Adair leaned against the cool wall, closing his eyes. Every moment he let his guard down, the voices were there, waiting for him. Follow us, follow your destiny. They curled around his mind, and in response, he slammed his iron walls up. What happened last night wasn’t real. He had stayed in the tunnel until he had willed his body toward the new light. Images of those creatures lurked behind his every waking moment, chasing him further and further into himself. He concentrated on his breath, easing himself back to the present.
“Adair, what are you doing here?” His eyes flew open to see Emory, her face gaunt as she wrung her hands together. She wore her usual loose, black pants and leather boots but today was adorned by a velvet royal blue button-down jacket.
Pushing himself off the wall, he said, “I assumed even though classes were cancelled, we would still get our training. Especially now that you are royalty. Despite... what has happened.”
She released a breath, a slight tremor passing through her body. Stepping closer, her voice soft as if she was trying to coax a feral animal. “Adair, please try to understand. My dad met with me this morning after the group was dispatched. Things are moving fast. We are trying to reach Sarthaven’s communications to let them know what Cesan is trying to do. Things are in a precarious situation. My dad has decided to not recognize your family as part of his court anymore after yesterday.” She paused, biting her lip, her eyes wide, waiting for him to respond.
Roaring had filled his senses as his heart tried to catch up with his mind. He took a step back, feeling unhinged as he snarled. “He is pushing us out then? Just like that? Like the years we have all put into this means nothing? That my family means nothing to him? To you?”
Emory reached toward him, whispering, “Adair, no...”
Ugly aggression raised its head within him, wanting to lash out. To destroy, to bleed darkness within all their hearts. It was madness. Complete and utter madness. “And you agree with him? That you, alone, will rule Kiero. That you, alone, are the rightful heir to the throne? No allies, no court? No one you trust by your side.”
She threw her arms out, exasperated. “Adair, I will have a court.”
He spat, cutting her off. “Just not one with me in it.”
Her eyes begged forgiveness, but all he saw was the blade as she landed the killing blow. She croaked, “Yes.”
A mad cackle broke from his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. The world had tipped, and he was freefalling. All the pieces he had been trying to hold together, for his future, for her, scattered into that void. There was only one thing that remained beneath all of that. His ability, which was born from fury and darkness. Brushing by her, his feet carried him, his entire body numb. Her pleas were lost in the hallway, his classmates looking between them. At her tension and his indifference.
Within his grief, the voices cooed at him, trying to mend his shattered essence. Don’t you want more? The words sank their claws into his heart, and for a fraction, he opened himself to those voices. Those chilling, soothing voices that beckoned him. Because now he was just Adair Stratton of the Academy. He growled, his anger wild and encompassing. He refused to bow to them. The shift around him was subtle, the world carrying on like it always did. But to him, as he charged down the hallway, his world was quaking. His best friend, severing him for the power that was now handed to her.
Until his parents returned, he had every inclination to reveal Roque’s skeletons to Emory. Over the years, he had caught snippets that Roque, generous, kind Roque, had interesting rumors kept sealed tight. Rumors only his parents had heard. He once, a couple years ago, had accidently slipped into their consciousness, and he hadn’t told anyone what he had found lurking there. Quickly swinging by his room, his purpose darkened. Throwing open the door, he grabbed his high-collared jacket and a bag which he stuffed a short blade, several history books, and a hidden supply of jerky. Zipping it closed, he swung the bag over his shoulder, looking at the empty room. He steeled his nerves and walked out.
The door shut behind with a snap, and an arrogant voice sounded from behind him. “Going somewhere?”
He twisted to find emerald eyes dancing as Marquis Maher leaned against the wall, arms crossed and a lazy smile splayed on his face.
He snarled. “Go away.”
Turning, he walked steadily down the hallway as Marquis jogged behind him. “Had enough of this stuffy place then?”
Growling under his breath, he looked at the spots where the hidden cameras lay. His ability unfurled, its talons clicking themselves along the wiring, spreading like a disease until it reached its target. The surveillance team before the main doors collapsed at their desks, unconscious. Stalking by the room, a stony silence filled him as he looked at the bodies. They would wake up in a few hours, and who would piece together that he was gone? It would be too late at that point. He shifted the bag on his shoulder, turning to face an amused Marquis. He shook his head. “Look, I’m not joking. Leave me alone.” Throwing the doors to the Academy open, the empty courtyard splayed before him. Rushing down the steps he was desperately trying to escape the ghosts of what had happened here.
“Well, that’s not very welcoming. We did travel a long way, you know.”
Stalking up to the heir of the Shattered Isles, he drawled, “I do not care. Now leave me alone, or I will make you.”
Marquis waggled his eyebrows.
