Page 14

CHAPTER 14

Sage

Lord Rider stopped ten feet from the base of the stairs and stepped to the side, ruining any hope I had that I could hide from the High Priestess’s gaze behind his broad back. Lord Quill stepped to the other side, straightening as well, and Onyx stepped ahead of Lord Rider.

Onyx dropped to one knee and bowed his head, while Lord Rider, Quill, Talon, and Ash jerked straight, each stomped their right foot, and stood at attention.

Zinnia sank gracefully to her knees and bowed her head, and I half sagged, half dropped to the hard marble floor with a thud, my leg muscles screaming at the movement, reminding me that I’d run for hours and told Zinnia not to completely heal me.

Through my lashes, I watched the High Priestess stare at me, her impossibly pale gaze intense.

Could she tell I was human?

The moment stretched on and my pulse thumped faster and faster. No one said anything. Even the crowd around us remained silent.

She knew.

She had to know.

Even though humans didn’t have the magic to send their spirits anywhere and only fae could be in the Garden, she knew I was an anomaly, an intruder.

She was going to command her knights to take me away and my body was going to stay sleeping in the Gray without my soul until I withered and died.

Her gaze slid away, moving over the rest of our group, her expression never changing, betraying nothing.

“I’ve heard rumors,” the High Priestess said, her voice ringing proud and strong in the massive throne room, “that the silence of the sacred pool has been disturbed.”

Her gaze slid to Onyx and her eyes narrowed, the only indication that she felt something. And that feeling wasn’t good.

“Tell me, Sir Onyx. How are you involved in the incident?”

“Your Brilliance,” Onyx replied, his head still bowed. “The nature of the situation is… delicate. Captain Talon approached me to assist in handling the matter.”

The High Priestess’s expression returned to firm neutrality. “What could be so delicate that Captain Talon of the Black Guard would seek out a knight captain of the Order on his day off?”

Onyx tilted his head toward the crowd, and I realized he was trying to get the High Priestess to dismiss the onlookers without asking her to do so.

Father, that would be wonderful. I was determined to ignore them, but I could feel them staring at me. It made my insides squirm. And while I couldn’t make out their words, I had no doubt their whispers were all about me.

But after a beat that was too short — making me feel like he’d given up too easily on his request — but also too long not to feel awkward, he straightened his head, his eyes still downcast. “Your Brilliance, a group of men attacked Sage, the new arrival.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, followed by a swell of shocked murmurs.

I cringed, wishing I could melt into the floor, and knowing I couldn’t let all the men around me see my fear.

I could only pray they now saw me as damaged goods and wouldn’t want to pursue me.

But I got the impression being damaged meant they’d think I was easier to obtain. I could see it now. These men thought because Wells and Crane had treated me badly a little bit of fake kindness would win me over.

But I already knew what happened with fake kindness.

I ended up too sore to stand and puking in the dirt.

A hint of something gleamed in the High Priestess’s eyes so fast I wasn’t sure I saw it. Her expression certainly didn’t change. She didn’t even shift positions on her throne.

And yet everything within me said she was enjoying herself, enjoying seeing me on my knees even though she didn’t know me, and enjoying the attention.

“I see,” she said. “And Lord Commander Rider? How exactly did you and your captains become involved in this situation.”

“Your Brilliance,” Lord Rider said, his voice deep and powerful. “Captain Ash noticed the abduction and gathered me, Captain Talon, and Captain Quill to mount a rescue.”

My pulse stuttered and I fought to not look at Ash. He was another captain in the Black Guard? He couldn’t be. I trusted him.

But in my heart, I knew the High Priestess’s words had to be true. He was too familiar with Lord Rider, Talon, and Lord Quill not to be involved in the Black Guard somehow.

Sure they could have been close friends, perhaps even lovers, but they worked too well together for just that. They were clearly a team. Given the fae’s lifespan, they’d probably spent years working together.

Of course, if Ash was a captain in the Black Guard, did that mean if Lord Rider commanded, would he abandon me like Lord Quill and Talon did?

The moment I thought that, though, I knew it was ridiculous.

Something in my soul assured me I was safe with Ash, that no matter what his position in the Black Guard and fae hierarchy, he’d always put me first.

“We were able to stop whatever Wells and his co-conspirators were planning,” Rider said, “but some of them managed to escape.”

The High Priestess’s firm, emotionless expression shattered and fury blazed in her eyes.

I flinched, every muscle contracting trying to keep me in my bowed position while also making me small, as small as humanly possible. Power radiated from her and light flared from her marks and blazed in her eyes.

She could crush me with a thought. One flick of her fingers and her knights would skewer me. Hell, one flick of her fingers and the power roaring around her would kill me.

And it felt like all of her fury was directed at me.

Somehow I was responsible for what had happened in the sacred pool and I was going to pay.

The courtiers around us gasped at the High Priestess’s sudden rage and a flurry of whispers swept through the crowd.

“Desecration of the sacred pool will not be tolerated,” she hissed, her voice too soft but still, impossibly, echoing in the vast throne room. “Every last man involved will be hunted down and punished for this outrage.”

Her gaze snapped to me, and I flinched again.

“You may raise your head, child,” she purred, her change of tone doing little to reassure me. “You must be shaken and frightened after such an ordeal.”

Another flurry of whispers rushed through the crowd as I raised my head and met the High Priestess’s unnerving, colorless gaze.

That gleam flashed again in the High Priestess’s eyes, just as quickly as before, but I was certain now that I’d seen it.

“You’re safe now,” she assured me, her expression softening. But the emotions didn’t reach her gaze. “My knights will take care of everything now.”