Page 87 of A Court So Dark
“He’ll expect you toactually hunt.”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Please.”
“What?” I lifted my chin. “Did you forget your promise?”
“Fine. You keep trying, but the others are coming too.”
Despite his acquiescence, I knew I would pay for contradicting him in front of the others. His eyes had grown dark and his features had acquired Wölfe’s sharp edges. If he intended to scare me, he was mistaken. I loved it anytime his dark side came out to play. Trying to tame him was quickly becoming a fun challenge.
So, in the end, the plan was for Kalyll and me to stay in our chambers in order to save our potion supply, while Jeondar and Arabis went to inform the others of the new developments. I hoped we would accomplish our goal today, but just in case we didn’t, saving our resources was critical. With their constant comings and goings, Jeondar and Arabis were using more of the potion than Kalyll and me, so we needed to be thrifty.
Twenty minutes before we were due to meet Mythorne, I drank the potion and once I endured the transformation, I changed into a comfortable tunic, leggings, and a pair of supple brown boots. I tied Mylendra’s red curls back to keep them away from my face and applied a light layer of makeup.
Kalyll came to my door back in the earl’s shape. He still appeared angry at me, but he had no right. He had promised to let me fight, and I wasn’t going to let him change his mind. If I didn’t stand up for myself, his overprotectiveness would likely lead him to treat me like a porcelain doll, and I didn’t want a future where I was constantly stifled.
We made our way to the same garden Mythorne had shown me last night. In daylight, the many plants looked even stranger than under the moonlight, displaying features that I hadn’t noticed before: shining thorns, leaves with veins that seemed to run with red blood, translucent bark, exposed roots that writhed toward the sun, and more.
Jeondar and Arabis were waiting for us there, ready to guide us to the meeting place the servants had informed them about.
“Did you contact the others?” Kalyll asked them in a low whisper.
They nodded.
“Run into any trouble?”
“Someone tried to follow us, but we shook them off easily.”
“Mythorne’s surely paranoid,” I said.
“And with good reason.” Kalyll squeezed my hand as if to indicate how deadly I could be. He seemed to have come to terms with the fact that I was doing this. “Don’t you think?”
I smiled and had to agree that the Unseelie King had a right to be distrustful.
We tracked down one side of the castle. The path was steep and narrow and flanked by thorny bushes on either side. As we exited through an iron gate, the din of voices filled the air.
In a strip of clear ground, between the imposing wall and the edge of the woods, a large group of people milled about. I hadn’t expected so many guests, including a good number of Mythorne’s personal guards, all dressed in his livery, their suspicious eyes intent on the woods.
Already, this didn’t bode well for Kalyll’s new plan. I raised one eyebrow at him, feeling smug. It seemed the best chance of getting to the Unseelie King still rested with me.
“You exasperate me sometimes, woman,” he hissed in my ear.
“Happy to oblige.” I gave him a cheeky smile.
Jeondar and Arabis slipped away, and I knew they would soon find their way into the woods, where they would hope for an opportunity to attack.
“Ah, here you are,” Mythorne said, pulling away from a group of stuffy-looking males who eyed us suspiciously as if they suspected we’d come to eat their dinner. Not for the first time, I wondered how many others had tried to throw their daughters at the Unseelie King, and yet, he had accepted no one—not officially anyhow. He’d had a son, and it was rumored that he had other offspring. I couldn’t imagine living as long as he had and having no one to share my life with. Or perhaps, it was my shortsighted human perspective that made me look at things that way. Perhaps the thought of being attached to the same person for so long should be a scary thought instead. Would I get tired of Kalyll after a hundred years? Two hundred? More? Something told me I wouldn’t.
“Allow me to introduce you to a few members of my council.” Mythorne proceeded to spew a bunch of names that ran together and I would never remember.
I noted how he didn’t keep his distance from them or anyone else for that matter, though he still was careful to stay far away from Kalyll and me.
While everyone was introduced, I acted meekly as they would expect a female to do, and allowed Kalyll to make niceties with them, something he did flawlessly, all while cataloging every single person he met, an undertaking that was evident in his calculating eyes.
I was watching him closely when his eyes flashed, growing dark and feral, evidence that his shadowdrifter blood was stirring. I followed his gaze to find Cardian joining the group alongside none other than Varamede.
Surreptitiously, I joined Kalyll’s side and wrapped my hand around his wrist, tugging slightly on his life force. My chest tightened as I took in his energy. He blinked and looked down at me.
