by Skye Horn
Now, he’d turned into a thorn in her side. He rarely met her eyes when she spoke with him, and the first few days she’d thought perhaps the king had punished him for what he did. Thea had asked Caden about it during one of his visits—he brought her books daily now, reminding her that they needed to continue their research—but even he had seemed confused by Adrian’s new attitude. He’d told her Adrian had been avoiding him as well, and often when he did see him, he reeked of ale. This disturbed Thea, but if he wouldn’t give her the time of day, how was she to do anything about it? So instead, she focused on the problems at hand, with the research she and Caden had started in the library. Apparently, Caden had only heard rumors of a weapon that could hurt a Goddess, but he was sure the rumors were true. Haven had jumped right onto the bandwagon, happy to have something to do while Thea trained, and now read more books than Thea could manage during the day. Thea wished they had Declan with them to help with the translation of harder texts, but according to Haven, it was too dangerous to try and reach out to the others right now.
So that left them alone. Her, Haven, and Caden secretly researching how to end the war before it even began, all while Thea continued to grow stronger both physically and magically. Despite Adrian’s foul moods, Thea was improving in her combat. She hadn’t had a magical breakdown since Haven arrived, at least not in physical training, and thankfully, Adrian had moved past forcing her to run daily. Now, although she left her armor tucked away in her room, Thea came to training with every weapon strapped to her, including her treasured sword. At first, Adrian had told her she couldn’t bring that weaponry with her, but since he refused to acknowledge her presence most of the time, she refused to acknowledge his ridiculous demands.
She would never be without these weapons again. It was the last piece of Kieran she had, and the little gemstone that Declan had given her made her feel more in control of herself. She’d even convinced herself that perhaps that was why her magic had become more stable. It was different to the protection spell that Mirielle had cast on the bracelet to help her against her father. This was much stronger and didn’t seem to fade after one use. She wondered what type of magic had been used to create it.
This morning, as Thea walked in silence beside Adrian toward the cliffside that they typically trained on, she watched his expression out of the corner of her eye. Although he was typically guarded, his mind appeared to be elsewhere this morning, and Thea thought she saw an opportunity to discuss what was going on with him. Despite everything inside her screaming to give it up, she couldn’t. The haunted look on his face over the past few days had made her worry, and Caden’s words about Adrian’s state only made it worse.
“Is your sister growing worse?” Thea asked quietly. There was no one around to hear, but even saying the words out loud made her nervous. They had never discussed his sister. Caden had told Thea about her illness in small snippets, but she still wasn’t sure what was wrong with the girl. She just knew that Adrian was trying to care for her while he trained Thea, because his mother was incapable and his father was gone.
Adrian stiffened at the question and nearly stopped walking, but after one stumbled step he quickened his pace without answering her.
Thea bit back the anger at his refusal to talk and jogged to catch up, grabbing him gently by the wrist. It was the first time they’d touched since that day outside the castle, but he didn’t rip himself away from her. Her hand wrapped around his wrist as his pace slowed and she felt the pulse of his heart quicken against the skin she touched.
“Please talk to me,” Thea pleaded, but Adrian still would not look at her. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the sky. She waited for him to tear his arm out of her grip, but the moment never came. “I know something is wrong. Caden is worried about you.”
She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, seeing his face darken.
I am worried about you, was what she should have said. She mentally kicked herself for it.
“Then Caden should be the one asking me about my sister.” Adrian’s voice was low, strained even, and Thea wanted to pull him to look at her. She could hear the pain there and wanted to erase it, even if she was too scared to admit it out loud to him. “He shouldn’t have told you about her to begin with.”
“I forced him,” Thea said. It was a partial truth. She hadn’t really had to force Caden. He seemed to know that she cared about Adrian and wanted her to know, but she didn’t need to tell Adrian that. She’d take the blame for the information that was shared.
“My sister is the same as usual,” Adrian said, finally looking back at Thea. His hazel eyes met hers for the first time in days and she tightened her grip on him in the hope that he would not end the conversation now.
A rush of emotions filled her. She’d grown used to Adrian, and even though she sometimes hated him, she was worried about him. There were dark shadows beneath his bloodshot eyes. She recognized the sign of a hangover, even in a Fae, and wondered just how much you had to drink to reach that state when your body recovered more quickly than a human’s.
“Please tell me what is going on, then,” Thea said. She wanted to hug him and take away whatever pain he was feeling—whatever demons he was facing were ones she could see he should not face alone. “Maybe I can help.”
In that instant, anger and then regret flashed across his face in a swirl of emotion that Thea barely caught. If she hadn’t seen it on so many faces before, perhaps she wouldn’t have noticed at all, but it was a new look on Adrian.
“You can’t help,” he said sharply and started to pull way, but Thea only pulled him back.
“Why do you push us all away?” she asked, feeling the anger in her temper. “I get it if you don’t want to be my friend. You’ve made that perfectly clear. But why are you punishing Caden? What has he done to you?”
The anger melted off Adrian’s face and Thea continued before he could argue. “He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way by you.”
And neither do I, she thought but didn’t say it aloud. There was no point in arguing for herself when he so clearly didn’t want anything to do with her.
“He’s better off without me right now,” Adrian said, not meeting Thea’s eyes. “Everyone is.”
“Why?” Thea glared at him. “What are you hiding that is so horrible that you have to hide it from your best friend?”
“If I won’t tell him, what makes you think I’ll share it with you?” The anger returned to Adrian’s eyes as he finally ripped his arm away from her. “Maybe everyone else is ready to spill their life to you, but I am not. We are not friends and perhaps it is time you grow up and realize not everyone wants to love you!”
The words were like a slap to the face, and Thea took a step back from him. Part of her knew he was right. She’d grown used to everyone wanting to be around her, for the most part, at least. Was that why she pushed him so much? She hated to let him get under her skin like this. Why couldn’t she just care about his wellbeing without it being a crime? Thea blinked back the tears that stung her eyes, but Adrian didn’t relent or wait for her response.
“You really want to know why I refuse to be your friend? Well, Caden is next in line to be king, and you threaten that.” His words were sharp, but it took Thea a minute to process them. He thought she wanted the throne in Blackmire?
That didn’t even make sense!
“I would never hurt Caden,” she said, anger rising in her tone. “He will make a greater king than this kingdom has seen in ages.”
At that, Adrian’s eyes flickered, but his fury didn’t diffuse, so Thea continued. “If you think I would hurt him, then perhaps you’re right. We aren’t friends.”
She turned and stormed up the hillside, not looking back at Adrian to see or hear his response. The idea that he thought she would ever hurt Caden made her skin crawl. She had her own kingdom to worry about, her own family, and yet, he thought she would make a move for the Blackmire throne… well, if that was the case, t
hen she had no interest in getting to know him any further. He could think what he wanted of her, but he was becoming a distraction that she couldn’t afford.
And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling of loss she felt the farther away she moved from him. The tears in her eyes were enough to infuriate her further because she had done exactly what she’d told herself not to. She’d cared and now she would suffer for it.
She hated him.
She hated being in this kingdom.
His footsteps echoed behind her against the icy snow, but she launched herself into the air, not wanting him to see her tears.
However, as she cleared the skies her eyes lowered onto the other soldiers in training, the boys whose names she’d learned over the past few days, and alongside whom she’d trained with a maternal instinct of sorts wishing to see them succeed.
Her breath caught as she saw a new form among them, and her hand darted to her side to withdraw her sword as she dove toward the ground—toward Kieran.
“Adrian!” Thea screamed from ahead, and despite his anger, Adrian immediately sprinted into action. He’d just barely caught the next turn of the path when she dove from the sky with her sword drawn. His heart raced with anticipation. Whatever was around the bend, she saw as a threat. The rest of his trainees were up there, with poor excuses for weapons and only a few weeks training under their belts. If there was a threat, he was responsible for them, but no matter how hard he pressed his feet against the earth, he could only move so fast.
What if he was too late?
The other trainees were all gathered together, each of them gripping their swords tightly as they stared wide-eyed at the winged Fae who stood among them. He commanded the wind around him, not allowing the cliff’s dangerous gusts to knock him from his feet while keeping the other trainees away from him. His brown hair was pulled back at the base of his neck, and he was dressed in full armor. It matched the armor Thea had left tucked safely back in her bed chamber. She wished desperately for it now as she gripped her sword with a trembling hand.
“Hello, Thea.” Kieran’s deep baritone sent Thea’s heart into a familiar sprint. The muscles in her chest and stomach twisted into knots as she fought the urge to run to him. This was not her Kieran… this was someone new. A monster wearing his skin.
He eyed her slowly, examining every inch of her like she were something he could devour, and she marched toward him, full of purpose, willing to place herself protectively between him and the boys.
“What are you doing here?” Thea demanded. It was the only thing she could think of saying. Her mind was swirling, but she remembered everything both Kieran and Adrian had taught her. She centered her stance, gripping her sword in a defensive position, all while eyeing the surrounding area for any other potential threats, but Kieran was alone.
Confusion swirled through her mind, but she let it pass—she couldn’t allow him to get to her—not now.
“Thea!” Adrian rounded the final corner, pulling up short as his eyes landed on Kieran. Immediately, he withdrew his own sword. Kieran lifted an eyebrow at him, then turned to look at Thea with a smile.
“I must say, this isn’t the warm welcome I expected from you.”
Everything about him was familiar. His body. His voice. The gentle caress of the wind he controlled brushing against her skin. But when she met his green eyes, there was nothing there to recognize.
“What are you doing here?” Thea repeated, taking a step toward him involuntarily. Adrian came to her side immediately, looking between Thea and Kieran as if trying to calculate a problem he needed to fix.
“I’ve come to see you, of course,” he said, and Thea’s breath caught. The beat of her aching heart was painful against her ribcage.
He doesn’t care about you. It’s a trick, she reminded herself, but the smile that spread across his lips made her sword lower an inch.
“Thea—” Adrian’s warning rang in her ears, but she shook her head.
“Where is your Goddess, Kieran?” Thea asked, snapping out of her trance. Kieran no longer had the same hold on her that the soul bond had given him. She needed to remember that. She had a choice—even if she didn’t want the choice anymore.
“Kieran?” The look of confusion on Adrian’s face slowly faded away. Thea watched him from the corner of her eye, wishing that they hadn’t just fought, wishing that her eyes were not rimmed red with tears from that fight.
“Pleasure, but I ask that you both lower your swords. I intend no harm to you or these children.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Thea growled, raising her sword once more as the thought of Ethel flashed through her mind. “Did you mean to harm Ethel?”
Color rose into Kieran’s cheeks, and his left hand reached toward his pocket. Thea didn’t miss the movement. She adjusted her stance in response before realizing there was no weapon on that side of his body. What had he been reaching for?
“Ethel wasn’t supposed to be the one who fell that day.” Kieran’s eyes darkened, just slightly. “You were.”
A low growl reverberated from Adrian’s chest and he lunged at Kieran, but not before the wall of air shot up to block his attack. He immediately bounced back with a curse, nearly losing his footing. Thea caught him by the arm, lowering her weapon to make sure he didn’t fall right into it, and felt him immediately shake her away.
She wanted to snap at him to get over himself, but Kieran was watching their interaction with an amused smirk that quickly disappeared at Thea’s words.
“Let the children go, Kieran.”
“Lower your weapons,” he responded, shrugging his shoulders. His silken feathers ruffled against the wind.
“Fine,” Thea conceded, and silenced Adrian’s arguments with a glare.
“I see she has you trained already.” Kieran chuckled as Adrian sheathed his sword under Thea’s gaze. “She used to do the same to me.”
Thea felt the sting of the words but didn’t let the hurt show on her face. Instead, she turned her attention toward Kieran again expectantly.
“Let them go.”
“I keep my word,” he said and waved a hand so that the wall of air around the boys disappeared, and a rush of relief flooded through her.
“Go, now,” Adrian commanded, and although some hesitated, most of the trainees immediately disappeared down the path back to the castle. When the last one was gone, Thea let the relief wash over her. It was just the three of them now, and she could focus.
“I’m just keeping my word to you, Thea,” Kieran said. “I promised to come back to you.”
He’d taken a step toward her as he spoke, but she didn’t back away, despite everything in her screaming about the danger. “We are meant to be together.”
His words broke her, but thankfully, despite their fight, Adrian was there to keep her steady. He placed a hand on her shoulder, stepping closer even as Kieran growled.
It was animalistic, much like the time Amara had attacked them in Ireland. She recognized its territorial nature, but without the soul bond, she didn’t understand it. How could he say they were meant to be together if he had no soul left to care about anyone? He hadn’t even flinched hearing Ethel’s name.
That realization was enough to bring her back to reality.
“We were meant to be together,” Thea agreed slowly. “But things changed. You changed.”
Each word cracked her heart further and further open, but she didn’t back down.
Before he could respond and change her mind, Thea asked again, “Where is your Goddess, Kieran?”
“She sent me to collect you,” he said, rubbing his temples as if Thea’s words were annoying to him.
“That’s not happening,” Adrian said, warning in his tone.
“You think you could stop me if I wanted to take her?” Kieran laughed, but there was no humor in his words. “I have a Goddess’ power on my side—”
“As do I,” Thea interrupted. She knew the words were likely an empty threat. She�
�d yet to master the magic Morrigan was trying to teach her, but Kieran didn’t know that. “Or do you not remember the last time you tried to kill me?”
“When you fled?” He chuckled, but Thea didn’t react.
“I outran you and your Goddess, but I’ve only grown stronger since.”
Focusing all her energy into a single desire, Thea summoned the darkness always lingering within her and watched the shadows of dark magic curl out of her fingertips like black tentacles. Kieran observed, but didn’t show any sign of nervousness.
“We could fight,” he agreed. “And perhaps you could beat me. But I know you better than anyone, Thea.”
No truer words had ever been spoken, but Thea didn’t acknowledge them. Instead, she sent out a gust of dark magic toward Kieran’s wall of air, slicing through it like a dagger through a sheet of paper and stepping toward him despite Adrian trying to stop her. Immediately, she was surrounded by darkness, anger swirling from within. She saw her own reflection in Kieran’s eyes. Red-rimmed eyes blazing with power, and for the first time, she saw her sister in her own reflection.
“Tell me what happened to Amara,” she demanded, letting the magic wrap around Kieran’s arms, restraining him in case he decided to reach for a sword. He didn’t even try to escape. Instead, he let her move closer to him.
“She was pulled into the prison realm,” he said easily, as if he didn’t care at all. “She took Ainé’s place.”
“Is she alive?” Thea asked, trying to hide the fear from her voice and instead letting that fear grant power to her rage. Morrigan had told her the rage would assist her, but too much rage would overwhelm her. She couldn’t let herself be overwhelmed.
“I assume so, yes, but it is impossible to know.”
Thea could taste the musk of his scent this close, and the familiarity of it filled her with a deep sorrow that only increased her rage. She heard Adrian pounding on the wall of air, but ignored him too. It was just her and Kieran now, and she needed answers.