Page 110 of The King's Man
“Jann,you conjure wings.How can you—”
“That isnotmagik,” I muttered. “It’s something we’re all born with.”
“So is my shadow walking.”
I shrugged, not convinced, but also not wanting to argue about it further. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”
I looked a warning down at her when her lips twitched again like she might laugh at me, but instead she opened her hand so I could take it, then swing her up into my chest.
“Just keep walking,” she whispered. “And no, you won’t walk into the earth, I told you. You’re going to walk exactly as you would if the wall weren’t here.”
“It’s fucking thick, Dee.”
“That’s what I said,” she whispered back with a sly smile, trying to distract me as she laced her fingers behind my neck and tucked herself into my chest.
I felt that unnervingshift,and the world seemed to blur at the edges. I balked for a moment, staring at the stone wall in front of me, my mate curled in my arms. But then she nudged me with her hip.
“It’s safe. Go ahead.”
Swallowed hard, I stepped forward,intothat fucking wall.
The world was black as we passed through it. My stomach churned, lurching when I took the second step because, for a split second, it seemed I walked off into an abyss.
But now that I was committed, I hurried.
Diadre had warned me that moving quickly in the open when she was obscuring me could be dangerous—I might flicker like a shadow to the eyes of a watcher. But here in the middle of the wall there were no eyes to see. So I was free to hurry.
Moments later I stepped through the stone into open air in a stable yard, a few horses milling around, ears flickering because they were aware of our presence but they couldn’t see us becausemy mate kept us obscured. But now I slowed my pace in case people were around. The only real light was a lantern in the distant corner, but it was no longertruedark, which meant it cost Diadre more to keep us invisible.
The moment we were beyond the animals and through the gate into the street beyond, the only guard deeply asleep, sitting on a stool and leaning against the gate into the stable.
“Pathetic,” I breathed, shaking my head. A bad guard was worse than none at all. With no guard, someone with bad intent might step carefully, worried about unseen eyes. But a guard asleep out in the open was a flag to the nefarious that this was a good target—
‘Stop judging him. He’s a child.’
I jolted, but looked back over my shoulder to see if she was right… and of course she was. Still.
A few steps later we were in the middle of the street, lined on one side by the city walls and the other with the trades that made their livelihood in its shadow, the stretch of cobbles under our feet slick with animal refuse and only wide enough to allow a single wagon to pass at a time before running up on a narrow footpath at the foot of the shops and taverns that lined the other side. There were more lights along the street, though no people to see us at that moment.
“Let go of the magik,” I muttered. “I’ll use my wings to keep us obscured.”
My wings didn’t make us invisible, but helped camouflage me in shadows, and cost me nothing. I lowered Diadre to the ground, both of us watching left and right, but there didn’t seem to be anyone out on this little stretch this evening.
I took a deep breath when the edges of my vision cleared and I no longer felt like I was walking through a tunnel.
Further down the street the music and babble of drunks rode the night air, but we were too deep into the shadows to be seen by anyone that far away.
Diadre looked up and down, biting her lip, her eyes scanning the closed business shop fronts, and the dirty street.
“This isn’t our doing,” I said, observing her disapproval of the dirt and grime. “It was already like this. The closer you get to the Great Hall, the more money and… refinement you’ll see.”
She nodded, then answered me in the mindlink.
‘Speak this way unless it’s for a ruse, it will keep us one step ahead of any who might notice our passing.’
I nodded, then took her hand and led her up the street. Because we’d already made a plan.
It was impossible to hide my size, but some Nephilim were present in every major center that we’d conquered. Although I would be regarded with suspicion, I also wouldn’t be challenged. And if Diadre remained close to me they’d likely assume she was either my servant, or my slave.
