Page 22 of Voices in the Stars
“Stupid doesn’t look good on you,” I commented, feeling some of my old boldness returning. It was easy to feel brave surrounded by people. I was betting my life on the fact that he wouldn’t do anything here.
The corners of his lips twitched as he fought back a smile before returning to his normal scowl. He leaned back in the chair, arms crossing his chest. His face contorted into what I could only assume was supposed to be relaxation. Even I could see how hard he was trying for this illusion.
“No one to concern yourself with” was his eventual response.
I opened my mouth to reply. He ensured I was stuck with him no matter what I did. Back with Klyn, I could’ve found a way back to Donnaway. Eventually. I was completely lost here. I deservedto know if there was yet another risk to my life. Whatever conversation he had wasn’t pleasant, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Any words of mine were cut off by the loud scraping of his chair as he suddenly stood.
“We’re leaving.” He held out his hand, looking down at me expectantly.
I spared a quick glance up at his hand, snorting at the gesture before standing on my own. The audacity to think I’d take any help from him was impressive. No part of him was trustworthy. He’d already proven that to me several times now.
I watched as the few emotions I’d seen throughout our conversation faded away from his features. His hand dropped to his side, squaring his shoulders. He brushed past me as he headed out the door. An uncaring wall once again. I made sure the hood was still hiding my face before I went to follow him out.
My legs froze as I looked over the crowded room again. The small room was filled with people that had wings of different shades of green. Many looked like me besides their pointed ears. Some people stood several heads taller than everyone else, having to bend down so they weren’t hitting the ceiling.
My fingers trembled as I brought them up to my own ear, and my shoulders sunk as relief flooded me when I found it was still round. Just because I couldn’t shapeshift didn’t mean something else wouldn’t change.
“What’s wrong?” Atlas snapped as he marched back over to me, gaze scanning across the crowds closest to me.
“I’m different from everyone here,” I muttered, cheeks burning as I voiced my thoughts.
Atlas cocked his brow as he looked over me for several moments. The silence did nothing to ease the tight feeling in my chest.
“There aren’t any humans left around. The king killed them off years ago for being useless.” His words were void of anything as he spoke.
No. He was wrong. I had a family and friends that were very much alive. My gaze searched the crowd again, looking for any proof that there were some humans outside of Donnaway.
“You’re wrong,” I commented even when I found no one. “There’s an entire town full?—"
My words cut off as I turned back to Atlas, only to find him already walking out of the tavern. I furrowed my brows as I followed him out. What he thought was true didn’t matter to me. I knew the family I grew up with, the friends I’d made over the years, my very own sister that still needed me. They were all real and alive, no matter what he said.
Her gaze prickledthe back of my neck as it followed my every move while I led us through the small town. The hairs on the back of my neck stood even as I tried to ignore her. The base of my horns itched with the need to rub them. Something about this wasn’t adding up.
She was supposed to be the downfall of the fragile peace Feycrest had, yet she was thrown off that no one looked like her. I could only imagine she meant the humans, since she knew the witches were all dead. Even that I still couldn’t fully wrap my mind around. The humans had been gone for longer than the witches. They were killed off after my father deemed them useless since they had no connection to any of the magic in the word.
Bile rose to the back of my throat. He forced Leon into that battle as a reminder that no one was safe. My best friend was still a soldier in his army. My father could still force him to do whatever he wanted. I wished it had been me that was sent instead.
A glance back showed she was still slowly following. Smartly, she chose to keep that hood drawn up. We didn’t need any more attention. Or, at least, any more than what was already on me. She looked too. Her ears were too round. Eyes didn’t have that bright glow the children of the gods had. No spikes to decorate her face. I racked my brain, trying to remember what made the witches stand out.
There was a loud thump as someone in front of us fell. Fruit bounced across the street but his focus was fully on me. His eyes were wide asthey locked onto me. He scrambled to back away from me. Lips moving quickly with prayers before he stood, running away.
I wished the clear avoidance from everyone still didn’t hurt. The way their faces twisted as they looked at me. In all my years’ experience, it shouldn’t have. I should’ve been used to it all. Instead, I was fighting against the animalist urge to scream at all of the whispering onlookers that I wasn’t my father. There wasn’t any danger here. From me, at least. Though, that might not be as true as it usually would’ve been. Here I was, taking the weapon right to him.
I tried to shake those thoughts from my head. There was a plan in place to deal with her. I just needed to stay focused on that. Deal with her so I could deal with him after, and make this nightmare finally end. My own and the constant fear these people lived with every day.
First, she needed something to wear. As much as some twisted side of me enjoyed helping her last night, I couldn’t risk us getting close. She was a master manipulator. The scared look in her eyes proved that. It wasn’t even a fear of me. That would have been the reaction anyone had of a Saeva being that close to them. No, it was the fear someone had if they went a long time without knowing kindness.
It had to be an act, and I hated that I was falling for it. Last night couldn’t happen again. I enjoyed it too much, having someone just let me touch them without flinching or reeking of fear.
I’d had one night stands before with women who wanted the thrill of being with someone they believed would kill them. The number of times they’d asked me to bite them during sex made my stomach churn. Not that I was picturing how the witch’s blond hair would look spread across a bed underneath me. I was certainly ignoring the interested twitch of my dick at that thought.
I was old enough to remember how her coven was treated in Kilrest. Everyone loved the witches. Myself included. At least, I loved one of the witches, Nari. The same one whose picture felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket. I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it after Klyn handed it over. There weren’t many reminders of her left in this world and my greedy self was determined to cling to this little piece.
When Nari died, everything I had of hers vanished with her. Now I had to take one of her sisters back to him. My hands clenched into fists. She would’ve been able to talk some sense into this witch. Convince her that what she was doing was wrong. How could she be so willing to helpmy father after he killed the witches? Set their temple on fire? Used guards to keep them inside until the walls started collapsing? Why did she get to live while Nari died?
I was there that day. My father’s hand dug into my shoulder as I watched my best friend burn with her family. What my mind couldn’t understand was how this witch managed to escape. My father proved that he would never half-ass anything when he set their temple on fire. He set the fire early in the morning as they prepared for the day. Everyone was there at the time. He even dragged me there soon after the fire was set just so I could listen to their screams as guards stood at the doors, keeping everyone trapped inside.
I cleared my throat, blinking rapidly as the memory gripped me. How did one witch get so lucky to survive, and why couldn’t it have been Nari?
