He’s still chuckling and shaking his head like he can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. For a moment, I wonder if Basilus has set me up for failure.
“You do whatever it is that you want to. You let me know how that goes for you. That whole family is a lot of lunatics.”
He’s one to talk...
Something thuds on the other side of the door.
His head snaps toward his study.
“Are you expecting someone?” I ask slowly, hand lowering to the hilt at my hips.
“No.” His whisper is like a curse, turning the knob and throwing the door wide.
The room is dark, and the only sliver of light comes from behind us, throwing the shapes of our shadows across a girl with fire-red hair. Her lips part into the perfect O, and I pinch my brows, knowing exactly what this means.
Violence is back at the Dark Palace. Maybe that girl really is trouble.
10
Violence
The streets are quiet.Warm rain pelts down from the heavens as we stand atop the roof of the tallest building in the city. I lift my face to the feel of the water, letting it beat against my lower lip. It smells sweet and clean and free.
It’s a simple part of life that I’ve always enjoyed. It reminds me of a childhood long gone.
It’s only Cameron, Nollix, and me on this side. We’re on the back side of the palace, the secluded side, while Jeriko and Carver lurk on the roof just above the entrance.
We’re waiting for the guards to close the front gate. Once the gates to the castle are closed off from the public, the security is lower. It’ll be easier to wander the halls then and avoid any of the guards born from soothsayers—mind readers who are said have relations to the Reveries that live in the Mountains of Fate. Father always did favor soothsayer’s children due to their knack of sensing things that areother.
“I love when it rains.” Nollix sits with his feet dangling over the edge of the palace wall as he stares up at the clouds. The darkness makes his eyes a stormy color, washing out the pretty blue entirely.
It’s such a simple statement, it makes me pause as I consider him. He’s always brooding and moody. His confession makes my heart swarm with a strange fluttering feeling.
“So do I.”
Tension fills his frame before he pauses and looks back at me. The small common ground seems to throw us both off balance, and neither of us knows what to say now.
You’d think this Fae just confessed his love to me.
The sound of boots shuffling against concrete reminds me that Cameron is still tied to me. She seems to be testing our bond. I’m unmovable, and she’s just a dog on a leash.
But she still seems to be attempting to push her boundaries. She takes another step, pushing hard just to move an inch forward. She does though. Approximately ten feet separate her from me. With a deep breath, she takes another small step. Slightly more than ten feet separate us. Another inch is gained. I cock a brow at her as she accomplishes another staggering step.
Nollix looks at me, and for a second, I feel like we’re both thinking the same terrible thing.
I stride forward with ease and take a seat next to Nollix.
My teeth sink into my lower lip as a stream of curses falls from Cameron’s mouth, and she stumbles back, her body hitting the concrete hard.
The stars are my focus as I feign innocence in her accident.
“You’re just as evil as the rest of us.” Nollix’s voice is a deliciously low and rumbling tone when he smiles at me. It’s a real smile that makes the dimple in his cheek show. His happiness makes my heart fumble, and I find myself smiling back at him.
It’s... weird.
Nollix isn’t friendly. Especially to me.
“Why are you being nice to me?” I ask, waiting for the ball to drop.
