Page 110 of Madness of Her Mages

I nearly tripped over my own feet as he cried out in my mind, and it took all my strength not to lash out at the witch holding my father prisoner. He could smell me from that far away? He must’ve had heightened senses.

We broke apart at the stairwell, my aunt racing ahead while my mates and I followed.

“Well, Aunt?” I struggled to keep up with Malvolia’s long strides while chasing behind her. “Will you let her train me?”

“If that is what you wish,” she said coolly over her shoulder, “though I’d rather turn them to ash.”

Once we stepped onto the bridge, I filled my lungs with a deep breath of fresh, ocean air. I’d once thought the pungent briny smell to be repulsive, but that was before being stuck in the bowels of a moldy prison cell. And we’d only been down there a few minutes. I couldn’t imagine being forced to live in there for twenty-four years.

“If you’d rather, you can leave her in her cell, and I can come to her to train,” I offered.

Don’t sound too eager,Drae warned through thought as he followed at my heels.

I fought back my apprehension, smoothing my hands down my skirts when my aunt pinned me with a glare.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scolded as if I were a naughty child. “Do you think I want you bringing this tower down? You will train outside the castle walls.”

I bowed my head, pretending I was another one of her submissive sycophants. “Yes, Aunt.”

I chased after her as she hurried across the bridge. “Though they must remain in their cell when they’re not training,” she called back. “I don’t want to see their faces in my castle.”

“I will retrieve her only for training,” I said loud enough for the guards along the bridge to hear, so there’d be no question when I demanded to be let into the tower. “Then they can return to their estate after training is complete.”

I nearly plowed into her back when she abruptly stopped, facing me with a snarl. “And never show their faces in Thebes again.”

I nodded my agreement. “Thank you, Aunt.”

“You will have luncheon with me now,” she drawled, her gaze wandering to the northern seawall. “After, I will send for Felicity. You will train with her outside the castle walls.”

Send for Felicity? No. I wanted to get her. But I didn’t dare argue. I’d make sure I accompanied Felicity on the way back. One way or another, I was getting back inside that tower and into my father’s cell.

Drae

NIKKOS AND THE GIRLSwere on the nursery floor. The girls had made a mess, toys scattered everywhere, but they were having fun, and that’s what mattered. They were still very young, and I wanted them to have every opportunity to just be children.I wasn’t very much older than them when I’d been robbed of my childhood thanks to the mind spinner. I would do everything in my power to ensure the same didn’t happen to Ember and Aurora.

Nikkos sat in the middle of the mess, his long hair tied back in pink ribbons, his wings dusted in glitter, and an askew tiara on his head. The girls sat cross-legged beside Nikkos, each with two dolls in their laps. I felt badly leaving Nikkos on babysitting duty all the time, but he was always first to volunteer. I wanted to think it was because my brother was still a kid at heart, but I knew the real reason was because he loathed being around Malvolia and her courtiers.

Shiri smiled into her hand while kneeling between them. She hugged each of the girls and then kissed Nikkos’s forehead. “You make a pretty princess,” she said to him.

The girls giggled.

“I know. Thank you.” He splayed a hand across his chest and fluttered his lashes.

The girls clutched their stomachs, laughing so hard their eyes watered.

He slowly stood, glitter dripping from his wings as he removed the crown. “How did it go?” he asked us.

Blaze motioned for us to move to the other side of the room.

“Play by yourselves for a few minutes,” Shirina said to the girls while stroking the tops of their heads. “Your uncles and I need to have a word.”

“Okay,” Aurora said as she set down her doll. “We have to get ready for war, anyway.”

My heart hit my stomach and Shiri’s features fell when Aurora motioned toward what indeed looked like a battlefield, two groups of toys facing each other with a battleline of blocks between them.

The stricken look on Shiri’s face compelled me to grab her elbow and steer her toward the bed at the other side of the room while murmuring in her ear, “They are strong, just like their mother and aunt. They will get through this. We all will.”

She silently nodded while swiping away moisture from her eyes.

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