Page 102 of Court of Lies and Deceit

Ouch. That one might have hit a little too close to home.

She shrugs again. “I could go on, but I think you get the point.”

“Yeah.” I rub my thigh, suddenly feeling anxious. Then I glance back up at her. “Does that… craving ever go away? Because I kind of already want to feel it again. It was like a warmsparkling hug, and I just… I can’t stop thinking about how good it felt.”

“Unfortunately not. You will have to manage that craving now. But don’t worry too much about it. I’ve been successfully handling it for over six hundred years now. It’s not too bad.”

“Oh. Good.”

She sits up straighter, blinking as if a sudden thought just struck her. Swallowing, she meets my gaze with eyes that have suddenly filled with a terrifying amount of sympathy.

“But,” she begins, sounding hesitant for the first time in this conversation. “I suppose the craving will be even stronger for you than it is for me. Maybe significantly stronger, given the strength of your magic overall.”

I stare back at her in silence, my mind spinning.

This just adds more weight to my suspicion that I accidentally made my parents hate me. My mind probably blocked out the whole thing and buried it deep inside where I couldn’t reach it, both because of the sheer trauma of what I had done and also to cut off the memory of the pleasure I felt, so that I wouldn’t continue doing it to my parents just to feel that rush of pleasure again.

A choked noise escapes my mouth.

I’m suddenly not sure whether to bawl my eyes out or burst out laughing like a crazy person.

Not only did I probably make my own parents hate me, I will now be fighting against an overwhelming urge to do it to everyone else around me too.

Splendid.

Just… splendid.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

The sly smile on Isera’s lips is making me increasingly nervous. We’re standing outside the door to the Unseelie King’s private section on the middle tier of the arena. The carved wooden door is still closed, and two guards are standing on either side of it, waiting for Orion’s orders to send us in.

True to her words, Jocasta turned down this audience to instead get Lyra and Galen healed straight away. Since neither of them could walk on their own, Draven is carrying Galen to Haldia’s house while Alistair is doing the same to Lyra. That left me and Isera to face the Unseelie King and secure confirmation of our hard-won freedom.

And Isera has been smirking the entire way here.

Which is making me jittery.

We need to make Orion keep his end of the bargain and give us permission to leave. Not insult him or bait him into going back on his word.

“Send them in,” Orion Nightbane calls from the other side of the door.

A jolt shoots through me, and I flick another worried glance at Isera. But that sly smile is now thankfully gone from her features, replaced instead by that usual mask of cold confidence.

The guards open the door and motion for us to step through.

Drawing in a bracing breath, I straighten my spine and then follow Isera in through the door.

The Unseelie King is standing in the middle of an elegantly furnished lounge. A cluster of sofas and divans in royal blue have been positioned by the wall to my left. There are several small wooden side tables scattered between them, and bowls of fresh fruit and platters filled with everything from bread and cheese to delicate pastries are waiting there. Several silver decanters of wine have been placed among them as well.

Behind Orion, two thick drapes in his signature royal blue separate this lounge room from the platform outside where he can sit on his throne and watch the games down in the arena. The drapes have been left slightly open, letting us see the throne and the arena beyond but still providing privacy for the three of us in here.

The door shuts behind me and Isera with a faint click.

Orion cocks his head, his black and silver eyes studying us intently. “You are the smallest party of seven I have ever seen.”

“As you no doubt saw,” I begin, careful to keep my tone neutral. “Two of our team members were badly injured in their matches, so our faction owner had to take them to Haldia straight away.”

“I see,” he replies. And I can’t tell if he’s disappointed or amused or simply indifferent. His gaze shifts between me and Isera. “I suppose you speak for your entire team then.”

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