Page 54 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“Leave now, if you know what is good for you, or I will ensure you cease to exist permanently.” His voice was pure menace, but it worked. With a wave of his hand and a pulsing silver in his eyes I could see even from down the hall, the Soulshades disappeared one by one.

And then, with only the Soulshade cat for company—one I was sure reported to Tallon and could apparently grow to the size of a large man— I was alone with Tallon.

The anger radiated out of him, mirroring my shadows, but I refused to drop my gaze and cower even as my heart raced and sweat still dotted my brow. My shadows still pulsed at my side, not retreating back into my skin as I expected them to. I lifted my hand, studying the way the black mass moved with my fingers. It was intriguing, and yet terrifying at the same time. They snapped out at Tallon, and he narrowly dodged them.

“Call them back in,” he said through gritted teeth. His chin jerked at the mass of black surrounding my right arm. “They’re more powerful now; you must command them to retreat.”

“How do I do that?” I hissed, dropping my hand back to my side. My heart was still racing, and my anger was still burning hot, only stoked by his insults. I had not called them out in the first place.

His nostrils flared. “Visualize them settling back into your skin. You control them, not the other way around, Odyssa. Quickly.”

Closing my eyes, I imagined the shadows pulling back into my skin, sinking into the thick black lines across my body. Slowly, the warmth around my arm receded, and I opened my eyes just as the last of the shadows were flattening back against my skin.

They’d barely finished before Tallon had my wrist in one hand and was bending, pushing his shoulder into my stomach and hoisting me over his back.

Livid, I punched at his back, hiding my wince when my hand hit something hard at the small of his back. I cataloged it, noting the dagger there and briefly wondering how long he’d been armed and why, but I didn’t stop, driving my knees into his chest and trying to pull myself down. Unlike before, he said nothing save a soft grunt when my knee connected with his stomach. The ground beneath us turned from the stone of the hallway to the black dirt and I froze, pushing myself up on my fists to look around.

My nightmare world. I was certain of it this time. I pushed up high enough to turn and get a glimpse of his face. “What is this place?”

His jaw clenched, but he said nothing, just tightened his grip on my thighs. By his feet, the cat followed obediently, looking straight ahead. The air rippled and we were back in the castle halls, no trace of the cold, black cliffs.

Tallon set me down, though he renewed his grip on my wrist as he pulled me into my room and shut the door behind us, the lock echoing. He whirled on me, and I dropped my hand, reaching around his back to draw the dagger he’d hidden there. In a moment, I had him pressed against the door and his own dagger beneath his chin.

His eyes grew dark, pupils expanding, and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “What will you do with that, little wolf?”

“I told you the first time you mistook me for a sack of grain that I would not tolerate it.” I moved the tip of the dagger to just beneath his chin, forcing him to raise it. “I warned you the second time as well. I will not tell you again.”

His eyes flicked down to my mouth and he licked his lips again, though the move was much slower this time, and it had my own attention falling to his mouth.

A stupid move.

Before I could lift my gaze back to his eyes, he had the dagger out of my hand and had reversed our positions. The blade felt cold against my neck, though there was no pressure. Just a reminder of its presence.

Tallon loomed over me. He lowered his head to make our eyes level, holding my gaze as he dragged the flat of the blade against my skin and down between the valley of my breasts. He paused directly between them, lifting the knife so the point pressed into my skin, but did not break it. “If you were not so intent on getting yourself killed, I would not have to resort to such measures.”

I said nothing and kept my stare on his own. Shivers ran down my spine and heat built in my belly, but still I stared. I was tired of the secrets and the lies, and I was tired of the callous indifference he had towards my demands.

Slowly, he lowered the knife and stepped back, sliding it into the sheath at his lower back where it belonged.

“What was that place? I’ve seen it before, with you, and in my nightmares.”

He looked at me. For a moment, I thought he would actually answer me, but it never came. He turned his attention to the cat, sitting in the middle of the room watching us patiently. “What part of my instructions was unclear to you? Get her to her room. Keep her safe. That should not have happened.”

The cat’s tail flicked. And then it spoke. Its mouth did not move, yet I heard a voice in my mind, clear as the morning bells.She stopped following me. I noticed too late. I am still incorporeal, Tallon. What did you expect me to do?

My jaw fell open and I blinked rapidly. “You cantalk?” Disregarding Tallon entirely, I rushed into the room and dropped to my knees in front of the cat. It eyed me warily.

“Yes, she can,” Tallon said from behind me. The impatience and irritation in his voice was clear. “We have things to discuss, Odyssa.”

I waved a hand at him, focusing on the cat. I didn’t know what I felt, if it was awe or betrayal. Perhaps both. “Could you understand me this entire time?”

Yes.The cat tilted her head and stood, pushing against my leg as much as she could.I cannot always speak, but I did always listen, Odyssa.

“Do you have a name?” Tears stung my eyes, and for the life of me, I could not tell if they were from anger or sadness or relief. Perhaps all three. The cat was my only comfort here, and though I always knew she was in some way connected to Tallon, I wanted to know more about this little piece of darkness that made things bearable.

The cat’s eyes flicked over my shoulder to Tallon before settling back on mine.You may?—

“That’s enough, Sylviana. This is serious, Odyssa. You could have died,” Tallon said from behind me. Grabbing my arm, he hauled me to my feet.

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