Visitors are slim when your king uses all his energy to destroy life.
Yet, here was a whole colony at his disposal.
Fire grew in her, begging to be released. She wanted to be free, but her reality was that she would always be shackled. She just had the freedom to choose how.
The group trudged up a winding staircase until they were outside an arched door where the soldier knocked three times. Nyx willed herself to have the strength to do this. The door swung open, and she was pulled inside to face her monster.
The throne room was enormous. Black marble pooled before her, stretching up to a ceiling, opening to the sky far above. Adair sat on a sharp throne, human bones glittering on the foundation. He quickly glanced up at them but did a double take when his intelligent eyes landed on her.
He was a shadow of a person.
Gaunt, pale skin. Black hair flattened. His features could have once been handsome, but now...now they seemed to contort with anger. He was just an evil man. Nothing more.
The group leader stepped forward. “My highness, this rebel has requested a presence with you regarding...”
“Regarding the return of the Fae line,” Nyx cut the soldier off, and her voice was steely.
Staring right back into those endless eyes, Adair stood up, prowling toward her. They were soon face-to-face, and she remained impassive when he whispered, his breath hot against her skin, “What did you just say?”
“Emory Fae is alive, and I can give her to you. In exchange, of course, for my people’s freedom, including the hostages you hold here in your kingdom.”
Nyx didn’t wait for him to laugh or to kill her. She charged into his mind, throwing every moment from the last forty-eight hours at him: Emory, the leading star in all of them.
The room grew silent and colder, and he didn’t break his stare when he ordered his men out. Nyx’s skin crawled with anticipation, waiting any moment for him to crack and attack her. Instead, he circled her, taking her all in, and Nyx had never felt more stripped bare in her life.
Stopping, he stroked her cheek. “And how do you exist? A telekinetic of your ability should be with me, not roaming freely as a rebel.”
He looked amused, and it was the most nightmarish expression she had ever seen. She swallowed once and made sure every word was crystal clear. “I came from the Academy, Your Majesty. Do we have an agreement or not? Emory, for our freedom.”
Now he laughed, and it turned her blood cold. Nodding, he held out his hand to her. His voice was smooth and alluring when he said, “How could I refuse?”
She grabbed his hand and shook it once.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Adair
The rebel left escorted by his guards, and Adair Stratton ran a hand over his mouth in ecstatic awe. So, the rumors had been true then. His world spun into a flurry of emotion.
Emory Fae had survived.
She had survived.
The Academy had slipped through his fingers after all these years. But now, he had a firsthand way to infiltrate them, and he realized his opening to act was quickly leaving, purple hair and all. His plan formed quickly and efficiently, the whispers of his mind egging him on.
Adair shoved the door open, his voice echoing off the stone walls as he shouted, “Wait! Bring her back a moment.”
She had eyes filled with fire and hatred, and as the guards dragged her toward him; she stared him down the entire way. Adair sneered; she had spirit, he had to admit.
But that wouldn’t last long.
Adair could feel the energy pulse around them when he grabbed on to her and shut the door firmly behind them. Nyx stiffened; her fear so tangible Adair could taste it.
Trying to sound sincere, he whispered softly, “Now, I don’t remember you from our school years. How is my dear friend Memphis doing? And Brokk?”
It was like stepping down on glass as her resolve shattered in front of him and she grumbled, “What do you want?”
Adair’s mouth filled with a bitter taste, and he let go, the human part of himself completely dissolving. He walked up to her, close enough to see her lip quiver the tiniest bit. Good. She should be afraid.
“This...” His finger stroked her cheek, leaving a black burn mark in her skin that glowed softly then dissipated. The world spun, those voices in his mind laughing now. Nyx’s violet eyes glazed over, as Adair’s ability took possession of her body and mind.
“Yes,” those dark voices cooed.
Nyx was frozen; the flutter of her chest rising and falling was the only indication that she was alive. In his mind’s eye, he spun what he wanted, then a gem necklace and a sword appeared around her neck and in her hands. Both were gas at first before they solidified.
“You did not get these from me. You raided them from the Ruined City.”
Utterly disoriented, she repeated him in a monotone voice.
“Excellent. Our agreement is that you will go back home to the Academy. My troops will be behind you. Get them in, and your friends will live.”
She repeated him again, violet eyes glazed over.
“Now go. Time is of the essence.”
Like a puppet, she walked out, Adair’s claws in her mind active. It was like veins pumping blood to a heart, the connection so alive and vital Adair wanted to laugh. Nyx was in there, supressed and fighting. But it would never be enough, not against them.
The voices crooned to him, praising him for what was about to happen, what he had set in motion. Nothing could stop her. The blade and necklace were laced with the same poison he had created to neutralize abilities. Though, the empty shell of Nyx wouldn’t mind, not with him in control.
As he said, it would never be enough. Not against them.
The man he used to be had died a long, long time ago. No one, including himself, could bring him back. The voices
