Malice (Malice Duology #1)(70)

“You’re saying you’re afraid of me?”

    Endlewild’s cruel, catlike eyes narrow, his easy grace chipped at the edges. “I am saying that if I find you are more Vila than I first perceived, I will not hesitate to put you down. And not even the Briar King can stop me.”

I don’t grant him a response. Callow rages from her perch.

“It would be a kindness to you,” he goes on. “You do not understand your power. It will consume you, Alyce. And take everything around you down with it.”

My own name shudders through me, colder than any winter wind.

Lord Endlewild rises. “I will be keeping watch. I hope I do not have cause to return. Or”—he pauses at the door, his profile lit up by the magic of his staff—“perhaps I do hope so.”

The door snicks closed behind him, a lingering scent of meadows and rain the only sign that he was ever here.

An all-too-familiar shame scalds my chest, coupled with a wave of fury so strong that I have to dig my fingernails into my flesh to keep from razing this Lair—this house, the entire realm—to rubble. But it’s not just the Fae lord. I hate myself. Hate the fact that I still cower before the Etherian. That I still fear him.

In all my training with Kal, in my time with Aurora, I thought I had shed that weakness. But I’m no better than the child I once was. Huddled in the darkness, just waiting for the next kick to land.

Unable to reenter Lavender House lest the servants see the red limning my eyes, I untether Callow and curl up in a corner by the hearth. Whether through need or by command, I Shift as I did when I was a child, making myself as small and compact as possible. Callow scoots close to me, wedging her body in the warm crook of my neck.

    And then I let myself drift in the inky waters of my despair, until my bell rings and announces my first patron of the day.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX


There’s a party held that evening to honor one of Tarkin’s newly minted generals, yet another excuse for the entire Grace District to drink their weight in wine until sunrise, and so my patron schedule empties shortly after midday. I know I won’t be seeing Aurora, either, and so I snatch a few hours’ rest, gather Callow, and escape to the black tower.

If Endlewild knew what I was doing with Kal, he would have made good on his threats. And probably burned the tower down for good measure. But I know his promise to watch me was not an idle one. And so after I’m clear of the Common District checkpoint, I push my Shifter magic to its limits. For the first time, I’m able to hold a Shift for longer than a few minutes. I become a beggar woman with a weathered face that not even the guards at the main gates bother to question. Still, I think I feel eyes on my back with every step.

Between lack of sleep, restless anxiety, and spent magic, I’m a jumble of buzzing nerves by the time I reach the tower and let my Shift fall away. Callow sails ungracefully to the ground, complaining when she lands at an awkward angle.

    “Haughty Fae beast,” Kal spits out when I’ve told him of Endlewild’s visit. “He has no right to threaten you. His kin murdered your own.”

“It’s not the first time he’s threatened me, and I doubt it’s the last.” I pull my cloak closer against the shards of icy sea spray. “When I told you of my childhood—all the tests and treatments were done under Endlewild’s direction. He wanted the Briar King to kill me when they found me. Now he’s just waiting for an excuse to do it himself.”

Kal tenses with each word, his shadows like spears in the dimness. “He will not kill you. Not as long as I live.”

I don’t see that there’s much Kal can do from this prison, but I hold my tongue. The sentiment means more than I can say. “He can’t prove anything about my power, otherwise he would have already executed me. And the Briar King doesn’t want me dead—not yet.” When I escape Briar, he might change his tune.

“That will not stop the Fae beast.” Kal paces along the perimeter of the chamber, which is submerged in the deepening indigo of twilight. “Does he know you are part Shifter?”

“No.” Of that much, I’m certain. Being half Vila is bad enough for the Fae lord. If he knew I shared the blood of another creature of Malterre, he would have slit my throat on the spot. “And I would never betray you.”

Dragon knows I’ve wanted to tell Aurora about Kal often enough. But I can’t trust that she wouldn’t reveal Kal’s existence, even by accident. And if Endlewild wants to kill me simply because of my ancestors’ perceived crimes, I don’t want to think about what he would do to Kal.

    “I believe you.” His shadows roll like a tide behind him. “But we must be more careful.”

“I’ll Shift every time I come. I managed it the whole way just now.”

He beams, a brilliant slash of white in the gloam, and for a moment I let his pride fill me up, replacing the queasy dread that’s plagued me for days. “Wonderful news. But it is not enough. Not quite.”

That shot of happiness fades. “What else can I do?”

“I will teach you a new Shift. It is difficult, but I believe you have the potential to master it. And you must.”

My magic wriggles, already eager for the challenge. To prove that I’m worthy of Kal’s confidence. That I’ll do anything to keep him—us—safe from Endlewild’s claws. “What is it?”