Page 4 of The Illuminated
I had missed Taryn, even more than I’d expected. But I knew she needed space to unpack her newfound connection to my power and the visions it had given her about her homeland and the real parents she was stolen from by cruel castle elites.
I raised a brow. “Didn’t care to see whether I’d survived?” I tried to sound humored, but I knew it came out as a lot more hurt, which was how I really felt about her radio silence since that day.
She looked down at her lap, her air of forced aloofness wavering. “I don’t… I can’t see people like that. In pain. Dying. It’s just not my thing.”
“I don’t think it’s anybody’sthing,” I laughed. “Well, except for…” I trailed off, unsure of where she stood now on the whole Lucius-is-evil thing.
She ignored the comment and shrugged. “Besides, I knew you’d survive. How else could you continue to ruin my life?”
I grimaced, searching her eyes even as she avoided looking in my direction. “You really think that I’ve ruined your life?”
“Yes,” she hissed. And then said a less sure, “Maybe. No. I don’t know. I’m just scared, okay?”
“I am too. I’m scared every day,” I said. “Before I came here, I had to leave my best friends in the human realm behind. You have no idea how much I needed a friend when I got here, and you were the best I could’ve asked for—my only friend in the castle, actually—and I’ve missed you.” I felt a pang of sadness in my chest thinking about Steph, Rena, and Nick. We’d spent a magical five years together in New York City, where they taught me that I was worthy of love and community again after I’d been forced into a difficult existence in foster care for the second half of my childhood.
After I’d witnessed my mothers’ murders at the hands of men sent by Lucius.
Taryn blew out a long breath while tapping her fingers wildly on her knee. “That’s kind of sad. But also kind of sweet, I guess. Maybe you’d have more friends if you didn’t… act the way you do. Though I’m sure you’ll have plenty now that everyone knows about your power.” Her tone was bitter now, and the mild flames of jealousy in her aura nearly made me smile. Underneath her anger and confusion lay something else entirely—she wanted me back as much as I wanted her, and her distaste for many of the other elites mirrored my own. That was what first drew me to her.
“I don’t want to befriendswith any of them,” I said quietly, watching her closely as my words melted away her defenses.
She pressed her lips firmly together as the hardness of her edges finally softened. “I’ve missed you too,” she offered. “And my newfound strength isn’t exactly the worst thing in the world. I still can’t believe I was able to take on Nathaniel like that.” Her eyes glimmered and lit up before dimming again. “I just need more time to process.”
“I understand. When you’re ready, we can talk. I have something I think you’ll want to see.” Maybe the secret coven of servants could help Taryn feel more at ease with everything. She shouldn’t have had to face this all on her own.
She failed to hide her curiosity, but when I said nothing more, she stood and straightened out her dress. “I’m glad you’re alive. Actually, I think a lot more people than you realize are glad for it.”
I let out a breath, feeling surprisingly unburdened as I watched her leave.
A pair of guards escorted me to Lucius’s chambers in the afternoon. It was an unwelcomed summons, but I took the opportunity to glance around his rooms for any sign of a witch he’d raised from the dead.
Instead, his lavish yet impersonal chambers were clear of any indication that anyone lived here at all.
“Now that you’re healed,” Lucius said as I stood before him, “Mrs. Violette here can erase the scar. She can actually fix all manner of flaws and imperfections, so feel free to use her at your will. The ladies sure seem to.”
I looked from him to Mrs. Violette. She was the woman whose abusive husband Lucius brutally murdered the night of the winter ball. Her skin was olive-toned and her dark hair curly around her heart-shaped face. She had a tall, slender frame, with calm, brown eyes and a widow’s peak. Her features were fierce and beautiful.
“I think just the scar will do,” I said, raising a brow at Lucius. Her gift would make her millions of dollars in the human realm.
“Lay down,” he ordered, gesturing to a reclined brown leather chair in the living area. A grand fireplace stood front and center, flanked by two closed doors beyond. Across the room were tall windows overlooking the gardens and a bookcase that appeared dusty and untouched.
I bristled at his command. “Are you still going to order me around like this when we are so-calledequals?”
Lucius narrowed his eyes, but after a few beats he just shrugged. “I doubt I’ll need to.” The corners of lips turned up, and a chill ran down my spine.
“You can call me Mary,” Mrs. Violette said nervously, stepping out from behind the King. I could tell the day we met weighed heavy on her mind, and I wondered how she was dealing with the aftermath of Lucius murdering her violent husband. I didn’t know her well enough to ask, so I politely pretended we were meeting for the first time.
“I’m Áine,” I said with a smile. “You’re basically a witchy beautician? I’ve never heard of such a gift.”
She chuckled, uncomfortable, and her eyes widened as if I’d surprised her. “I thinkthisis more in line with what my magick was meant to do for people,” she said carefully. She glanced at Lucius before moving to my side, silently asking for my permission as she began to lift the hem of my blouse.
I tried my best to ignore Lucius’s presence as my midsection lay exposed. The thick, reddish scar ran across my skin in jagged lines. I focused on Mary’s cool touch, the magickal frequency of mending and manifestation seeping through her fingers and into my skin. She whispered directions to my body, guiding it to rebuild what was lost, and soon the line glowed with her magick and began to fade into the smooth surface it once was.
“See?” Lucius clasped his hands together. “I take care of people who are on my side, dear Áine. And if you continue to cooperate and claim the gift of queenship, you will have everything you could ever desire.”
I bit back a grimace, pulling my blouse back down after Mary finished. If I became Queen, I knew I would never have any of the things I truly desired, and it was foolish of Lucius to think I felt otherwise.
He stepped forward, his sickening energy reaching toward me like a thick black smoke.
