Page 131 of A Flame of the Phoenix

“You insufferablechild,” the captain seethed. The clang of keys rang through her senses as he scrambled to find the right one to free himself.

Faythe couldn’t move. Her sight slipped to Nyte, and she realized the captain hadn’t once acknowledged him or reacted to his commentary. She had no intention of running—her actions just now had merely been on impulse for her own amusement.

She floated over to stand in front of Nyte’s cell while the captain hissed profanities and tried to find his key out of there. Faythe couldn’t care about him anymore.

Standing right in front of Nyte, with his ethereal gold eyes bearing down on her, she couldn’t be sure what was happening—or, more dauntingly, if he was a blessing or a curse.

“You’re not trapped in there, are you?” she said.

The captain couldn’t see him.

Nyte’s jaw worked. “I think I’m trapped with you. Wherever you are, or wherever you’ve put me. I’m beginning to believe you harbor my consciousness with your gift.”

“I manifested you as a cell mate?”

“Could have been worse, I imagine.”

“Can you hear my thoughts?”

“No, but I have a sense of your emotions.”

That was a relief at least. She didn’t know what having Nyte here meant—if he would be any use to her at all in her fight against Marvellas.

Rainyte Ashfyre had become a piece in their war that no one could have predicted.

Faythe was too distracted in her thoughts to have heard the captain’s escape. She winced at his iron grip on her arm and bit her tongue against a whimper when she was roughly pulled away.

She lingered a final look on Nyte over her shoulder. He remained right where he was. She was both fascinated and terrified to figure out more about him. Her secret weapon, if she could find a way to leverage him against Marvellas somehow.

The captain had been muttering loathing words as he marched, tugging her along in his bruising grip.

Zaiana appearing around the end corner was a surprising sight even though the dark fae had been in their traveling company here. Faythe’s mood darkened as she remembered Zaiana’s harm to Kyleer.

“Let her go,” Zaiana ordered.

“You don’t command me,” Daegal snapped. His insecurity was showing.

Zaiana didn’t have to do much to clearly pose as the higher authority. She didn’t even speak again, standing with hands clasped behind her, but the impatient warning was in her piercing amethyst eyes

With a disgruntled huff and a shove, Daegal released her.

“Come,” Zaiana said, turning back the way she came, expecting Faythe to follow.

Faythe did, only because she had questions and a wrath to settle.

“Did you have to hurt him?” Faythe asked inn resentment.

“He gave me good reason, and I gave him fair warning,” she answered coolly.

Faythe gritted her teeth, realizing that was probably the truth. There was something about Zaiana that sparked a light in her friend she’d never seen before. Every time Zaiana fought him, defied him, it was like he enjoyed it.

“How is he now?” Faythe asked, reluctantly setting aside her grudge.

“I don’t know.”

“You haven’t seen him?”

“Not since they locked him below, no.”

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