Page 29

CHAPTER 29

Sage

Zinnia and I crossed the bedroom, and when we reached the door, Lord Quill stepped back into the sitting room to let us pass, while Sir West — who stood against the wall beside the door — straightened and loomed over me.

I squared my shoulders, refusing to cower under his dower expression and brilliant sapphire gaze. Zinnia had assured me Sir West wouldn’t punish me for being confident. He might have been assigned to protect me by the High Priestess, but unless it involved my safety, I was in charge.

Except I had no idea what Sir West would consider involving my safety or not. He’d already said he’d watch me and everything I did, and that I couldn’t leave the tree-castle to be with Ash — at least not until my remaining attackers were apprehended.

What else could I ask for? Ash was the only one I wanted. I didn’t want anyone or anything else.

Talon, along with a handsome fae man who looked as old as my stepfather, Edred, but was probably a couple hundred years old, stood at the entrance to the suite. The Captain of the Gold Tower’s mesmerizing gaze locked with mine. He had a strange look in his eyes, an emotion I couldn’t place and wasn’t sure I wanted to. And even with that strange look, heat crept across my cheeks.

Father, he was so beautiful, and it didn’t matter that Zinnia had put my mating marks to sleep. I was still drawn to him, drawn to the memory of his allure — that aching, desperate need created by the shadow trapped within him.

His gaze drifted down my neck and the heat of desire quickly shifted to embarrassment.

The look in his eyes had to be veiled pity and disgust. But because I was now the High Priestess’s toy, he couldn’t show how he really felt. I’d cowered in the throne room. I’d wanted to hide it, but I was sure anyone looking at me had known how scared I’d been.

Sure, he’d been nice and seemed concerned, but he was here because he’d needed to escort the magister to my room, not because he was as attracted to me as I was to him. Nothing I’d done between our first meeting and now could have changed his mind about risking his secret with a woman he didn’t know.

And why did that bother me? It shouldn’t have. I wasn’t interested in him. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t want to be in the Garden with his or anyone else’s attention.

Except Ash’s.

Nausea churned in my stomach.

No. Not even Ash’s. I had to remember my purpose.

“Magister Aster,” Zinnia said, and I wrenched my attention from Talon to the older fae.

He wore robes like Zinnia did, but instead of pale blue, his were pale yellow, with panels of golden embroidery down the front. His long, silver-blue hair hung to his waist and was held back with thin braids at either temple in a hair style similar to Talon’s, and he wore ruby earrings in his delicately pointed ears that matched his ruby eyes.

“Magister Zinnia,” Aster said with a dip of his head.

“This is my patient, Lady Sage.” Zinnia led me to one of the soft couches in the middle of the sitting room and we sat.

“My lady.” Magister Aster dipped his head toward me as well, then strode across the sitting room to stand in front of me. “A chair, if you please,” he said without looking away from me.

“Of course, magister,” Quill said, and he grabbed one of the highbacked, wooden chairs at the dining table and placed it beside the magister.

Aster sat, and in four long strides Sir West was at the magister’s side with his arms crossed.

“Ah, the guard dog,” Aster muttered, his voice so quiet I had to strain to hear it. “I’m not here to harm her.”

Sir West didn’t react, as if he hadn’t heard the magister speak, and Aster rolled his eyes and turned back to me.

“Talon explained your spirit is being held here by an artifact. A bracelet,” he said. “May I see it?”

My pulse skipped a beat. Here it was. The moment when Magister Aster could discover I was a human while also freeing me from the Garden.

Please let the longest night of my life be over soon.

I reached to push up my sleeve, but Zinnia placed her hand on mine, stopping me.

“She’s also affected by an unusual magic. You should look at that first. I’m sure her spirit will return to her body the moment you remove the bracelet.”

Magister Aster frowned. “You’re probably right. Let’s look at this magic first.” He glanced at Zinnia. “You say it’s unusual?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Zinnia replied.

“May I?” he asked me, holding his hand out palm up.

I placed my hand in his, fighting to keep my expression calm, and his magic snapped over the back of my hand.

Where Zinnia’s magic was warm and soothing, Aster’s magic was sharp and biting.

It crawled painfully up my arm and into my chest, drawing a sharp gasp. Sir West, Lord Quill, and Talon all jerked forward a step.

“She’s all right,” Zinnia said, even as she met my gaze, her eyes asking for confirmation.

I nodded and bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from making any more noise, even though I couldn’t stop myself from flinching every time his magic bit into me.

Aster hummed and frowned and mumbled about how the magic was strange as his fingers twitched against mine. He didn’t react to my flinches as if he were completely oblivious to my pain despite sitting right in front of me.

After a too-long painful moment he turned to Zinnia. “Look at it with me. I’d like your thoughts.”

“Of course.” She took my free hand and her warm soothing magic seeped under my skin.

The two powers clashed, and a sudden sharp snap shot through my chest. I yelped and Sir West grabbed Aster.

My pulse lurched. He was going to pull the magister away, and I’d have to do this all over again.

“Don’t you dare. I’m only doing this once,” I snarled at Sir West.

He glared back at me but thankfully released Aster without stopping the magister.

I didn’t know how long Magister Aster and Zinnia examined the magic within me. I couldn’t sense a foreign power coursing through my veins, but I didn’t doubt Zinnia that it was there.

Finally, Aster and Zinnia withdrew their magic and let go of my hands. Shuddering with aftershocks, I sagged back against the couch and drew in deep breaths, fighting to steady myself.

“Are you all right?” Lord Quill asked as he dropped into a crouch beside Aster’s chair.

He reached out as if he wanted to touch me, reassure me, but didn’t finish the move, and his hand dropped to his knee instead.

It hurt to think he didn’t want to touch me, and yet I understood his hesitation. We’d had sex, but that didn’t mean there was anything between us.

Sure, we shared an attraction, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything, either. Sex and attraction didn’t mean the same things in the fae culture as it did in the human one.

“The magic isn’t as strong as it was when I first examined it,” Zinnia said, not reacting to the moment Lord Quill and I were sharing. “I think it’s fading.”

“That was my assumption as well,” Aster added. “It’s unlike any magic I’ve come across but it doesn’t look like it’s anchored to anything, and I believe it’ll naturally dissipate.”

Doesn’t look.

Believe.

The words didn’t inspire confidence. I didn’t like the idea of them leaving the magic inside me. It had almost mate bonded me with Wells against my will.

“I agree,” Zinnia said, destroying any hope that Zinnia would support me if I demanded Aster remove it.

Of course… could Magister Aster remove it?

I met Aster’s ruby gaze, the question on the tip of my tongue, and his expression went blank.

From that look I knew I could ask, but he wouldn’t answer me because he wasn’t going to admit to something he couldn’t do.

“Let me see the bracelet,” he said, brushing off the moment between us.

I considered, just for a moment, saying something, making Sir West and the others aware that Magister Aster couldn’t remove the magic, but that wouldn’t help me. I still needed him to remove the bracelet. That, and I had no doubt he had powerful magic. It’d be foolish to make him an enemy.

I pushed up the sleeve of my robe and showed him the bracelet. Again he frowned and hummed.

“Can you remove it?” Talon asked.

“Look at this craftsmanship,” Aster mumbled, ignoring Talon. “The magical skill needed to craft something so exquisite…”

“Do you recognize it, magister?” Quill asked as he gingerly placed a hand on Aster’s knee.

“Recognize it?” Aster blinked… and blinked again. Then his unfocused gaze landed on Quill. “I don’t, but the Head of Artifacts at the White Tower might.” His gaze drifted to the open balcony doors and the bright blue sky. “It’s a beautiful piece. Powerful and rare.”

Father! For the love of?—!

“Rare isn’t helpful,” I snapped, unable to stop myself.

Quill flinched at my sudden outburst, and embarrassment heated my face, but I couldn’t back down from this. The strange magic that had been affecting my marks, sure. I didn’t feel any different and as far as I knew I wasn’t in immediate danger.

But the bracelet could kill me.

“Can you remove it?” I demanded.

Aster tilted his head, the movement birdlike and disturbing. “I have no idea.”

“You have?—!”

No.

No no no.

I couldn’t stay here. Not like this.

My attention jerked to Lord Quill and Talon. They were in the room with me. I knew they weren’t in the Gray, but I had no idea where Lord Rider was. For all I knew he’d returned his spirit to his body and was going to wake me for another round of punishments.

“It’ll be all right.” Zinnia grabbed my hand and soothing magic swept into me.

One moment panic tightened my chest, the next I slouched on the couch, my thoughts muddled.

“What are you—?” I jerked my hand away and my panic rushed back in.

She could control my emotions, not just heal my spirit and physical forms, and I shuddered to think what could be done with a magic that powerful. Did I trust her because she was trustworthy or because she’d convinced me with her magic?

She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head as hurt and begging filled her eyes. She was silently pleading with me to know that she hadn’t influenced me.

Father, how I wanted to believe that.

But it didn’t matter what I believed. I’d know soon enough if she betrayed my trust. She knew more about me and my situation than anyone else.

“Sage,” Quill said, drawing my attention to him. “Magister Aster is a master of archaic and magical devices.”

Which meant if Aster couldn’t free me, no one could?

I didn’t want to accept this man was my only hope.

“And it’s a fascinating artifact,” Aster added.

“Which you can study after you’ve gotten it off Lady Sage’s wrist,” Talon said.

Aster chuckled, somehow oblivious to my panic and the tension between me and… well, everyone in the room including him.

“So impatient,” he hummed as he took the bracelet in both hands.

His sharp magic bit into me, slicing up my arm and making my eyes water. I clenched my jaw and fought to breathe through my nose, desperate to look like it didn’t feel like Aster was sawing my arm off.

Black spots danced at the edge of my vision, and my pulse pounded faster. I was going to pass out.

Please, Father, don’t let me pass out.

The spots swarmed larger, and my vision narrowed to the bracelet and the catch between Aster’s hands.

A violent snap sliced across my chest and I jerked, but Aster held tight to the bracelet. With a sharp click, the latch released, my wrist slipped free, and I was falling backward.