Page 56 of The Heir the Fae Forgot
“Aurra.” He whirled to me, holding out his hand. “Come, now, before it’s too late.”
He waited, expecting me to leap to my feet and join him, and that was when he saw it—the hand holding me in place against my will. He stared a moment too long, long enough for Zev’s face to swivel towards the offending hand, and in that moment, all hell broke loose.
I’d seen Zev shift before, but here, in the confines of Icarus’ room, the bear that appeared in his stead was almost too massive to comprehend. His sword clattered to the ground where he’d stood a moment before, but he didn’t need it—not when the claws he now bore were as long as any blade.
Once more, I felt that panic rise up in me. I saw what was about to happen. This was it, the moment that blood was finally spilled. If these three fought, really fought, then I doubted we’d leave this place without life being lost. Rather than fight that fear, I let it rise, let it grow, let my imagination run wild with thoughts of blood and gore and dying fae until I felt it, once again, begin to turn into something more.
Zev lifted his claw, ready to strike Icarus. I waited until Icarus let go of me, his own hand rising as he prepared to fight him off, and then I struck, first.
“Icarus,STOP.”
The voice that issued the command didn’t sound like my own. It reverberated through the treetops, sending ravens scattering in the distance. Zev froze before he slashed the dark fae’s throat, his body shifting back to human form in surprise as Icarus did as I asked.
Not because he wanted to.
But because he had no choice.
Shiel turned to me, shock plastered across his face, as all three of them remained frozen in place. “Aurra…”
“There’s no time to explain,” I said, scrambling out of the bed and rushing towards the exit. Not one of them moved, their jaws hanging open as they watched me in awe. I stopped at the top of the stairs, and glanced back. “So, are we leaving, or are the three of you going to stick around and get killed for nothing?”
That, at least, seemed to free them to follow after me.
It wasn’t until we reached the bottom of the seemingly endlessly winding staircase that Shiel managed to catch up to me and stop me, one hand on either of my shoulders.
“Aurra!”
It was only then that it registered that he’d been trying to get my attention for some time. I forced myself to stop as Zev and Finch stumbled to a halt behind us in the dark.
My lungs burned from the exertion, but my feet danced anxiously beneath me, demanding we keep moving.
“We have to get ahead. I don’t know how long it will last this time.”
“Thistime?” Shiel asked, glancing back at Zev and Finch. “I guess that’s one question we don’t have to ask the Oracle.”
I froze, finally. “What do you mean?”
Shiel took a deep breath before planting a second hand on my shoulder and looking me in the eyes.
“That magic you just did, that glamour…” he trailed off a second, his eyes searching the darkness, as if trying to decide if it was safe to speak aloud. “That’s the king’s glamour, Aurra. That’s the power of the tongues.”
It took a moment for it to hit me, but when it did, it was nearly enough to knock me off my feet. If Shiel hadn’t been holding me tight, I’d have fallen.
As it was, I still felt every ounce of blood drain from my face.
“So…so that means…”
Behind Shiel, Zev and Finch took a slight step back, glanced at each other first, and then back to me. And then, together, they knelt.
Even Shiel bowed his head.
When he looked back up to meet my gaze, his eyes were sparkling.
“Seems like soon, we won’t be the only ones calling youPrincess.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
As soon asZev and Finch stood again, the look on their faces was grave.
