turn around, didn’t falter.

She hadn’t even noticed my bleeding shoulder or the pain in my eyes.

Hadn’t asked what I might have already given up.

Never in her selfish heart had she even considered that maybe I had already given everything for her, and I had nothing left to sacrifice for someone so ungrateful, so self-absorbed.

My eyes burned with tears I refused to shed.

I’d always known my sisters and father were vain, but this was a fresh betrayal, an aching void in my chest.

I had to push aside those feelings and focus on saving Kaede.

Further down the hall, the fae courtiers were gathered. As soon as his eyes met mine, Florian raced to me, catching my hands in his. “You’re hurt. What did Allvar do to you?”

Throat clogged with emotion, I merely shook my head. “Where’s Azalea? I need to see her immediately. It’s urgent.”

For a moment, Florian’s eyes clouded with jealousy. Then he seemed to collect himself, clearing his throat. “At Laura’s bedside with Prince Kaede, I believe. They recently moved her out of the infirmary and to the comfort of her own bedroom.”

I hated how, even now, envy bit at my heart like a venomous snake, seeping anger and grief and regret through my veins.

It was better this way—Laura was a brave, sweet young woman, and Kaede could have a chance at happiness with her when my chances were forever lost. My choice had been made, and my life was forfeit.

“Let me help you to the infirmary,” Florian continued. “You’re bleeding.”

“I can walk well enough alone,” I insisted, not wanting to pause to take his arm.

Florian opened his mouth as if to protest, but I hurried onward. His footsteps trailed me, though I didn’t slow.

Somewhere behind us, Ji shouted. “We need to announce the winner of this round! Soon, we will prepare for another test. We cannot delay!”

I ignored him, picking up my pace. The floor moved underneath my steps, urging me forward.

But a wave of lightheadedness assailed me, making my vision dance with white spots. I seized the wall, trying to catch my breath.

“Aurelia!” Florian caught me as my knees gave out. His embrace was warm and sure, cradling me closely to his chest.

Embarrassment might have colored my cheeks if I hadn’t felt the blood drain from them instead. Desperation clawed up my throat. What if Allvar was draining my life already, demanding his payment before I could deliver the antidote to Kaede?

Florian slipped one hand beneath my legs and the other around my waist, carrying me.

“Perhaps you’ve lost too much blood.” He frowned, his eyes dark with concern, and despite my frantic need to rush to Kaede, a brief sense of comfort touched my heart.

It was unexpectedly wonderful to have someone care about me again, to want me to be safe and well without any ulterior motive.

My prince wanted me well so he could kill me himself. My sister and the rest of my family wanted me well so I could provide and care for them.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to be overcome with emotion.

Florian, taking it as another refusal for help, sighed and set me down on a nearby window seat. “If you are determined to see Azalea, would you at least spare a moment to rest and let me look at it?”

His gaze was so tender, I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth and find the words to deny him. He settled himself carefully beside me and slowly, gently, pulled back the torn fabric at my shoulder. Cursing under his breath at the sight, he drew back, studying my face sadly.

“What did he do to you, Aurelia?” he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The touch was tender, and I tried to make myself lean into it, but all I felt was comfort. Warm and pleasant, but without the electric excitement that pulsed through me every time Kaede was near.

Still, when Florian leaned in, only a breath away from my face, and his fingers grazed my cheek, I didn’t pull away.

It was an act of selfishness for a scrap of attention to soothe the aching need in my heart.

I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t bring myself to resist, not in this moment when I felt so used, so lonely, so desperate.

Not when I knew my time was drawing short.

Before I could answer, approaching footsteps made us both turn. Striding down the hall, as if summoned from my thoughts, was the prince, his dark eyes stormy as they locked on mine.