Page 31 of Bound In Shadow

“I’ll speak with her alone,” I say, touching the warded lock. The runes spark, recognizing me, and the door groans open.

Inside, Lysandra stands near a table, arms crossed. She’s wearing a simple, dark tunic and breeches, her hair braidedback. A faint bruise still lingers on her jaw, but it’s fading. Her storm-gray eyes flick to me, and that stubborn defiance flares as always.

“Busy morning?” she says, voice edged with sarcasm. “You look as though you’ve wrestled a serpent.”

I close the door behind me, leaning against it. “The council. They’re eager for your head.”

She lifts her chin. “Yes, I figured as much. So, what’s your plan? March me onto a public stage so they can hurl rotten fruit at me?”

A humorless laugh escapes me. “They want more than fruit thrown. They want you broken or dead. I convinced them to wait a tenday, but they require results. Either you yield information about your scattered rebels, or they’ll intervene with a purge in the farmland.”

She pales. I see the flicker of fear overshadowed by outrage. “A purge. Because that’s simpler than addressing any real injustice, I suppose.”

My jaw tightens. “Don’t you see? This is exactly what I warned you about. The council is more interested in short-term brutality than long-term stability.”

Her eyes burn. “Then help me protect them. You’re the only one in this fortress who has the power to do so, right?”

I push off the door, crossing the room until I stand a pace away. The tension between us is immediate, an electric current that hums in the silence. “I can’t protect them if you hide everything, Lysandra.”

She scowls, though her posture wilts slightly. “If I hand over their locations, how do I know you won’t just capture them all and force them into labor? Or kill them quietly?”

I sweep through my locks, a spike of frustration mingling with something else—an odd desire to soothe her fears. “I won’t guarantee they’ll be free. But it’s better than a large-scale cull.Work with me, and we can orchestrate a solution that spares most of them. The alternative is a bloodbath.”

Her lips press tight, warring with the inevitability. Finally, she exhales. “I’ll consider it. But I need time to think—no, don’t start. I know time is short. Just… give me a day. Let me see if there’s a strategic way to direct you to the rebels who might be open to negotiation.”

I nod, relieved she’s at least not dismissing the option outright. “Fine. But there’s another matter we must address.”

Her brow furrows. “Which is?”

I hesitate, scrutinizing her. “Your… illusions. The odd lapses you cause in guards, the flickers of magic around you. People have noticed. The council is hearing whispers.”

Her eyes widen momentarily, then narrow in defiance. “They’re just rumors.”

“Rumors that could kill you. If the council suspects you’re anything more than a mundane rebel, they’ll end this charade instantly.”

She swallows, gaze flicking to the side. “I don’t know what’s happening. Sometimes I get these… surges of heat, or a dizzy feeling. Then people look at me strangely.”

I recall the guard in the garden who glazed over at her half-formed words. My pulse quickens. “You must learn to control it—whatever it is. If you slip up in front of the wrong person, they’ll accuse you of forbidden magic.”

She huffs a bitter laugh. “As if your entire race doesn’t thrive on magic.”

“Dark Elf magic is sanctioned by the ancient pacts with the Thirteen. A human wielding it—especially something that might enthrall or subvert minds? That’s an abomination in their eyes.”

She flinches at the wordabomination,then sets her jaw. “So how do I hide it? I can’t exactly request a tutor in arcane illusions.”

My mind races, sifting through possibilities. “For now, bury it. Resist the urge to lash out verbally when you’re angry. If you feel that surge, try to breathe through it. Think of nothing. Or better yet, think of something that calms you.”

She snorts. “Calms me? In this fortress? You must be joking.”

I spread my hands, exasperated. “We don’t have many options. You want to survive, you must suppress it. At least until we can figure out exactly what you’re dealing with.”

Silence falls, thick with tension. Outside the window, the sky darkens with storm clouds rolling in from the west. She watches me with a mix of suspicion and reluctant trust.How bizarre,that a rebel who once tried to burn Pyrthos now stands on the precipice of sharing her most dangerous secret with me.

“Fine,” she finally concedes. “I’ll do my best to rein it in. But if it surges without warning?”

My throat constricts. “Then pray it happens where no one else sees. Or at least that I’m there to cover for you.”

Her gaze drops, shoulders sagging. “Understood.”

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