Page 123 of Death of a Mortal

Maybe his abrasiveness had the same roots as mine.

I was still working on abating the anger with my mom when he said we were nearly at base.

“You’ll feel a cold tingling for a moment, and then you’ll see it.”

I sat up straighter in the saddle. I could put aside my anger for the time being.

There was still nothing but the dirt road stretching on ahead of us in the darkness, lit by the nearly full moon. Tension was building in the air and in my every muscle.

I sucked in a sharp breath as soon as I felt the tingles. It felt like walking through a wall of static, cold water, but I was perfectly dry. The sensation lasted for a few seconds as the surrounding air seemed to warp and ripple.

And then it was there. Base.

My eyes widened, and jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe how massive the place was. It was the dead of night, but the compound was lit by campfires, torches, and glass orbs glowing with what looked like live lightning, allowing me to see the whole place stretched out before us.

Once we crossed the wards, the tall grass became short and uniform, and the dirt road we’d been riding on turned to gravel and led to the steps of the largest building. To the left were rows of smaller buildings that looked like miniature barracks, and to the right were multiple rings of dirt carved from the grass. There were only a few people out and about at this hour, but each of them waved at or greeted our group. One or two faltered when they spotted me, but they said nothing.

Our horses took us down a path that forked off the main road and led us to a large stable behind the main building, where at least a dozen other horses were in open-air stalls. A few tossed their heads or whinnied at our arrival. From here, I could see more buildings of various sizes, platforms of different heights, and tall towers topped with wooden perches or hut-like structures.

The place didn’t seem to end, like it was a small town. On every door there was a painted black flame, the same picture that had been on the cards in the ballroom the night the rebels came. I guessed that must be the rebellion’s symbol. I think I liked it. It felt dark and mysterious.

“The wards keep this whole place invisible?” I asked, looking all around me in awe.

“They do. So long as a light wielder remains here, our wards keep us hidden.”

Drayce slipped our horse’s reins into one hand and swung one leg over to slide off the other side. He handed the reins to a younger boy, mortal, who had approached from the stables and looked up to where I still sat in the saddle, unsure how to get down.

“Would you like help?” Drayce asked with a slight grin. “I’ll be gentle.”

My stomach fluttered a bit, but before I could reply, he reached both hands toward my waist, making me recoil on instinct.

“Put your hands on my shoulders,” he said, ignoring it if he noticed.

I did as he said, and he lifted me from the saddle as I pulled one leg over the horse and found my feet on firm ground a moment later. For a beat, he didn’t remove his hands from my waist, and mine remained on his shoulders. But when our eyes met, he let go, and suddenly my stiff legs felt like they were going to give out.

“I assume you’d like those cuffs off now?” Drayce asked.

Excitement immediately had me alert and awake, heart pounding. I had been shackled, imprisoned, and confined for so long now. “Oh gods, yes!”

“Follow me—Aerie, Bramick, with us. The rest of you get some rest. Good mission.”

The rest of the crew from the rescue mission all grunted their thanks and headed toward the barracks we’d passed on the way in while our group of four headed back toward the front of the compound.

We approached the largest dirt ring, and before I could ask what we were doing, he said, “For safety, we’ll take them off here. Your powers were unstable when they emerged, but we’re here in case anything goes…wrong.”

Oh.

He reachedinto his pants pocket and pulled out a small key.

Wait a minute…

“You had the key in yourpocket?” I could feel heat rising to my cheeks.

“Yes, Bramick swiped one during his tenure as a castle guard.”

“You had the key the whole time?! You could have taken these off weeks ago?” The heat became boiling anger. It felt like a betrayal. This motherfucker had left me in these shackles this entire time, said the key was here at base.

He lied. And after Varyn, one thing I would not tolerate was a liar.