Page 82 of A Court So Dark
He only shrugged in answer.
“Do you like people to fear you?”
“It has its advantages.”
“I can only imagine. No one has ever feared me.” I bobbed my head from side to side as if considering. “Well, maybe one chambermaid or two.”
He laughed at that.
I smiled, which was an effort.
“Yes.” He nodded slowly. “I’m definitely intrigued by you.”
CHAPTER 31
KALYLL
Ididnotlikethe way Mythorne was looking at her. It was nearly impossible to sit in the shadows, doing nothing, waiting for Daniella’s opportunity to get close to him.
This was the plan, I knew, but what if his rumored secret powers were only that: a rumor? I wasn’t afraid of him, and I wouldn’t mind fighting him and finding out who was more powerful.
—Let me kill him.
No. We won’t endanger the others.
—I can take him, if you’re too afraid to do it.
We’re in a bed of snakes. They will rear their heads and strike at the slightest sign of trouble.
I would never forgive myself if my rash behavior got my friends or my beloved hurt.
So I remained one with the shadows and watched as he ogled her. Logically, I knew it was Mylendra’s body he was admiring, but I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that he could see further. The way he was acting, staying away from her reach. Perhaps it was just caution since one never knew the extent of what others could do. He certainly was adept at keeping such things secret. He understood the advantage it gave him. So naturally, his own strategy would make him wary of others. Or perhaps it had to do with what happened to his pet sorcerer, Runik. Mythorne knew there was someone out there who could kill him with a single touch.
But did he know about Naesala Roka? Did he know she was so crafty and powerful that she could make one person look exactly like another? Did he know she was at our disposal? I didn’t think so, but it all depended on how much Cardian had fathomed from Varamede’s run-in with me in Elyndell. Or maybe it didn’t.
If I knew my brother well, I had to believe that he’d kept that little incident from the Unseelie King. Cardian didn’t like to admit his failures, and confessing that he’d transferred to Nerethien in a fit of panic believing that I had escaped was no small blunder.
Though Daniella never had the opportunity to come close enough to touch Mythorne, I was relieved when they started walking back toward the door. I followed them, staying at a safe distance, and didn’t breathe easily until he bid her good night, and they went their separate ways.
As Daniella walked toward the guest wing, her steps echoed against the dark-stone walls, with not a tapestry to dampen the sound. When she entered the final hall, she stopped, looked around, then turned in my direction.
“I can feel you there,” she said, her voice sounding strange, a mixture between Mylendra’s deeper tone and Daniella’s sweeter one.
I let my shadows rise higher, climbing from the floor to the wall, then I peeled away, taking corporeal form.
She blinked at the sight of me, rushed to my side, took me by the elbow, and pushed me into the chamber.
“Your hair,” she hissed. “It’s blue.”
“And your voice.”
She touched her throat. “The elixir is wearing off.”
“We’re back just in time, then.”
“That was close. I hope Mythorne didn’t notice anything.”
“I doubt it. I just did, and I know you much better than he ever will.”
