Page 63 of Promise of Darkness
I didn’t realize he’d been studying me as thoroughly as I’ve been studying him.
“I just need time for the iron to drain from my blood,” Thiago tells them. “Until then, I’ll keep my magic to a minimum. Nobody in Ceres will know.”
I clear my throat loudly enough to announce my presence and step through the door. Instantly, Eris scowls, but Finn’s smile widens.
“Princess,” he says. “You look much recovered after your bath. I barely recognize you. A bedraggled warrior went into the steam rooms, and a radiant woman emerged in her place.” He pats his cheeks. “Perhaps I should try it.”
Thiago gives his friend a quelling look.
“There’s not enough water in the world,” Eris mutters, “to transformyou.”
“We’re just about to eat,” Thiago says, coming forward to draw out a chair for me. “We were discussing tomorrow. We’re going to Ceres. I need to contact the Alliance and set a few things into place to counter Angharad.”
“Am I included in that ‘we’?”
“Yes.” Thiago eases my chair back in as I sit. His knuckles graze my bare shoulders, and I think he’s almost about to rest his hand there before he thinks better of it. “I need Eris, and I can’t afford to leave her behind to guard you.”
My heart skips a beat. I can’t avoid hearing my mother’s words in my ears. There’s something he’s not telling me, and somehow, I know I’ll find the answers in Ceres.
“I’ll be ready at dawn.”
* * *
The prince insistsupon blindfolding me for the journey to Ceres, which only engages my curiosity.
I barely have time to think about it though, as the second he engages the Hallow, my stomach decides to reverse itself. This doesn’t feel like the trip to Mistmere. It feels like the Hallow itself is sucking at me, trying to drain me of my magic. I try to shield, but I’m on my knees before I know it, and my head aches.
“Here,” Thiago says, resting a hand on my forehead.
Instantly, the power drain is gone.
I come to on my knees, breathing hard. “Whatwasthat?”
He swings me up into his arms, which I really should protest, but don’t have the strength to. “You’ve been travelling through portals regularly. It affects some fae more than others, particularly if they’re not warded against the power of the ley line.”
I know he thinks he’s telling the truth, but I can’t help thinking he’s wrong.
Something about the Hallow didn’t feel right.
* * *
We seemingly climb a thousand stairs,and I catch the sound of servants bustling through the castle, before the prince sets me on my feet and whips my blindfold away.
Light stabs at my eyes. I wince, but I can also make out a woman sitting in what appears to be a circular tower room.
The last time I saw Thalia, she was wearing red, but now she’s in a green gown that’s more daring than anything I’ve ever worn. Gold lace epaulets rest on her shoulders, with a heavy golden cloak made of thin metallic scales that drapes to the floor. Dozens of golden chains loop around her throat and cross her bodice. It’s the most elegant gown I’ve ever seen.
The tall, exotic beauty shares some of the same features as the prince, such as his thick dark hair and almond-shaped green eyes. But it’s the way she claps her hands together and smiles at me that takes me aback. “Your Highness,” Thalia says, sweeping toward me and taking my hands. “I’m so glad to meet you again. I thought Thiago was going to keep you locked away in that gloomy old city forever.”
For some reason, I’d thought her the cousin that was supposed to be traded to my mother in exchange for me.
There must be another one.
I don’t know why, but I want to smile back at her. Her welcome feels genuine, and her smile is infectious.
“So did I.”
“E,” she says, turning and giving Eris an enthusiastic hug. “I missed your glowering face.”
