Chapter Thirty-four
NADIR
adir’s feet slammed onto the balcony outside his study, luminescentN wings of light drawing into him as he pulled up his stance. Flinging the door open, he stormed inside, heading straight for the bar cart on the far side of the room.
He wrenched open a decanter, filling a glass with triple the usual amount, and then picked it up, tossing the entire contents down his throat. Once it was empty, he slammed the glass down so hard it shattered, razor-sharp bits
flying in every direction.
“Fuck,” he growled.
He barely glanced at the mess as he grabbed another glass and filled this one even higher.
His ice hounds had both risen from where they were lying, their thick white tails swaying at the sight of their master. They padded over and sat
before him, their pink tongues lolling.
“Things went well, I take it,” Mael drawled from the sofa where he was sitting, an ankle crossed over a knee. Amya was next to him, her legs curled up under her.
“Don’t you both have your own rooms somewhere?” Nadir asked, as he bent down to lavish a moment of attention on Morana and then Khione.
“Why are you always in here?”
Mael tipped his head and adopted an expression of mock hurt. “You wound me, my prince. What would you do without us?”
“She’s there.” Nadir stood and whirled around. Mael and Amya now sat perfectly still, their eyes wide.
“She is? You saw her?” Amya asked, uncurling herself and leaning forward. Nadir took another big gulp, his nostrils flaring and his mouth pressing together.
“I saw her. I saw the mark from Nostraza. Atlas has her competing in his fucking Trials.”
Amya blinked. “What? Why would he have a prisoner from Nostraza
competing in the Trials?”
Nadir stormed to the center of the room, his magic flaring in agitation, refusing to be contained as it formed an iridescent aura that surrounded him.
He paced along the dark carpet, his mind whirling.
He detailed his encounter with the girl to Amya and Mael. How she’d
asked him to dance. No, pleaded, until he’d finally relented. He kept the information about how she’d made him feel a little unhinged to himself, not entirely sure what it meant.
“She kept asking about my ring,” he said.
“Your ring? Why?”
“I don’t know.” He took another deep draught of his drink, the effects of it finally working as it warmed his blood and cleared his head.
“And then Atlas lost his shit when he saw me with her. Ripped her away and then ordered me out of Aphelion and barred me or anyone else from The Aurora from ever returning.”
Mael let out a derisive laugh. “To be a fly on the wall when you tell Rion
you got him banned from the Sun King’s court. I imagine Cyan and Cedar will do the same.”
Nadir shot his friend a cold look. “Very helpful, Mael.”
Mael shrugged and put his hands behind his head. “I’m not the one who couldn’t attend one fucking party without causing a continental incident.”
Nadir started pacing again. “I was dancing with her. Nothing more.”
“Why did he get so angry, then?” Amya asked.
“I don’t know, but clearly there’s a reason he stole her. There’s a reason he wants to ascend her to Imperial Fae and then bond to her.”
Nadir’s memory went back to the Hollow all those weeks ago, when he’d gone to investigate and realized now that who he’d smelled, at least in part,
was Gabriel. How had he not realized it right away? It had been years since he’d seen him, and the memory had been buried too deep.
But Nadir was sure the way Gabriel had grabbed her had been intentional.
He’d slipped the material of her dress so the tattoo would show right after he’d told him he hadn’t heard of any girls from Nostraza being in Aphelion.
Which could only mean Atlas had forbidden Gabriel from speaking to anyone about her origins. The ties that bound Gabriel made it impossible for him to disobey a direct order from his king, but there were ways around that tether.
“Nadir,” Mael said, standing up as he watched Nadir pace. “Your father seemed only mildly concerned about her disappearance. Why are you making
such a big deal about this?”
Nadir scowled. “I'm sure he never meant for me to know about her, and is acting that way to make it seem like nothing. Or maybe he’s arrogant enough to believe she’s no threat. Maybe she is no threat, and Atlas believes something that isn’t true. Or Atlas knows something no one else does.”
Nadir’s gaze drifted to the single red rose that sat on his mantle, now
darkened and dried with age.
“Nadir,” Amya said, pulling his attention with a warning in her voice. The one she used to remind her brother he was getting obsessed and was losing himself.
“No.” Nadir whirled on her. “I don’t want your lectures. There was something—” He stopped, looked at them both and then resumed his pacing, back and forth, back and forth. He took another sip from his glass, only to find it empty. He growled at the glass, and Mael snatched it from him before he had the chance to hurl it at the wall in frustration.
“Let me get you another one,” Mael said carefully.
Nadir took in a deep breath, ignoring Mael as he stalked to the fireplace
and braced his hands on the mantle, the rose snagging on his thoughts once more.
He felt Amya’s presence as she came up behind him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He didn’t shrug her off.
“There was something, what, Nadir? What happened?”
He turned his head, his dark eyes flashing with violet and crimson. “I don’t know. I just felt…something.”
Amya’s brow furrowed in concern as she tentatively reached for a lock of
hair that had fallen, brushing it away from his face. “Are you sure you’re not just looking for…something?”
Nadir grumbled low in his throat. “I know what I felt.”
“What did you feel?”
He didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. He wanted to know what his father, and now Atlas, was hiding.
“Nothing.” Nadir straightened and turned, taking the glass Mael held out to him.
“So, what do you want to do?” Mael asked, perhaps sensing there would be no talking Nadir out of this.
“We’re going to get her out of there.” He took a sip, noticing Amya and
Mael exchange worried glances.
“And then what?” Mael asked.
“Bring her here and find out what she’s hiding,” Nadir said.
“What if it’s nothing?” Amya asked, moving to stand next to Mael.
“Then it’s nothing. We get rid of her and move on with our lives.”
“And you’ll let this go?” Amya asked.
Nadir pinned her with a look. “I’ll let this go.”
Amya waited, but whatever was on his face made her nod and reply,
“Okay. Then we’ll help you.”
She looked up at Mael, who wore a skeptical expression as she elbowed him in the ribs. “Right?”
Mael raised his brows, looking between the siblings. “Right. Sure.”
“We can’t let him bond to her,” Nadir said. “We have two weeks before
the final round to get her out of there.”
“Why can’t he bond to her?” Mael asked.
“Because whatever he’s planning must hinge on her winning the Trials.
Why else would he have taken her to compete in them?”
Amya pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. “What could a mortal prisoner
from Nostraza possibly offer that a Fae couldn’t?”
Nadir looked at his sister, weighing the impossible thoughts in his head.
“You have a hunch,” she whispered, as all the air was sucked out of the room.
“Maybe.” Nadir stared at the fire as he took another drink. “And if I’m right, this could change everything.”
