Page 83 of Beasts of Briar
Leoni and Driscoll visited me,but I didn’t dare tell them about my plan.
I knew they would protest, might even tell the pixies, and I couldn’t have that. So I did my best to act normal in front of them while the entire time my stomach twisted into tight knots.
Finally they left, and I waited until the first sign of stars glimmered in the sky, then I strode out onto the balcony and sat, summoning my powers. It wasn’t hard to find her or to slip into her mind.
I kept the prison setting in her dream, kept her chained, but I did make one small tweak. Sconces lit the area around us as I stood and faced her. I wore a hood and a cloak to mask some of my identity, but at this point, I didn’t see why it would matter if she knew who I was. I was a nobody. Not anyone she would recognize, even if she had a face and a name to put to me.
She startled, blinking rapidly as she took in what was happening. Her hair was long, blonde, voluminous. It almostlooked white in the light. Her eyes were pale and glittering. She wore a simple silver dress that I put her in.
This was just how I imagined her, so it was how she appeared to me, but of course, it wasn’t how she actually looked in real life. In order to know that, I’d need to see her. Dreams were an illusion, one I created when in control.
“Well, this is a surprise,” she said. “You’re my mystery visitor,” she guessed. “And you have star magic.”
I nodded. She sounded confused, which made sense. Star magic wasn’t supposed to exist anymore, not since what Kairoth had done when he escaped his tomb.
“You haven’t visited in a while. I thought maybe he got to you.”
He had, but I wouldn’t admit that. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
And I didn’t. At this point, after everything Kairoth had shared with me, I wanted to give him a chance to explain before I heard anything else from this prisoner. That was why I hadn’t visited her again. I owed him that, at least, after he’d saved my life. Even if he’d left without a word.
“Okay,” she said, eyes sparking with interest. “Then what do you want to talk about?”
“Nettle weed.”
She stilled. “What do you want to know about the briars?”
Right. I forgot that was what they called it here. So my suspicions were right and she was likely from the shadow court. She had to be if she called it what the locals did.
“Do you know where it might grow on the island?” I asked. “Other than in the castle gardens?”
My heart thumped as I waited for her response. She didn’t speak for a long time, and my heart sank. She likely didn’t know. I’d known this would be a long shot, but it hadn’t stopped hope from blossoming.
A slow smile spread across her face. “I can tell you exactly where to find the briar, but I need something from you in return.”
Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.
“If you’re going to ask me to free you, you’re wasting your time,” I said.
I wouldn’t betray Kairoth like that. The more I’d gotten to know him, the more I started to realize how impossible it was that he would ever do any of the things she was accusing him of. I didn’t know the whole story, but I needed to get it. And I would. As soon as he returned. If she was imprisoned, it was for a good reason, and Kairoth deserved the chance to tell me about it himself.
She laughed. “I wasn’t going to ask for that. I’m not that naive.”
“Okay,” I said warily. “Then what do you want?”
She sighed, looking upward at the wall. “I just want to see the sky. It’s been so long that I’ve been trapped in the dark. I know you won’t set me free, and it’s clear you’re loyal to him.”
I winced, but it was true. I was loyal.
“I’ll respect your wishes. I won’t talk about him,” the woman said. “I won’t ask your name, and I won’t tell you mine. All I want is to see the sky.” She lifted her hands. “I’m chained. I can’t escape or I already would have. But I can’t stand being in the dark all the time. If I could just look at the blue sky, the clouds, the stars...”
I thought about it. How badly I wanted to know where that nettle weed was. What she was asking seemed harmless enough. Besides, she had iron chains keeping her prisoner. Even if she wasn’t from the shadow court like I suspected and had sky magic or earth magic, she was constrained by iron chains. She couldn’t use her magic no matter the circumstance.
“Okay,” I said. “Now tell me what I want to know.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
YEAR 206, ERA OF THE GODS
