Page 85 of Ignite
“We’re going as his…captives?” he says in a low, quiet rumble. “Who’s going to believe that?”
Adrian’s head snaps to him, the tension mounting between the two of them. “They don’t know what you are,” Adrian hisses. “All everyone knows is that you left with Lu. If my uncle knows she was born with magic, then we could convince him it was her that got you all out.
“My uncle isn’t dumb. He’s going to know something is off the moment we show up, just the three of us,” Adrian adds. “We still have the suppressant necklace my uncle gave me?—”
“No.” Leda takes three large strides over to Adrian, heat practically billowing off of her as she stops in front of him, so close that he has to crane his neck to look up at her. “That isn’t why we brought it.” She glances at me briefly, then back at Adrian, her features shifting into a calm fury. “Thenecklaceis a vile collar that chains up fae like an animal. Use it on Lunaria and see how long I let you live after that.”
My eyes widen.
“Use it, and I’ll find a way to get to you,” she whispers to Adrian. “I’ll find a way to ensure you never have the ability to use it again. Got it?”
Leda isn’t coming to Crea—if Adrianwereto somehow use it on me again, Leda wouldn’t be here to stop it. But that doesn’t stop the tremble that starts in Adrian’s shoulders, or the way he takes a noticeably large step away from her. His face flushes, and he nods stiffly.
With her eyes on Adrian, she reaches into the small pack wrapped around her waist. She pulls out the collar Adrian used on me—the one he was given by his uncle to suppress my Essence in case I had learned to use it.
In order for this to work—for us to get close enough to the castle to find Nightfall—we have to make this story believable. They may not know for certain that Graylen is fae, but they knowIam.
Agreeing to this makes my knees weaken. I don’t want to lose who I’ve become in Penyth, and my Essence is a large part of that. The thought of losing what makes me like my mother and sister pierces my chest like a searing brand.
And, more than that, I don’t want to be vulnerable again. Weak. But we also don’t have the luxury of avoiding this. If I say no to the collar, then it could risk our plan. Once again, I’m the only one who can do this.
“I’ll wear it,” I say suddenly.
Leda’s fingers curl around it, her knuckles turning white as her gaze shoots toward me. “Lunaria?—”
“Getting what we came for is what matters most,” I try to reason, keeping my meaningvague in Adrian’s presence. “If I need to wear this just to get in, then I’ll wear it.”
Leda’s nostrils flare delicately, and she pulls the collar closer to her body. “It means you’ll have to stay by Adrian’s side,” she reminds me. “No further than a few paces away from him the entire time.”
Graylen shifts toward me, being unusually quiet. His fingers brush against mine and he whispers into my mind,“I don’t like this, Lunaria.”
“Well, that makes two of us,”I send back.“But we’ll do what we need to do to get this done.”
Neither of us knows what we’re walking into. We might need my magic when the time comes. We’re risking our lives by keeping my Essence locked away—but we’re risking the dagger bynot.
Leda’s eyes drop to the collar. She slowly begins to nod her head. “Fine,” she sighs and tosses it over to Graylen. “But he keeps it until it’s time.”
Graylen catches it, his shoulders sagging as he stuffs it into the pack on his waist. He already looks like he needs to lie down again. Doubt sinks its claws into my stomach when he looks my way, his gaze vacant and eyes heavy.
“I’ll be okay,”he says into my mind when he notices me staring.“Where you go, I go, little princess.”
There’s a plea in his voice I’m not used to—a desperate one, almost panicked at the thought of us separating.
The truth is, any power to make choices was taken from him over the past few weeks. He’s been bound to a realm he never should’ve gone to, stuck, not knowing if he would ever leave.
I can’t take this choice away from him.
As much as I want to demand that he go back with Leda, stay in Kauri where it’s safe and he can heal, I know he wouldn’t go. If his choice is to go with me, then I have to let him make that decision.
There isn’t much I can do for him, but I can do this. I can trust him and give him the option to do what he wants to do.
Thirty-Five
Ametrine
I swipeup my bag off the ground and slip my arms into the rope straps, tossing it onto my back. Graylen and Adrian follow suit, preparing to leave.
Turning to Leda, I jerk my chin behind me toward where Zephyr is lying in the grass. “Take care of my girl.” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat. “She’s stubborn as hell, and she’ll probably only let you ride her while I’m gone. Don’t let her get into too much trouble.”
