Page 12 of The Rebel Seer

Yeah, he’s started using that word, and I don’t like it one bit.

“Rhys, she is not a possession,” the queen says in a firm, slightly pissed-off tone. “She is an adult woman who has been through things you cannot imagine, and you will lose her if you continue to treat her like a doll you own. This is not love. This is obsession, and if that’s all it is, then I assure you, son, I will make it my life’s work to get her somewhere safe, somewhere she can be herself.”

Whoa. I did not expect that. I kind of expected everyone to tell me how I need to be gentle with Rhys and understanding. Like Harry had. Harry always told me Rhys loves me and he doesn’t mean some of the toxic shit he can fall into. So I expected the same from the queen.

I didn’t expect her to understand me.

“Zoey, I just got him calm,” His Grace complains.

The queen’s head shakes. “I will not force another woman to put up with this possessive shit. I do believe Rhys loves her, but he’ll drive her away or break her if he refuses to see her as a whole human being who can make her own damn decisions. Who has a whole life beyond being his goddess. If she’s your goddess, son, then you should trust her to know what she can and can’t do.”

I kind of love the queen. All this time I was intimidated at the idea of Rhys’s mom. Not that I haven’t heard the stories about her, but I expected she would side with her son no matter what.

“Rhys, your mother is right,” the king says in a calm voice. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re feeling? My instincts are to protect your mother at all costs. Even her own autonomy. I have to check myself all the time because that kind of obsession can break a soul, and you don’t want that for Shy. I will watch over her. I won’t let anything happen to her, but you need to let her use her gifts to help her family.”

“Unless she’s not family and she’s merely a possession.” The queen is staring at her son.

“Zoey,” His Grace says again, her name an admonition.

But Rhys slowly lets go of my hand. “She is everything to me. I do not mean to make her less than she is.”

The look he sends me threatens to bring me to my knees. He looks at me like I’m the sun in the sky and I’m going to leave him in darkness.

But what he doesn’t understand yet is that I am darkness.

“She is a warrior, Rhys,” Sasha says quietly. “I made sure of it. She is perfectly capable of defending herself. Like your sister is. She is part of our army and she has a job to do, one you cannot help with because your magic might give away our position and put everyone in Frelsi in danger. Do you understand?”

Rhys’s eyes close and when they open, he looks grim. “Of course, General. I forgot myself.”

I feel for him. He’s trying, but Sasha is right. I do have a job to do, and if Josie feels the magic, maybe I can, too.

Suddenly the Drowning Woman is close. She stands right next to Zoey Donovan-Quinn, so close I worry for her, but I hold back the warning. I have to be stronger than this. She cannot harm the living. Is she trying to scare me? Well, I’m done being scared. If she’s working with whoever is out there, then she’ll find out how badass a warrior that big Russian made me.

I close my eyes and try to access my power the way Harry taught me. It’s a space inside me, he explained. When I breathe deep and listen to my body, I can feel it.

And I can feel what Josie is feeling.

The magic is weak here, but then it’s coming across hundreds of miles and all our wards. I can still feel its pull.

I thought it would feel like some of the magic I’ve had worked around me. Some of it soft, like the slightest caress. Some of it scratches and claws at me.

This one calls to me. This one tells me I could master it if I tried.

This magic feels familiar. Like some song that plays in the back of my head all the time. It feels like it’s mine, but I don’t have magic beyond my abilities.

I open my eyes and look to Sasha first. It’s a habit. Since I came to Frelsi, Sasha has been the authority figure in my life. Well, the one who didn’t live inside me. Sasha trained me in combat and strategic thinking. Sasha taught me to trust my instincts in the field. When I’ve been allowed in the field. Rhys tends to find a way to get me to stay out of the line of fire. “It’s death magic. I can feel it. It’s powerful, but I don’t think it’s here to hurt us. I know that sounds weird, but it’s almost like an invitation. It’s definitely not an eye. I know how that feels.”

“All right,” Sasha says. “Then you will go into the city with the king and perhaps Neil while I talk to our witches about how this affects our plans to leave. Please talk to your friends and try to get a better feel for whatever is out there and what they might be inviting us to.”

“And me.” The queen steps beside me.

“Zoey,” His Grace begins.

“Don’t,” the king says with a sigh. “Devinshea, do not push her. Settle our son down and then perhaps the two of you could have one of the witches teleport you to Nimue to see if she’s got legs yet. We need to leave soon, and the last time I saw her she was barely a head and some shoulders.”

“I would rather…” Rhys began and then stopped as though thinking better of it. “Yes, sir.” He looks my way, the saddest expression on his face. “Shy, I’m sorry.”

I’m sorry I put him in the position. The queen is wrong. It is my fault, but I’m starting to change my mind about the whys. While Harry was with me, I knew there could be nothing physical between me and Rhys. In the weeks since he’s been gone, grief consumed me at first, but something about the queen’s words sink in and give me strength. Sasha did teach me how to fight.

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