Page 22 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“Ah, I see you’re struggling to remember,” I sneered, causing him to pause as his jaw ticked. “The word you’re searching for isplease.”
A snort exploded from behind me, and I had to bite my lip to contain my own. The deathly glare the prince gave his guard was priceless.
The words rolled out of him about as fast as sap oozed from trees. “Please…give me…your hand.”
“Well, why didn’t you ask so nicely the first time?” I winked and handed him my right hand as another chuckle rumbled from Liam on the opposite side of us.
With a forceful tug, the prince grabbed my hand. A tiny growl rolled out of him, only fueling my amusement more. He waved his palm over my hand, murmuring something under his breath as he did.
One moment my dynamis tattoo was there, the next it wasn’t. My eyes bulged wide at the sight. This time, the chuckle came from the broody man still holding my hand. “What, you’ve never seen a glamour before?”
I shook my head silently, because he was right, I had never seen it before.
“Simple magic.” He shrugged, letting go of my hand. “Once you have dynamis, you can use it to create glamours or wards around things. I had to glamour you for your own protection. It might seem like seeing the symbol of the Light Phoenix would go over well, but there”—he tossed a glance over his shoulder— “it would put a target on your head.”
Swallowing down the anxiousness that rose up my throat, I nodded in agreement.
“You’ll also be riding with me as we go through.”
The prince’s arms wrapped around my waist, and before I even had a chance to blink, I was saddled in front of the Lord of Shadows himself. His warm hands applied pressure to my hips as he adjusted himself further back to give me room. Goosebumps rippled over my skin, and I prayed to all five godsthat he wouldn’t see. Nothing about this man should be alluring, but my body seemed to disagree.
At a nudge of his leg and a click of his tongue, his horse rode ahead in a trot. As I fidgeted, the iron shackles clanked around my wrists. “If we’re going through this town, I need to be free of these shackles,”
“No.”
“What if something happens? I’ll be defenseless.”
“You’ll have me,” he grumbled.
“What if that’s not enough?”
His body shifted behind me, as he sighed. “If I take these off, you must make me a deal.”
Looking over my shoulder, I caught his verdant gaze. Wrapped inside his hand was the key to my freedom. I nodded. His lips rolled into a distracting smirk, and suddenly I was aware I’d just made a deal I was going to regret.
He grabbed my shackles and unlocked each one. As he placed the iron inside his satchel, my breath caught as my hands pulsed with golden light. The glow was delicate and comforting, almost like the glow of the little lightning bugs I’d see flitter about as soon as the sun sank behind the horizon. Fascinated, I pulled them closer for a better look, but the glow faded back to flesh.
I rubbed my palms over my tender wrists. It was a vivid reminder of how much I should value my freedom from now on.
A deep voice whispered into my ear as a heavy cloak enveloped my shoulders. “From now on Elena, you will follow my orders.” His warm breath trickled down to my neck, and I could feel a slight tremble beginning to form in my hands.
“When I say sit, you sit,” he continued, his calloused hands brushing over the sensitive skin of my neck as he buttoned the cloak. “What I say goes, got it?” He pulled my chin towards him.
The horse trotted along, and the town of Wildebrooke was in full view ahead. Left with very few options, I grumbled under mybreath and nodded in agreement. A devious smirk spread across his lips, instantly warming my cheeks. He let go of my chin and tossed the hood over my head, covering my face almost entirely.
“Good.” His voice was low, sending a shiver down my spine, as something else stirred awake inside of me. It burned its way throughout my body, thrashing against my skin like it needed to be set free.
Grappling with the sensation of my new dynamis, I tried to focus as he gave me my first orders. “Now, keep your head down and mouth shut until we are clear of the town.”
It was probably wise for me to follow his directions, but I couldn’t help trying to sneak a peek at the town. Lifting my head, I watched as the villagers stopped what they were doing to glare at the man behind me.
Their eyes were aflame with rage, jaws clenched as if trying to hold in the hateful words that needed to be released. Others did not heed the same restraint.
“Get out of here! Go take your bloodied hands somewhere else!”
Another man threw his pot of filth onto the road in front of us. Prince Declan’s horse snorted, narrowly sidestepping around the mess. More shouts filled the air.
“Murderer!”
