Yet a bitterness laced my words. Sinister had not left my door unguarded, even when I’d asked him to get Karmuth. He’d waited for a maid to walk by to pass on the request.
“Regar can be simple-minded and task-oriented. He can’t have more than one assignment at any given time. Making him guard the door and wait for the opportunity to find me a decent attire is like swaying a chunk of cheese in front of a dog’s nose while asking it to sit. You don’t have to worry; I am here, and he knows it. He wouldn’t leave you completely unattended, not after yesterday.”
I pouted. After yesterday, I wanted to be as certain as Karmuth. He was correct in one thing; He was here with me and that meant I was safe.
“Do the Felrothians seem a bit off to you?” I asked instead.
Karmuth stopped nuzzling at my neck and looked at the dark cloud outside. “If you mean they’re more sinister and reclusive than ever, sure they look a bit off. The king is literally scowling at everyone who’s not his subject.”
“No, that’s not what I—wait, you can see their king?”
“Beautiful, he’s standing right behind the two guards.”
I focussed my eyes to the black blurb, but try as I may, I could see neither the guards nor their king, only a mass of darkness. “I… ah…am seeing something different entirely,” I said in a quiet voice.
“What are you seeing, Isay?”
Pressing my eyes closed, I reopened them to the sight of Felrothians, king and all, at the corner of the courtyard until the vision turned all dark again. I was losing my sight altogether?
“Isay?” Karmuth sounded worried.
He turned me around in his arms to look at me. His gorgeous face came into perfect focus behind only a slight layer of darkening hue. It was like wearing sunglasses inside.
“They… ah… all of them blend together like shadows.”
I noticed Karmuth fixed his eyes out the window again, and his brows furrowed.
He was not seeing it. He didn’t have a black eye like I did. A black eye that made me see things that weren’t really there. Come to think of it, Ferro had been hidden in the shadows too when we ran into him. It was a bad, bad sign.
“Are you sure?” Karmuth asked. His voice was careful, but not judging. He didn’t not believe me, he just searched for confirmation.
I wasn’t going insane; seeing shadows was perfectly normal in dark fae courts. As if… seeing shadows wasn’t normal anywhere, and I was fooling myself if I thought that was okay.
“They’re all one big black hole,” I assured.
Karmuth wasn’t looking at the fae any longer but into my eyes. His hands came up to cup my face between them gently. “Is everything all right with your eyes, beautiful?”
“Aside from the fact that one is black?” A humourless laughter escaped my throat.
“Yes, aside from that, Isay.”
He wasn’t letting me go. With undivided attentiveness, he studied my face as if it held all the answers. I also felt him open the bond between us to tap into my psyche in utmost care as if he didn’t really know what he was doing and was worried to mess something up should he venture too deep.
“I’ve been seeing things that are not really there. Darkness, mostly. It is shrouding some fae like a cloak. Ferro… he was covered by it. And the fae outside… they are, too.”
“Is it only the Felrothians, or are the Hessians looking shadowed, too?” he asked.
“The Hessians?” I said, confused. I hadn’t seen the Hessians, hadn’t been looking at anything other than the dark shape.
Karmuth turned me around in his embrace again to face the window once more. I found the darkness right away and got stuck looking at it until Karmuth placed his palm on my cheek to shift my face to the group on the other side of the courtyard.
My breath caught. Seven bright fae dressed in royal garments lit up their side of the square. “They’re glowing,” I said in awe.
“I think you’re seeing into their souls, Isay.” Karmuth’s breath caressed my cheek as he said it. He wasn’t even looking at the fae; he’d given them but a short glance.
My brows furrowed. “I’m what?”
“Delthers feed on ecos,” Karmuth explained. “It is not unreasonable to think they can see the force inside of living organisms. You’ve still got a part of their essence in you.”
“I don’t want it. I don’t want to see the force.”
Karmuth tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Maybe together we can separate the essence and pull it out.”
“What about my shield? It is powered by it.”
“I do not know, beautiful. You might need to wear the ring again. We’ll get you a new one, or we’ll do the soul-binding ritual. Whatever you want. One thing’s for certain, Isay, you never need to be afraid again.”
Chapter 50
ISAY
I’D NEVER SEEN THE THRONE ROOM THIS FULL. ASIDE FROM THE three invited court representatives, every death fae that managed to smuggle themselves in stood guard around the edges of the room efficiently blocking all the exits and trapping the rest of us in. They were on my side, which was the only reason I felt safe.
My mother and Grath were seated on their thrones with me, Hiko and Karmuth standing on a higher platform next to them.
Regar had indeed raided Hiko’s wardrobe, and Karmuth looked as regal as the rest of us. There was no way any of the fae in the room mistook him as only a guard. The rest of the royal guard stood a few steps behind us, fully armed.
I couldn’t focus on the faces of our visitors, seven Felrothians, seven Hessians, and seven from Elverstone. They were all hard to look at for different reasons. Searching for strength I didn’t have, I reached out to Karmuth. Our fingers grazed before he covered my hand with his and squeezed.
