Page 50 of Hidden Kingdoms

I don’t fucking know what to call her.

I’d needed someone to ensure she stayed alive, and I wasn’t going to be taking her food.

And Icertainlywasn’t going to entertain her ridiculous show of pretence. It wasn’t in me to back down, especially from a magik stealing human who had no fucking business being in this palace. I didn’t know what would have happened had Kaius not got between us, but Ididknow I hadn’t possessed the strength to stop it myself.

And that was something I couldn’t let happen again.

The world remained crimson as I moved on from the poppies, letting myself take in the tapestries that weaved their stories around the walls. I had loved this room as a child, spent countless hours with Tana coming up with our own versions of the histories they depicted. The stab of pain I felt when I thought about my sister doused a flame of my anger, replacing it with the heartbreak her memory evoked.

Tana’s face was everywhere. Her features painted into the portraits of our Fyr ancestors, or just in the multitude of paintings there were of her. Blonde curls and colouring so like my own that as babies our images are practically indistinguishable. It was why mother spent most of her time at the temple. She couldn’t face seeing her lost little girl down every corridor.

Couldn’t face seeing me.

Sometimes I couldn’t face seeing me either.

A part of me had broken when Tana had disappeared—the lost little princess.

She may have been older than me,only by a year, but it was still my job to protect her. And I hadn’t.

Losing her had been a catalyst to losing control of the incinerat flame that lived within me; that had controlled me for too long.

I couldn’t afford to think about her now. I had shit to do.

Turning my hand over I urged magik into the cuts, wincing at the tiny wisps of fire that forced out the shards lodged in my skinuntil they fell to the floor with the rest. They weren’t completely closed, but it would do for now. Wiping the leftover blood on my dark trousers, I hoped like fuck I wouldn’t end up sitting next to Lyssa but knew it was likely.

Kaius had fucked off somewhere, taking pity onherinstead of being here where he was supposed to be. Highly inconvenient, considering he was the one with the report these fuckers were so eager for. Which meant I had to face them, alone. Ignoring the broken glass littering the floor, I crossed to the door behind my father’s chair, putting on the polished mask of a prince in full control as I did.

This antechamber was intimate, the prevalence of the dark wooden furniture and lack of windows didn’t help with visibility. Especially while everything I laid my eyes on was still muted in a film of scarlet. Why they hadn’t turned up the lights I didn’t know, but it was the first thing I did as I stepped through.

There were six chairs tucked around a table covered in a frilly cover my mother must have put there the last time she was here; a vase of dried flowers stood in its centre. Four were occupied.

As expected, Lyssa sat with the only two remaining chairs either side of her. The subtle glistening yellow of the citrine sitting between her huge tits, told me my vision would soon be back to what it should be.

My magik was still surging with rage as I took a seat around the table, roiling inside me in an uncomfortable reminder of a childhood with no restraint. A time I didn’t appreciated the reminder of.

I was over being in these small rooms, filled with annoying people, all with their own unnecessary opinions. Top of that list was, Amos. How father could stand being in his company for all these years was beyond me.

I was grateful they hadn’t yet insisted I use the grand room to conduct these meetings, but my patience with their incessant, repetitive questions was running thin.

No, I hadn’t found a way to track The Darkness’ movements.

No, I wasn’t going to join my mother for the Beltane festival.

No, I didn’t want to look at candidates for potential alliances between the Line of Fyr and the other great families.

I was so fucking glad I had kept our visit to Nova and her instructions quiet, which meant they didn’t really know what I needed from our white-haired annoyance. Praise be to Suri on that one.

“Well?” Amos asked the moment I’d sat. There was a sound barrier charm on the doors so they had no idea what had happened once I’d sent them away.

Thank fuck.

I hesitated a moment, coming down from my anger hadn’t given me time to sort through what had just happened. Let alone a way to spin it to these people.

“Nothing yet,” I replied, “but we’ll get the answers soon enough. One way or another.”

As his eyes narrowed a fraction, I could tell he wasn’t happy but considering—should father remain lost—he would be answering to me, he stayed quiet. A wise decision.

My eyes locked with my cousins opposite me, ones so like my own, and I gave a small shake of my head in indication I was no further in the search for our fathers than the last time I’d seen him. Heul was a lieutenant under General Fieval, sent here to convey their findings and take back Kaius’ to his unit. Next to him was Hortense, pushing his glasses back up his nose with his laptop ready to analyse any new information.

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