Page 14 of Darkness Rising
“You didn’t just find me in that alley. You didn’t stumble into me by chance.” Cameron’s voice is steady, his words seeming well thought out. A single, quiet step closer to him is taken as I start to consider everything I know about this stranger. “They upped the security after I broke in. I wanted a pawn to lead me back into the palace.” Another deliberate step brings me closer to him as my lips purse tightly together. “I knew the King’s daughter was in the Wild Hunt. I knew you would take me to him.” His trusting eyes finally meet mine and unrepressed rage rips through me.
His next statement is so quiet it’s barely heard.
“You’re the pawn that can lead me to the King.”
Then the room explodes around us.
Chapter Nine
Severed Souls
Cats fly around the room like flakes of snow in a blizzard. Floral colors burst, severing from the walls and tearing away from the structure of this quaint little home. Nollix watches with wide, excited attention while everyone else covers their heads the best they can. Berlin clings helplessly to a wide-eyed and fretful kitten as he crouches low on the floor, hiding from the chaos that spins around what’s left of his home.
I stand waiting. My gaze blazes into the Warlock cowering on the floor at my feet. Long strands of my blonde hair whip across my face, but not even the painful shards of wood against my skin deter my glaring eyes.
“Do I still look like a pawn, Cameron Crows?” My steady voice scarcely carries among the destruction.
I lower myself, crouching at his side as he curls into his body, his hands clinging over his thick dark hair. My arms rest lazily against my knees. A chunk of timber flies past my face and still I stare down on him.
“I said, do you think I am a pawn to be played with?”
“No.” The muffled sound of his voice can barely be heard, but I do hear it. “No, I don’t,” he repeats on a yell.
The violent winds halt in an instant. The swirling items drop, landing hard in a heap of a mess in the destroyed room. Warm sunlight filters in through the beams of the walls. The chatter of birds outside drifts through the silence as I wait patiently for him to untangle himself from beneath the broken coffee table.
“Goddess, I love when she’s angry,” Nollix says from somewhere behind me.
“There’s something seriously wrong with you,” Link whispers to his friend.
The man at my feet pushes at the debris covering him. White dust clings to the strands of his hair. When he looks into my eyes, he stares up at me as if it’s the first time we’re really meeting.
“Untie the bond.” The simmering feel of my magic settles to a dull hum within me.
Cameron looks to Berlin and their eyes meet just before fumes of pale pink smoke erupt from around the Warlock.
“I’m too old for this shit,” Berlin says just before he fades away entirely within the smoky magic around him.
“I can’t break the bond.” Cameron bites the inside of his cheek, not meeting my gaze as his eyes trail over the broken boards within the room.
“That’s a lie. Remove it or I’ll remove you.”
A humming sound of appreciation falls from Nollix’s lips and I roll my eyes at the sound. His hunger for violence is strange, but it suits him.
Why did Cameron even want me? Why break into the castle at all?Twice.
The memory of him asking if he’d be imprisoned within the castle twirls through my thoughts. He wanted to be there.
“What were you looking for?” Interest sparks within me and I can’t seem to stop it.
“Vi, we don’t have time for this. We have our own lives to worry about,” Link’s gentle tone tugs at my mind, but it isn’t enough to distract me from wondering what my father might be hiding within the walls of the Court of Darkness.
“Do you ever wonder why the King sent away his own daughter to the Wild Hunt?”
Every day.
“Not really.” I tilt my head at him, knowing he won’t resist telling his tale.
He shakes his head at me like I’m being childish.
