Page 35 of Crown of Briars
“Try harder.”
I turned away from her, prepared to leave the room, if she insisted on staying. I didn’t want to be in her presence another moment.
“Why the shadows?” she called after me.
Slowly, I turned back to face her. Her chin was lifted, revealing that spirit I had sensed in her before.
“You will have to be more specific,” I saidtightly.
She gestured to my form. “Why conceal yourself with shadows?”
“Because I want to,” I snapped. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“What exactly are you hiding? It isn’t quite fair, asIdo not possess the ability to shroud myself in terrifying shadows. It’s only fitting I should get to look upon the face of my beloved husband.”
I bristled at the words, disgusted with the way she described me.Beloved husband.It was revolting.
“This is my home, and I will don my shadow shield as I see fit,” I said, struggling to keep my temper in check. “I do not need to answer to you, human.”
“Sybelle,” she said.
“What?”
“My name isSybelle. Nothuman.”
“I don’t care!” I barked, and my shadows flared. “I don’t care what your name is. I don’t care if my shadows bother you. Now leave me be.”
I expected her to shudder from my outburst, to stumble backward in alarm. But, to my surprise, she inched closer to me, her eyes full of interest as she examined my shadows. “How do you do that?” Her voice was full of curiosity.
I was slightly taken aback by this response, and my anger ebbed. “Do what?”
She wiggled her fingers through the air. “Make your shadows move.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. No human had ever asked me that before.
“You just told me you summon your shadow shield at will,” she went on. “But when you raised your voice just now, they… swelled. Was that intentional?”
I had the strangest desire to fidget under her scrutiny. Which was ridiculous. I could do as I damn well pleased, regardless ofwho was watching. And I certainly shouldn’t care about the opinion of this lowly human.
But there was no malice on her face. Nothing but intrigue.
She was not afraid or disgusted or horrified. She was inquisitive.
“No,” I said at last. “They are bound to me and often respond to my… emotions.”
Something dark crossed her face. Something I couldn’t read. “So you have no control over your magic.” Her voice shifted, becoming flat and full of accusation.
My anger returned, heating my bones and boiling my blood. “I never said that. I can control them just fine; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to maintain the shield around the castle that protects it during the daytime when the Umbra Mist is thinnest. My shadows merely change forms depending on my mood. They are not dangerous. If they were, you would have suffocated by now. ”
She snorted loudly, and my head reared back at the ghastly sound. “Not dangerous,” she repeated. “By whose standards? Yours? Those of the unseelie fae, whose bodies are indestructible? Well, sure, I would wager that with fangs and talons and tough, scaly skin, you can withstand toxic shadows easily. But my people can’t. And, thanks to your little temper tantrums, my kingdom is about to get wiped out by thesenot-so-dangerousshadows.”
Rage and indignation roared within my chest, and my shadows spread, creeping along the floor until they slithered toward Sybelle. They wrapped around her ankles, snaking up her legs.
She stiffened but was otherwise unfazed by the closeness of my shadows, her venomous gaze still fixed on me.
I had to give her credit for her bravery.
“You think you know everything,human,” I spat. “But you don’t know me, and you know nothing of my magic. I’ve beenalive longer than your grandparents. Don’t come in here and fling accusations at me as if you understand anything. You don’t know what secrets lie behind the walls of your own home. Now, go back to your rooms before I lock you in there myself. I’m sure your father is eagerly awaiting a letter from you spilling all my secrets. Sorry to have to disappoint you both.”
