Page 157 of The Chains You Defy

Glowering at the lackey, I nodded curtly. “Where’s he?”

“His Royal Majesty will receive you in the Sun Room, Your Royal Highness.”

Of course. Where else?

Without confirmation or reaction, I left the lackey standing, or else I would have given in to the urge to deal with him in a very permanent way.

Naturally, Galrach had chosen the Sun Room for his little chat with me, a place so cleverly constructed and magically imbued, its architecture rendered dark Wielder like me powerless.

Little did he know.

Even after countless winters, he still believed that I was uncomfortable both in the light and in the absence of any shadow. And while the brightness hurt my eyes, my grandfather wasn’t aware that my power wasn’t connected to the quantity of darkness around me. This was a rare phenomenon, and since I’d never admitted owning this feat to anyone, I wasn’t informed if there were others not limited by their surroundings.

Magic had its own laws. To wield a decent amount, the power had to connect to its element nearby. In a completely stale room, a wind Wielder would quickly burn out without a chance to use their talent. In a desert, the water Wielder could only hope for his canteen not to be empty. And the light Wielder was a sitting duck in complete natural darkness.

So yes, the Sun Room should have put me in great discomfort, almost like hematite, but it didn’t. I’d always been able to pull from the well of darkness inside of me,and I attributed this anomaly to the abundance of power I’d been born with through a stroke of luck.

And Galrach had no clue. Even in my most brainwashed times, I’d been hiding this particular secret, and today, I patted past me on the shoulder for a job well done.

Without knocking, I strutted into Galrach’s precious Sun Room, hands buried deep in my pockets, a bored expression on my face. This was an act, of course, but a vital one.

Keeping my wits together was of paramount importance. I had to control my temper and avoid any suspicion arising. If he meddled with our plans, we would have a disaster on our hands.

“Galrach. Why the urgency?” But politeness? No, that notion could go fuck itself.

“Scriosta. This conversation has been overdue for days, but I was too busy ruling this godsdamned world.”

“Then I don’t want to dissuade you from this oh-so-vital task.” Shrugging, I withdrew one hand from my pocket and inspected my fingernails as I pretended to be the bored heir he was acquainted with—and whom he not so secretly despised.

“Don’t you dare leave. You know damn well that I am angry with you.”

“Oh, are you? Why?”

His eyes narrowed to slits as fury blazed in their depths, but I didn’t react to his barely suppressed tantrum..

Turning my attention back to my nails, I remained right in the middle of the Sun Room, in the glistening light that entered the space through the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding the entire place. Even the roofhad been constructed of glass. The floor mixed pure white marble and lines of earth in a hypnotic pattern, and apart from a single chair, the whole area was bare of furniture. Instead, plants were coiling around the borders of the different glass panels, and giant pots of greenery were scattered throughout the area. And while the air carried fragrances of a meadow in spring and, of course, fucking jasmine, the absence of any shadow was unsettling, no matter that my magic wasn’t affected.

“Why? You have the audacity to askwhy?What was that stunt at the ball? Threatening and attacking the High Court?Threatening me?Making a fool of our family when you announced your intention to court a lowly human? What have you been thinking?”

“Oh my, and here I assumed that you, of all people, would have no problem piercing through the pretense. But as you wish, I’ll humor you. The human was in a constant state of panic after the amusingdiscussionI and you had. She was slipping away into a condition where no amount of pressure could convince her to calm down. So, the decision to play her powerful protector while I secure the power she brings was an easy one, but for her to truly believe me, I had to show her that I’m on her side. That’s what I did, and the tactic worked like a charm. Ever since, she’s as docile as they come.” Concluding my story with a shrug, I faced my grandfather’s scrutiny. This explanation hadn’t been my idea, but again, Antas’.

“Do you expect me to be daft enough to fall for such blatant lies?”

“Is it stupid to believe the truth? Regardless of what you conclude, I’m not in the habit of lying to you.” Lies.

“Openyour tunic.”

“What?”

“You have heard me, so stop questioning my command. Now, Scriosta.”

“For what reason? Normally, there’s at least some sense to your orders.”

Keeping up my bored demeanor as Galrach clearly descended into madness became more burdensome by the second.

Or—

Fuck.