The Shattered Dark

Page 44

“Having trouble controlling your human?” Aren asks, grinning.
Trev glares back. “I was told this human didn’t have the Sight.”
Aren’s grin fades. He looks at Paige, who’s still struggling to get free. It’s obvious she can see the fae holding her. It’s obvious she sees Aren and the rebel swordsmen closing in on both sides of us.
Some humans with the Sight make it through their entire lives without knowing they have it. Fae rarely stay in the human world for an extended period of time, and when they do, they tend to keep to rural areas, away from tech and, therefore, away from humans. But Paige has met Kyol before. She’s met Aren. They’ve both let her see them on occasion, and she acted like they were normal humans, like she couldn’t see their chaos lusters. There’s no way in hell she wouldn’t have noticed the lightning.
“Paige,” Lee says, moving toward her with his hand outstretched as if to say “calm down.”
“They’re rebels, Lee,” Paige hisses.
“I know,” he says, almost to her side. “It’s okay.”
“You know? It’s okay?” she practically snarls.
“Paige.” I walk toward her, too. I don’t know how she can see the fae, but I don’t believe she’s lied to me all these years. “I tried to tell you before. They haven’t been holding me captive.” Not this whole time, at least. “I’m on their side. I’m helping them. The fae lied to—”
Lee kicks out without warning, landing his heel squarely on Trev’s chin. Trev’s head whips back hard enough to make me wince, and Paige wiggles free.
Lee grabs her arm and pulls her to her feet. Then he spins, putting himself between her and the fae swordsmen who’ve just arrived. His knees are slightly bent, and he’s tense, as if he thinks he might really be able to take on the three armed fae facing him.
“Karate?” she says, crossing her arms. “How stereotypical of you.”
“It’s jujitsu, Paige, and you’re welcome.”
This guy might be connected to the vigilantes, but he’s standing up for Paige. If he doesn’t turn out to be a complete jerk, I might like him.
“They’re not going to hurt you,” I say, moving toward them. “Let’s just calm down for a second.”
“Could we calm down on the other side of the wall?” Aren asks with a pointed look at the row of buildings to my left. Anyone could be inside of them, and it’s not just the remnants we have to worry about. Three humans in one place might freak out the more paranoid fae who are worried about the Realm’s magic.
“You won’t touch her,” Lee says. “And I want to see my brother.”
“Your brother?” Aren cocks his head to the side. He’s speaking to Lee, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off Paige. He knows she didn’t have the Sight when he first met her. He’s just as curious as I am to learn how she got it.
“Naito,” I tell Aren. “He’s Naito’s brother.” I turn back to Lee. “He’s in the palace, and if you don’t touch the fae, they won’t touch you.”
“You can guarantee that?” Lee asks.
Technically, I have no authority over the fae and what they do, but Aren and Kyol…
Kyol’s gone. I have no idea when he left, but he wouldn’t contradict me on this. So far, none of the rebels have gone against anything I’ve said. That might just be because they haven’t had a reason to yet, but Lee doesn’t need to know that.
“Yes. I’ll kick their asses if they do.”
Paige lifts an eyebrow my direction. As far as she knows, I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Whenever I’m around her and her friends, I never step into their debates, never argue or contradict anyone else. She thinks it’s because I’m extremely easygoing. Mostly, it’s because I’m always distracted and thinking of something or someone else.
Lee shrugs. I take that as a sign of agreement and motion them to the right. Paige looks wary of the fae, but she starts walking.
Beside me, Aren says, “I won’t mention to Lena the way you’re taking control of her people.”
“I haven’t taken control of anyone.”
“Everyone here who understands English will follow your order,” he says. “No one wants to cross the nalkin-shom.”
“You really have to stop spreading rumors about me.”
He grins. I roll my eyes.
I feel good, though. Compared to the place I held in Atroth’s Court, this is a welcome change.
It’s the middle of the day in Corrist. The city isn’t deserted like it was the last time I passed through it, but there’s still a noticeable difference in the number of fae on the streets now compared to the number on the streets when Atroth was in power, and everyone we pass seems to be on edge.
Aren doesn’t take back roads to the palace this time. He leads us down the Avenue of the Descendants. In the plaza outside the palace, guards question and search the fae who want an audience with Lena or with one of the high nobles. They have offices in the palace as well as in their residences, both here in the Inner City and back in their home provinces.
The guards let us enter after talking to Aren. We step inside the huge greeting hall in the palace’s south wing. It’s designed to impress visitors. Twin staircases arch up to the left and right, joining together beneath a chandelier lit with magic in the center of the room. The banisters are a shiny, untarnished silver. It’s an extravagance. So are the silver drapes making waves on the high ceiling.
“Well, this is fucking beautiful,” Paige says, stopping to take everything in. I almost smile. I’ve always appreciated her bluntness.
A fae approaches us, one of the guards Aren talked to when we entered. He hands two heavy cloaks to Aren, who then holds one out for Paige and the other for Lee. Both humans are drier than they were before, but the air in Corrist is cool. They have to be freezing.
Lee takes his, but Paige keeps her arms folded. “I’m fine.”
“To cover the lightning,” Aren says without a pause. It’s a lie. We don’t need to hide our chaos lusters in the palace, but it gives Paige a reason to accept the cloak without feeling like he’s doing her a favor.
It works, and I give Aren a small smile when he returns to me. He didn’t have to do that, but it was considerate of him.
“Paige has…an interesting personality,” Aren says, as she and Lee trail the two fae leading the way deeper into the palace.
“Yeah,” I say, watching her pull on the cloak while she looks around the greeting hall again. I recognize the expression she’s wearing. I wore it ten years ago when I first came to the Realm. I was intoxicated by this world and its magic. So is she, and it’s weird, seeing chaos lusters on her skin. They seem to go with her personality, though. They’re as spontaneous as she is, and they dart across her face and hands like they’re accessories.
“She can see us,” he says, sounding as if he’s speaking more to himself than to me. He’s just as confused as I am. Paige has the Sight; she didn’t before. Something changed since the wedding. Something or someone gave her the Sight.
“Could a fae have done it?” I ask. “Maybe with a magic that’s supposed to be extinct?”