Page 11 of The Illuminated
Lucius was wordless, and I couldn’t tell whether or not he was pleased with my magick. After all, he routinely made fun of the old ways and reverence for nature. He also likely didn’t enjoy the fact that I could restore things that he’d destroyed. Or, for that matter, do anything he couldn’t.
But he didn’t say either way, instead offering me an arm and inspecting me with those intense eyes of his. “You’re tired, which is annoying. But understandable, I suppose. Let’s go back inside. We can play some more another day.” His lips turned up as I nodded, but I was keenly aware of the flashes of anger and jealousy in his aura, almost imperceptible under the blur of my elixir high.
“Why the concern? She just fell asleep,” Lucius muttered. “It would seem she needed someone new to play with after your betrayal, brother.”
I’d awakened, my skin still warm and tingly from the elixir, but I kept my eyes closed at the sound of Daelon’s and Lucius’s voices. My power was not in fact limitless, apparently, as my last memory was sitting back in a chair in Lucius’s chambers, murmuring I just needed to rest my eyes. I was soon lulled to sleep by the golden haze of drug and my exhausted limbs and mind after so much channeling.
“It just doesn’t seem like her. None of her behavior did today,” Daelon said carefully.
“Well maybe you didn’t learn as much about her as you thought you had,” Lucius snapped. “She’s evolving. She’s right on track to accepting my offer. You of all people should be pleased.”
“Have I done something wrong? It feels like you’ve been testing me, ever since Nathaniel.”
Silence.
It felt like I’d awoken from a strange dream, the edges of my memories since visiting Amos all static and fuzzy. No amount of Daelon’s intense training to separate my emotions from my magick could’ve saved me after reaching that point of no return. Regret and something shameful sprouted in the pit of my stomach, like I was letting the worst parts of myself take control and I didn’t know how to stop it.
“What can I do to lay to bed this paranoia?” Daelon asked.
The sound of feet hitting the floor, hard, nearly made me flinch. “Don’t you dare call me paranoid.”
“You know that’s not what I meant,” Daelon hissed back. He was the only person I’d ever heard speak to Lucius in that way, other than me.
“I want you to take her on your next mission.”
This next silence was louder than before.
“You really think that’s a good idea?”
“Why not? With your shield and her power, I doubt you’d run into any real trouble. Besides, based on her unraveling today, I suspect she’s well on her way to being fully under my control. I see no risk.”
“But what would be the point?”
“For her to see what you’ve done for me, all these years. For her to see who you are, underneath your façade of honor and poise.”
Daelon snorted. “She doesn’t see me as honorable. Not anymore.”
“You’ve got that right,” I said, opening my eyes.
Daelon and Lucius snapped their heads at me from their positions close to the main door. Daelon was in full uniform, cloaked in black and stiff with authority. Sometimes I forgot he was a high-ranking soldier in Lucius’s evil charade of a kingdom. Or maybe I blocked it out intentionally, because the thought of it made me sick. I breathed through a grimace, realizing Lucius’s energy was no longer obscured by my ecstasy. It was back to being as murderous and decayed as usual.
“Still not over it?” Daelon fired back, his voice laced with annoyance. And even though we both knew we were pretending, our words cut just the same.
I shot up. “Over you kidnapping and seducing me to gain intel for a king who wanted me dead?”
Lucius grinned, and I suddenly felt like a puppet for his own personal entertainment. “Now, now. That’s enough. You’re still going.” His eyes were cold and calculated as they flickered between us.
“Going where?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“Paris, France,” Lucius said, suddenly bored. “In a week or so, I’d say.”
“The human realm?” I asked.
“Obviously,” he said in a tone that made me clench a fist. “Maybe in that time Daelon could attend to poor Renata, who’s been quite forthcoming in her complaints regarding his change of heart.” My heart rate sped up, but Daelon remained impassive as Lucius turned to him. “Just the other day, she told me you would barely touch her. And that didn’t really sound like the Daelon I know.”
“Do I really need to stick around for whateverthisis?” I asked, for once lucky that my power had been exhausted, so I didn’t have to fight against its pull with my rising intensity.
Someone knocked on the door, faint and rhythmic.
