Feeling reckless, he needed some form of normality—which had led him to this moment, waiting outside the Faes’ office.
“Adair, what are you doing here?”
Eyes flying open, he took in Emory, her face gaunt as she wrung her hands together. She wore her usual loose black pants and leather boots, but today, she was adorned by a velvet royal blue button-down jacket.
Pushing himself off the wall, he said, “I assumed, even though classes were canceled, we would still get our training. Especially now that you are royalty. Despite...what has happened.”
She loosened a breath, a slight tremor through her body. Stepping closer, her voice was 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 after yesterday.”
She bit 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.
“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...”
An ugly aggression raised its head within him, wanting to lash out. To destroy, to bleed darkness within all their hearts. This was madness. Complete and utter madness.
Backing away, he shook his head. “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?”
“Adair, I will have a court.”
“Just not one with me in it.”
Her eyes begged forgiveness, but all he saw was the blade as she landed the killing blow. “Yes.”
Running his hand through his hair, Adair looked at Emory. They had been best friends since birth; he trusted Emory with his life.
Ice licked at his heart, churning through his veins, as his pulse roared in his ears. Stepping closer, and with shaking hands, he gently tipped her chin up toward him. Her skin was silken, her breath coming faster as Adair watched her emerald eyes fill with tears.
“I wish I could go back in time, Em, and be brave enough to tell you how much you mean to me. Maybe it would have changed things between us. But I will be damned if I don’t try.”
Swooping down, Adair gripped her face tightly as his lips collided with hers. Heat tore through his core, chasing away any icy shock. His lips moved against hers, wanting more. Pressing Emory against the wall, she gasped. Mussing her hair, his hand swept down her side, grabbing onto her hips. Adair felt the pressure of her hands against his chest. Slowly, breaking away, Adair registered her answer in her features, pale and drawn.
“Adair, I’m so sorry... I just don’t feel the same way. You’re my best friend, and I will always love you—as my friend.”
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.
“Don’t you want more?”
The words sunk their claws into his heart, and for a fraction, he opened himself to those voices: those chilling, soothing voices that beckoned to him. Emory’s rejection smothered his logic as his anger wildly encompassed him. He refused to bow anymore.
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, Adair had every inclination to reveal Roque’s skeletons to Emory.
Over the years, he had caught snippets, that Roque, generous kind Roque, had very interesting rumors kept sealed tight. Rumors only his parents had heard. Adair, once a couple years ago, had accidently slipped into their consciousness, and he hadn’t told anyone what he had found lurking there.
Swinging by his room, quickly, Adair let his emotions ravage through him before succumbing to his numbness. Throwing open the door, he grabbed his high collared jacket and a bag which he stuffed a short blade into, several history books, and a hidden supply of jerky. Zipping it closed, he swung the bag over his shoulder, looking at the empty room. Steeling his nerves, he walked out.
The door shut behind with a snap, and an arrogant voice sounded from behind him, “Going somewhere?”
Twisting to find mischievous eyes, Marquis Maher leaned against the wall, arms crossed and a lazy smile splayed on his face.
“Go away,” Adair said before turning and walking steadily down the hallway; Marquis jogged behind him.
“Had enough of this stuffy pace then?”
Groaning under his breath, Adair 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 new 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
