But then I felt it. I felt the threat. I opened my eyes to look over Krew’s right shoulder and saw her.
Aiyana.
CHAPTER18
Ihadn’t thought of her in weeks. Her father had attacked me on Hallows’ eve and as a result, Michael Noyer was in the mountain being held by the king until the Assemblages were over. Aiyana had also been kicked out of the Assemblages because of it. There’d been no goodbyes, no time for me to dwell on the fact that she had finally gotten what she deserved.
Krew said that they’d watch Aiyana in Savaryn, make sure that she left the Assemblages and me well enough alone. And she had. Though she hadn’t been invited to any of the balls since. So maybe she had just been waiting. Waiting for an occasion such as this.
“Krew,” I gasped.
But then Aiyana, eyes on me, lifted her hands and shoved outward, her pink-colored magic barreling straight toward me.
Unable to contain it any longer, having only thought of what I would do if I was with Owen in the forest and not around people, my silver magic flew from me, out from under my blanket. But Krew’s navy magic was also in the air. And Owen’s green. There were so many colors of magic flying to meet the pink that I lost count. I was fairly certain I saw two hues of blue, Renna’s red magic, and a mess of different colors of the guard’s magic too. One orange, a lot of yellow, a few green. The one color which I was sure I didn’t mistake was Molly’s teal magic.
My silver magic got there a half a second faster than the rest, disintegrating whatever Aiyana had attempted to do into what looked like a thousand dust particles that fell. The explosion of all the different colors of magic around it caused all of us to shield our eyes from the brightness of it.
Keir’s magic, however, raced along the ground past the rest of ours, and wound around Aiyana, like a rope, starting at her hands and then traveling upward until it wrapped all the way around her.
Guards were off their horses, wasting no time moving toward her while Keir maintained a steady stream of magic aimed right at Aiyana.
“Why is she even here?” I whispered.
“She lives in this part of Savaryn now,” Renna explained quietly and quickly. “The king demoted the Noyers. While they used to live just outside the wall to Kavan Keep, they no longer do.”
I looked up to see Krew vibrating and glowing with magic. “Stay with Jorah,” he bit out to Owen. He and Keir were heading toward Aiyana.
Please don’t kill her.
He looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting mine for the briefest of moments.I won’t, but her days of being allowed near you are over.
I turned toward Isla’s family, all of them standing there in shock at the attack. Isla’s guard was by her side, making sure to protect her too.
“Think anyone noticed?” I whispered to Owen.
He gave his head one shake. “With all the magic in the air, not a chance. It all happened too quickly.”
Isla would have been the only one positioned to see the silver strands of magic leave our carriage, her and maybe a guard or two, but I was hoping that Isla had been busy with her family, and the guards had been busy scanning our surroundings and not looking directly at me or my blanket in that moment. Aiyana might have noticed the silver also, but even she wouldn’t have been able to see my hand to see that it came from me.
“Are you okay?” Owen asked softly.
I knew what he was trying to ask but couldn’t. He needed to know if I needed to use any more magic.
“I’m okay,” I nodded. I was feeling much better now. The tension felt like it had all left my body. Granted I’d felt tense before practicing with Owen, with my magic fighting to defend me, but I’d never really understood just how fast my magic would rush to the surface if a threat was near. It was like it had been trying to warn me.
I had no idea why it didn’t do that whenever I was in the presence of the king. But then again, since the king didn’t want me dead anymore, maybe that was why. He’d yet to try to use magic on me.
Aiyana was screaming and crying, drawing my attention back to her. She was far enough away that I couldn’t hear every word, but I got the gist of her trying to tell Keir that I had ruined her life. That I deserved it.
I didn’t know what was said, but Keir stepped forward and said some words that had Aiyana paling, and Krew grabbed Keir, I think in an attempt to calm him down.
Four guards were assigned to stay with Aiyana, and one rider was sent to the wall to send for a carriage. Aiyana wasn’t going back to the castle. She was apparently going to be reunited with her father. In the mountain.
Isla got a little extra time with her family, and Krew walked over to them to personally apologize for the interruption.
It felt like hours before we were all loaded and in motion again, but it was likely only about an hour. Krew had me sit by him, somehow understanding I needed to be near him after all that, and Renna again took the spot across from us. Krew reached his arms around both Isla and me, but he kept his hand wrapped around my shoulder, his thumb rubbing a slow track along my skin, trying to calm me. Or maybe himself.
“Huh,” Isla commented. “Already drama and from Savaryn.” She sighed. “And I would have thought with that much magic, the blast of color would’ve been brown. Not white.”
