His ability roared in response, exploding from him, rushing toward Marquis. Marquis smirked wickedly at his expression. His talons rushed forward, about to sink themselves into his flesh, his muscles, his nervous system. All he met was an iron wall. The wind howled around them, and Adair found himself encircled in a mini cyclone, his ability scattered to the winds.
Sauntering up to him, the prince snapped his fingers and the cyclone dropped immediately. “Now, where are we going?”
Adair was breathless, his words clipped. “How did you do that?”
Marquis sported a lazy smile. “Because like yourself, I am gifted. Different. The sea bows to me, and I control it. But I can also block abilities if the occasion calls. Seeing as you were just about to try to either kill me or force me back, that is a perfect example of when I use it. Now since we are over that, what exactly are you planning?”
Running a hand over his mouth, he was exasperated. It would draw too much attention to try to send him back. He could block abilities. This gangly, emerald-haired, pale, freckled teen was just as powerful as he was. If not more. He snarled. “If you slow me down or try to stop me, it won’t end well. I’m going to find answers.”
The prince lit up. “That’s exactly what I was hoping you would say. Back in there, they have their futures paved out, you know. Their judgements made and their accusations ready. But you crave the truth. Crave the adventure it will bring. You’re not like them, and it’s easy to see. I find it quite refreshing.”
He huffed, continuing to walk toward the woods. “Isn’t that a bad thing, though? My father will likely be killed, my family holding no title or status. My future here has come to a standstill.”
Marquis slapped him on the back. “Then it is up to you to change the course. Seek what you want, not what others want for you.”
He whispered, “I want the truth.”
Marquis nodded. “Don’t we all?”
He let his words sink in, suspicion clawing at him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Pulling at his jacket, Marquis replied, “Because the world is changing. Because I know what it is like to be forced into a life you don’t want. Take this situation as a gift, Adair. A gift not to be locked down in the politics of kings.”
He picked up his pace, the wind gently tousling his hair. The afternoon was clear and crisp, the threat of autumn on the air. This had been his life, being groomed for court with Emory, with the Faes. He looked to the forest line, pausing for a moment. His answers, his truth, lay in the depths of those woods. At the heart, where an ancient magic lay dormant.
He had always had a fascination for the history and mythology of Kiero. His father had battered against him for years, that it was a waste of time to always have a nose in a book, especially in riddles and myths. Except when myths became reality, mighty powers long forgotten. Creatures forced to the shadows until they were found. And he had found them. Pausing, he assessed Marquis. “This won’t be easy. Or safe.”
The Prince of the Shattered Isles smiled slyly. “The best things never are.”
Stepping into the forest, the coolness of the shade washed over him as he murmured, “Agreed.” He had always loved how as soon as he passed underneath the trees, it had seemed like he had stepped into another world. One consisting of weathered bark, mossy ground, and above all, mystery. Blinking hard, he clenched his hands as he heard them whispering on the wind, come find us, come find us, come find us. They pulled at his heart, at his betrayal, his pain. He forced the Academy behind him and allowed those alluring voices to pull him forward into the heart of the woods.
Sweat rolled down his neck, and he rolled his eyes as the prince didn’t stop talking. Marquis quipped at his back the entire time as they navigated the denser part of the woods. The Shattered Isles had been painted vividly, each word stroking Marquis’s home into life before Adair’s eyes. Of a community that was wild and unkempt, strong and unyielding. One that was united despite its conflict. Marquis told him about cave exploration and how he could swim for hours, the ocean bending to his demands. Of the merpeople that dwelled in the darker parts of the Black Sea, and the monsters that took entire fleets down. Exhaling, the prince took him off guard as he lifted his eyebrow. “What I don’t understand is how the Faes have achieved such loyalty. What did they do?”
He chewed his bottom lip as he hopped over a fallen tree trunk. He looked to Marquis. “They were the dreamers in a time when culture, creativity, and equality were being butchered. The Academy was the foundation of that dream, for desolates, for the people with weaker abilities. For everyone. The people of Kiero followed Roque because they can’t fear him, they can only admire him. How brave he was for standing up to his father, for breaking free of his reign to start out on his own.”
Marquis chewed his lip. “It sounds like you have a different opinion of him.”
He threw out his hands. “I was born at the Academy. Raised in the Academy. Who am I to doubt the intentions of the Faes? They are practically family.”
Shrugging, Marquis cooed, “Sometimes it is the ones closest to us that betray us first.”
A shiver ran down his spine as he looked at the shadows collecting around them. The trees towered far above them, their branches looking like veins, a lifeline. Adair. The whisper tugged at his core. His whole body shook with the recognition, with the knowing that they were getting close. He stopped, slipping his bag free from his shoulders. Choosing not to
