The Shattered Dark (26 page)

“Could we calm down on the other side of the wall?” Aren asks with a pointed look
at the row of buildings to my left. Anyone could be inside of them, and it’s not just
the remnants we have to worry about. Three humans in one place might freak out the
more paranoid fae who are worried about the Realm’s magic.

“You won’t touch her,” Lee says. “And I want to see my brother.”

“Your brother?” Aren cocks his head to the side. He’s speaking to Lee, but he hasn’t
taken his eyes off Paige. He knows she didn’t have the Sight when he first met her.
He’s just as curious as I am to learn how she got it.

“Naito,” I tell Aren. “He’s Naito’s brother.” I turn back to Lee. “He’s in the palace,
and if you don’t touch the fae, they won’t touch you.”

“You can guarantee that?” Lee asks.

Technically, I have no authority over the fae and what they do, but Aren and Kyol…

Kyol’s gone. I have no idea when he left, but he wouldn’t contradict me on this. So
far, none of the rebels have gone against anything I’ve said. That might just be because
they haven’t had a reason to yet, but Lee doesn’t need to know that.

“Yes. I’ll kick their asses if they do.”

Paige lifts an eyebrow my direction. As far as she knows, I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Whenever
I’m around her and her friends, I never step into their debates, never argue or contradict
anyone else. She thinks it’s because I’m extremely easygoing. Mostly, it’s because
I’m always distracted and thinking of something or someone else.

Lee shrugs. I take that as a sign of agreement and motion them to the right. Paige
looks wary of the fae, but she starts walking.

Beside me, Aren says, “I won’t mention to Lena the way you’re taking control of her
people.”

“I haven’t taken control of anyone.”

“Everyone here who understands English will follow your order,” he says. “No one wants
to cross the
nalkin-shom
.”

“You really have to stop spreading rumors about me.”

He grins. I roll my eyes.

I feel good, though. Compared to the place I held in Atroth’s Court, this is a welcome
change.

It’s the middle of the day in Corrist. The city isn’t deserted like it was the last
time I passed through it, but there’s still a noticeable difference in the number
of fae on the streets now
compared to the number on the streets when Atroth was in power, and everyone we pass
seems to be on edge.

Aren doesn’t take back roads to the palace this time. He leads us down the Avenue
of the Descendants. In the plaza outside the palace, guards question and search the
fae who want an audience with Lena or with one of the high nobles. They have offices
in the palace as well as in their residences, both here in the Inner City and back
in their home provinces.

The guards let us enter after talking to Aren. We step inside the huge greeting hall
in the palace’s south wing. It’s designed to impress visitors. Twin staircases arch
up to the left and right, joining together beneath a chandelier lit with magic in
the center of the room. The banisters are a shiny, untarnished silver. It’s an extravagance.
So are the silver drapes making waves on the high ceiling.

“Well, this is fucking beautiful,” Paige says, stopping to take everything in. I almost
smile. I’ve always appreciated her bluntness.

A fae approaches us, one of the guards Aren talked to when we entered. He hands two
heavy cloaks to Aren, who then holds one out for Paige and the other for Lee. Both
humans are drier than they were before, but the air in Corrist is cool. They have
to be freezing.

Lee takes his, but Paige keeps her arms folded. “I’m fine.”

“To cover the lightning,” Aren says without a pause. It’s a lie. We don’t need to
hide our chaos lusters in the palace, but it gives Paige a reason to accept the cloak
without feeling like he’s doing her a favor.

It works, and I give Aren a small smile when he returns to me. He didn’t have to do
that, but it was considerate of him.

“Paige has…an interesting personality,” Aren says, as she and Lee trail the two fae
leading the way deeper into the palace.

“Yeah,” I say, watching her pull on the cloak while she looks around the greeting
hall again. I recognize the expression she’s wearing. I wore it ten years ago when
I first came to the Realm. I was intoxicated by this world and its magic.
So is she, and it’s weird, seeing chaos lusters on her skin. They seem to go with
her personality, though. They’re as spontaneous as she is, and they dart across her
face and hands like they’re accessories.

“She can see us,” he says, sounding as if he’s speaking more to himself than to me.
He’s just as confused as I am. Paige has the Sight; she didn’t before.
Something
changed since the wedding. Something or someone gave her the Sight.

“Could a fae have done it?” I ask. “Maybe with a magic that’s supposed to be extinct?”

“I’ve never heard any rumor of it. Humans are either born with the Sight or they’re
not.” After a moment, he adds, “I suppose there’s a chance it might be possible. What
about the other human? What do you know about him?”

“Just that he’s Naito’s brother.”

“Right. Trev,” Aren calls. The other fae approaches. To me, he seems kind of reluctant,
but when Aren orders him to find Naito and bring him to Lena, he nods.

After Trev leaves, I tell Aren, “I think the remnants told Paige you kidnapped me.”

“Well, that’s true,” he says, throwing me a quick grin that makes my stomach flip.

“Yes, but all the time she’s been around the fae, she thought I was being held captive
and that she was with the good guys.”

“You need to talk to her,” he says, as we enter the northern wing of the palace.

“Alone, if possible.”

He nods. “We’ll talk to Lena first, then see what Naito has to say.”

The huge, gilded doors to the throne room are closed when we get there. The smaller
door set into the left side is cracked open, though. It’s dark inside. The fae who
led us here stop and motion for Paige and Lee to wait, but Aren ushers me forward.

It takes a second for my eyes to adjust. When they do, I see that fae are covering
each of the room’s tall windows with black cloths that are stretched between a series
of long poles. Lena is sitting on the throne. She doesn’t look
comfortable there. She’s sitting straight and staring at a fae clad in black in the
center of the room. So are the nobles standing on either side of her dais. They aren’t
all high nobles, but I do recognize Lord Kaeth and Lord Hison. A few other important
fae are here, too. Even the archivist, Kavok, has come out of his hole for this. Like
Lena, they’re all staring at the black-clad fae.

The fae doesn’t leave his position in the center of the room, but his arms are almost
in constant motion.

“I wish you could see this.” Aren practically breathes the words. His gaze is riveted
on the center of the room, but I was wrong about what the others are watching. They’re
not staring at the black-clad fae; they’re staring at the illusions he’s creating.

That has to be what this is. I’ve heard of fae who have the ability to turn a darkened
room or an amphitheater into entirely different settings. Some tell entire stories
with their illusions. Others are only strong enough to add special effects to a stage
show. I think this fae is different, though. The way Aren’s gaze sweeps the room,
following an object to the ceiling, then back down again, makes me think this is pure
art.

The fae’s arms go still, breaking the spell he has over the throne room. The windows
are uncovered then, and the nobles clap. Lena waits until they’re finished before
she says,
“Thank you, Daron. I will let you know.”

“Let him know what?” I ask Aren, keeping my voice low.

“Daron wants to be named Lena’s Court Illusionist,” he says. “It’s a respected position
and will signify he’s one of the best illusionists in the Realm. I promised him he
could perform for her if he created a lightning storm in Rhigh.”

“He did that?” I look at the black-clad fae again.

Aren nods. “He’s an old friend of mine.”

The fact that he doesn’t say more than that tells me they were friends back when Aren
worked with Thrain. That darkens my mood.

At the other end of the throne room, Lena’s voice rings out.
“You may go.”

Daron gives her a respectful bow. Lena watches him
retreat. Then she must see Aren and me standing here because she adds,
“You may all go.”

The nobles look reluctant to leave, but eventually, they make their way out. Kavok
follows them, giving me a pleasant smile until he sees Paige and Lee waiting just
outside the door.

“Are they shadow-readers?” he asks.

That’s actually a good question. I look at the two humans, take a guess. “I don’t
think so.”

He seems disappointed by that. I don’t know if I am or not. It would be nice to have
another shadow-reader just like it would be nice to have more Sighted humans. It would
lighten my responsibilities, give all of us more time off. I might even have a better
chance at getting and keeping a job. On the other hand, I don’t want to bring anyone
else into this war. I especially don’t want Paige to be involved in it. It’s not that
she needs protection or can’t handle this new world or anything, but she’s been perfectly
fine and happy before all of this. The only reason she’s here is because of me, and
I
hate
being at fault for that.

“Can I find you in the archives later?” I ask Kavok, before he leaves. Maybe he’s
come across a story in the Realm’s literature or history about a fae giving humans
the Sight.

“Of course,” he says with a smile.

He and the rest of the fae exit the throne room, leaving behind only the guards, Lena,
and Kyol, who’s standing to the left of her dais. Aren dismisses the fae who escorted
Paige and Lee here, then we all approach the throne.

“Obviously, it turned out not to be a false lead,” Lena says, standing to study the
two humans.
“A trap?”

Paige rolls her eyes when Lena switches to Fae. She never would have worked for Atroth.
There’s no way she’d put up with his rules. I honestly don’t know how I did for so
long, now. Habit, maybe. In the beginning, I wanted to be near Kyol, the king was
nice to me, and it felt good to be needed. I didn’t understand the Realm and its magic,
so I was willing to follow the rules just so I wouldn’t harm it. All those reasons
seem weak now; they didn’t at the time.

“Atroth’s Sighted humans were there,”
Aren says.
“They were dead.”

“Dead?”
Lena asks sharply.
“Are you sure?”

“Tortured and killed,”
Aren says.
“I’m sure.”

Beside Lena, Kyol straightens.
“It doesn’t make sense for the remnants to kill them.”

Kyol is an expert at hiding his emotions, but his words are so monotone and spoken
so softly, I know he’s not unaffected by the news. He worked with all the Sighted
humans at one time or another, and he recruited at least one of them. It’s not his
fault they’re dead, but he considered protecting them one of his many responsibilities.

“It makes slightly more sense if they can make more,”
Aren says. Kyol and Lena focus on him, but he doesn’t elaborate. He’s looking back
at the entrance to the hall. Naito’s there, walking toward us with his hands in his
pockets and his gaze focused on the strip of carpet beneath his feet.

I glance at Lee. He sees his brother, too, and turns to face him fully. Naito doesn’t
look up until he reaches us. He takes everyone in, lingering for a few seconds on
Paige, then finally resting his gaze on Lee. We’re all quiet, waiting for one of them
to say something. Lee breaks the silence first.

“Naito,” he says, his jaw visibly clenching and unclenching.

Not even a twitch from Naito to show he recognizes Lee. Aren looks at me. I give him
a tight-lipped smile in return. Aren and Naito are friends. We both want him to get
better, but neither one of us knows how to help.

Lena turns away from them, faces Aren.
“What do you mean, ‘make more’?”

“She didn’t have the Sight three weeks ago,”
he says, motioning to Paige.
“Someone gave it to—”

I don’t know where the knife comes from. One second, Naito is standing there all still
and sober, the next, he’s closed the distance between him and his brother. Light from
one of the hall’s tall windows glints off Naito’s blade as he slashes out.

L
EE’S QUICK. NAITO
aims for his heart, but he turns his body sideways and bends out of the way.

Naito’s momentum takes him past his brother. He swings his left fist back, manages
to hammer Lee in the face as he brings his dagger around a second time. But Aren steps
in, blocking Naito’s attack and disarming him in a move too quick to follow.

“Naito, stop!” Aren gets his arms around the human. “Stop!”