Adair tiredly rubbed his eyes. “What, so you can report back to your father what I’m up to?”
Marquis squared his shoulders. “No. Because we just visited a hidden realm where creatures of ancient myths do exist, and I’m curious how exactly you found them and what is worth that kind of desperation.”
He walked in silence, chewing his cheek. He glanced at the prince, who had buried his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently for him to answer. Would it be so bad to confide in someone? Someone who would listen with no judgements, no pre-conceived notions of who he really was. Or who he had to be.
“I like to read. History is my passion. Look, all my life I have been groomed to become part of the Academy’s successors. Which means not having regular classes and having access to materials the Faes have brought in for their own use. This book I found, well, I devoured every word. Is it so wrong to believe that there is more to the magic of this world? We are here, so why couldn’t these mythical creatures be as well? It took a lot of hunting and obviously exploring. I found the gateway a couple of years ago by sheer luck and this research. I haven’t told anyone because who would listen? Who would believe me? Especially now.”
The prince nodded. “It takes a dreamer to know a dreamer. You and I aren’t that different.”
Adair whispered, “It was worth it. The Gortach is a seer of sorts. It can see into the future of the question the person presents to it. The Faes have been lying to us.”
Rubbing his hands together, Marquis was practically bouncing on his heels. “You do know that was our true intention for coming, right?”
Adair practically tripped over his own feet. Halting, he asked. “What?”
“Stories travel fast to the Isles. Even though our trading routes have been cut off since Nei’s father, Briar, was ruling, word still got to us. We are rovers after all, and gathering secrets is like our oxygen. Anyways, my dad was curious about why Briar cut off the Shattered Isles from his oldest daughter. Before he was usurped and killed, it was found out that Roque was keeping some dangerous secrets from prying eyes. It’s not a coincidence that we are here or that there have been horror stories of dark creatures ravaging Kiero. It’s true my dad is here to build an alliance with the Faes but not before finding out the truth. We are buying time. Didn’t you ever wonder why I didn’t go with my group? I have been assigned the key role of finding out if Kiero is worth our alliance.”
He beamed at Adair and adrenaline coursed through him. Adair choked back his relief and a strangled laugh. “And what do you think so far?”
Marquis stopped, looking at him dead in the eyes. “That right now, that place is built on a warped dream that is overrun with lies and deception. That the good intentions have been lost in translation. Your father is proof of that.”
A moment passed. Running his hand along his mouth, Adair started walking, weaving through the towering forest. Ice cut through his veins, vicious and unrelenting. His father. The traitor. The unhinged man who was never satisfied. Did he find what he looking for? That which would make him feel full in his life? If he would make the world bow to his rage, would he look back and feel happy? Knowing that he had filled his years, breaking him, with his anger and his violence. That he had left his best friends, forcing their world back into a split balance. To choose sides. What side would he be on? He was an outcast in the Academy. He was torn in his family. When the time came, where would his allegiances be?
“Hey! Adair.” Marquis was practically chasing him, grabbing his shoulder, making him stop. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m sorry.”
Chewing his lip, Adair looked up toward the sky, where the golden hues spread across the clouds like gold flecks, dusting and shaping the sky. His anger, his confusion, his hurt rushed up to him.
“Adair?”
With burning eyes, he snapped, “Look it’s fine. I’m fine. Let’s just get back, okay? I have a lot to do.”
“Adair!”
He didn’t stop, didn’t turn back. This prince was just like everyone else, using him for his own benefits, to get what he wanted. All this time he was a fool, believing that maybe, just maybe he had made a friend. He had no one. Emory, turned to her family and now claimed her birthright. Her father, making her choose. He was alone in this. Roque feared him, and his ability. He had been delusional to think that he ever had a place in the Academy. He had always been kept on a leash, entertained because of Cesan’s relationship. But now? It was time he accepted that his future was now in his hands. And it started by finding out why Roque was hiding this so-called Book of Old. And why he needed access to the ancient power.
Pulling his jacket closer, he nestled into the darkness curling around his heart and the echoes of those soft voices coursing through him. Yes. Yes. Yes. Marquis followed beside him, shooting glances every now and then out of the corner of his eye. He never faltered, staring straight ahead and falling into his silence. With each passing second, with each footfall, Adair’s certainty grew into a concrete form, small at first. But then it exploded through him, sharp and consuming. He knew where his alliances lay. He had always known it; he just wasn’t able to face his own truth. They laid with him. Not with the Academy. Or the Faes. Or his parents. What were his best interests? In a world that was being ripped apart by the politics of kings?
