Page 40 of Hidden Kingdoms

This room was small and uncomfortably intimate, which meant I was closer to him than I liked as he lounged. It wasn’t quite as big as a throne but bigger than any normal chair, made from a dark shiny wood that mirrored the flames that lined the walls. His buddies had no chair of their own.

Tapestries draped the walls, a depiction of stories woven with colourful threads that nudged at a corner of my conscience. Had I been withanyoneelse, I would have wanted to get a closer look, but I stayed where I was, feet sinking slightly into the thick carpet. A small cabinet was set against the wall, a gold pitcher and glasses set on top of it along with glass bottles filled with amber liquid. A single, black, wooden door stood closed behind his chair, but there were no windows, no way in or out except the two doors. One he was in front of and one watched by two guards.

“What are you?” Eyes focused on my face with laser precision.

What am I?

“Who are you?” My face scrunching in confusion was the only reaction I could manage as he tried again.

“Who am I? What are you talking about? Why am I even here?”

“Why indeed,” murmured the round man in the navy robes.

“You will answer when the Prince asks you a question,” the woman spat. Her words slid through the room making my skinprickle with something more than annoyance at the audacity of these people.

“In case it slipped that stupid head of his,hekidnappedme.” I kept my eyes firmly on my abductor’s face, an undeniable thrill running through me as anger flashed behind his emerald eyes.

“Answer, human.”

Human? As opposed to what, a fucking alien?

This bitch was starting to get on my last nerve, but his glare remained on me as he stayed silent. I ignored the other eyes in the room boring into me like they could make me answer if they stared hard enough.

“Youbroke intomyhome, kidnapped me, and have the cheek to ask me who I am? What are you, a fucking idiot? Maybe you should have done your research beforehand!” I could feel my anger within me. The same anger that would grow when I’d been called names or laughed at in the playground. Isolated as someone different once again. It was searching for a way out as it fed the energy that filled my body.

My magik had never responded like this, had never been tied to my emotions at all. It was merely something that came when I called on it, but other than that, it had laid dormant under my skin. I tried to force it back down. Now wasn’t the time to be trying out any new tricks, but my fingers twitched at my sides and his eyes flicked to them before landing back on my face.

The memory of him holding up his fiery arm had me pushing it away even harder. I wouldn’t win in a fight against him, and we both knew it. I might know how to throw a punch, but I didn’t know how to use my magik that way.

Making gems shiny hardly prepares you for a fight with someone who can casually set their arm on fire.

“Out. Now.” As the order rang through the room, the round man whirled towards the door without hesitation, though his companion had other ideas.

The hissing lady stepped towards him, hand slightly outstretched to run a long, painted nail down his bicep. “I will stay with you, my Prince, who knows what tricks this humanwhoremay have planned.”

Rude.

“You will leave, Lyssa.” His teeth gritted as she touched him.

“As you wish, my Prince.” Lyssa stepped back but not before throwing a venomous glance my way as she slunk out the door.

As the door thudded closed, I caught the minute shudder that ran over him, though when his eyes met mine, they hardened instantly.

“Tell me who you are.” Tendons strained on his hands as he clenched the arms of his chair. The small flash of satisfaction at his displeasure for my refusal to answer wasn’t enough to quell the irritation that flared within me.

“What do you want from me?” I countered. There was no point being delicate about it.

“Why am I here? And while we’re on the subject, where evenishere?”

He pushed forward out of the chair, coming towards me. The scent of charcoal and maplewood overpowered my senses, and solid lines of muscle grew clearer beneath his clothes the closer he got. The hard glint of anger in his emerald eyes stripped my bravado from a moment ago.

Slowly he circled me, as though each measured step held the possibility to reveal the key to my identity. I stayed rooted to the spot unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing me rattled.

“Take me home.”

He won’t.

He didn’t deign to respond, and his failure to address my demand sent my magik surging once again. He was back in front of me now, not as close as before but close enough for me to see the rubies nestled within his golden curls like burning coal.

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