Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

L eaning against the pillar and lost in thought, still trying to wrap my head around everything Veles told me, I glance out at the sky, or the illusion, and the sun now raised high above the clouds.

There are so many questions I have unanswered and so many things I don't fully understand, but the heaviness sitting atop my brain now makes any further questions left aside for another day.

"I regret not being able to make it to you in time," Veles says with a frown, pulling me from my jaded thoughts.

"Kestral killed him, of course, but I would have liked to torture that vile male after what he did to you."

My body turns to stone. "You saw?"

Veles nods at me, a blood-fueled rage that quickly tapers off to a look of intrigue.

"I caught the ending. But not before I saw you free yourself by creating a whirlwind. Something no Sidus or Caligo has the power to do." He looks at me with a question in his eyes. One I feel drawn to answer.

He told me everything I asked, and even though it was most likely because of the blood vow, I still feel that the small friendship forming between us requires my own truth. Or at least a part of it.

"I used it one other time, when my powers were blocked. I don't know how I have come to have it or understand why, only that I am grateful for it." I would have died by the Breaker's hands if I didn't have it.

"It doesn't belong to you," he says softly, and my gaze snaps to his.

"And it will not always come to your aid. You need to be close enough for it to work. At least until the bond fully forms."

"How do you know any of this? Close enough to what ?" I sit up as my mind races with his words, searching for an answer I do not have.

"Not what, who ," he says, a deep frown marring his brow. "You borrowed it from another."

That is not possible. "How can anyone borrow a power that belongs to another?"

He cocks his head to the side and hesitates as he observes me for a moment.

"It is not unusual for… mates to share powers between each other." His voice is strained, tense.

Everything inside me freezes. "Mates? Caligo and Sidus do not have mates."

"But Fae do," he says slowly, and a heaviness settles on top of my chest. "A Fae's mate can be any being, and the bond between two fated is created by the goddess Danu herself."

He leans back as if to give me more space to think or breathe. "You borrowed your mate's power," he says with unwavering eye contact and complete certainty in his voice.

"My Fae mate," I reply, but it sounds more like a question.

He nods and I spot something in his eyes, a glint of knowing that makes me suspicious.

"You know who it is," I accuse.

He releases a drawn-out exhale before continuing. "There is only one able to control all elements and one who is known to wield the whirlwind you created."

"Tell me, Veles. Whose power did I borrow?"

"Mine," Kestral says as he moves from the shadows and steps into the hall beside us.

It takes a moment for the shock to leak away from my mind and body as I slip down off the wall to stand in front of him.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

Veles quickly slips out, avoiding Kestral's cutting look.

Once he's gone, Kestral focuses back on me, his face now devoid of emotion. But I can see the truth in his eyes. He doesn't want to have this conversation, the sharp look he gave Veles a moment ago proof of that. He didn't want to reveal this to me. Maybe he never would have. And for some reason, that makes me incredibly frustrated.

"Has the healer checked you over? The orb might cause some?—"

"Have you ever been to the Sidus town?" I ask him, wanting to know more about him and hoping my offhanded question might remove that hollow mask of his.

The first flicker of emotion seeps into his face and he frowns at me.

"The town?" he asks.

" The Sidus town, down the mountain and into near complete darkness."

His frown only grows. "No."

I nod, expecting as much. He isn't a real royal, only masquerading as one. It was just a task to him. An obligation that spanned out centuries.

"Veles told me that you all did this to protect us. To keep us safe. But there has been nothing safe about living here. In fact, there has been no living or joy. There has only been suffering and death. And had we not been confined to this cage , we might have stood a chance to survive."

Something flickers in his eyes before he shoves it down.

"It will not happen again. The shield will be fixed soon. And Amaro and Levon will be found and punished." He clenches his fists at his side.

But what about the Sidus who lost their lives because of the dark creatures? It may not be the Fae's fault that they exist. But keeping us hidden and locked away only kept us ignorant of the truth. We could have been more prepared for them. We could have found a way to escape.

His power. It was his power .

"You kept us caged up," I tell him as the slow-building rage burns through me.

"It is to protect you all," he says.

"You expect me to keep this secret?" The confusion must show on my face.

"You cannot tell anyone." His eyes harden with determination.

"You expect me to lie to everyone I know?"

"Yes," he hisses.

"No." I shake my head. "I will not lie to them."

"You have no idea how long we have…" He shakes his head, trying to gain his vacant look once more.

"I do not care what you have done. We are not something you can control, cage, and hide away when you feel like it. You do not get to play God," I grit out.

"You need to be protected," he roars, finally losing the rein on his emotions. "You need to be protected because you all are our last hope. We have nothing without you. Nothing . No future. No world. Millions will die. Do you understand that? Millions. Every living thing in this world will be gone. Wiped out. And I will not allow that to happen." He moves a step closer, forcing me a step back.

"So, if I need to bound, cage, and conceal each and every last one of you, I will," he sneers.

Rage unfurls inside the tightness of my chest, creeping outward.

"Do you want me to hate you? Is that it?" I snap.

"I don't want a mate," he whispers, but his eyes tell me something different.

"You knew?" I ask.

"From the moment I met you."

No hesitation. No denial. No true emotion.

"I don't want a mate. I never have," he tells me again.

Never. Never. Never.

Pain lances through my chest before I push it down and away, ignoring it completely.

"Do you expect me to cry about it? To beg you to change your mind? I don't care if you want me or not, or if we are mates and whatever that may mean. It does not change anything between us. Nor the fact that you lied. That you would have continued to lie to me and everyone here had I not seen the shield fall."

"I do not want one," he whispers fiercely as his eyes darken.

"I do not care," I snap.

"Say it," he demands, stepping forward as I become aware of every movement and breath. "Tell me how you really feel." His smile turns cold and cruel, and something about it makes me snap inside.

"I hate you," I hiss.

"Good," he says and then slams his lips to mine, awakening something I thought would be long left to slumber.

Desire. Hunger. Passion.

It ignites inside me, spreading like wildfire throughout my entire body before pooling low in my stomach.

He pulls my body flush against his, and I gasp and feel every hard inch of him. The caress of his tongue slides across my lips again and again, roaming my mouth, tasting, teasing as his grip tightens on me, demanding more.

A building frenzy and need spirals through me, and I bite his lip. His throaty groan ripples through me, tormenting me further before he bites me harder and pushes me away.

"I hate you more," he breathes. His eyes draw to my lips and then eyes before turning and leaving me there without a backward glance.

The delicious burn of his lips and taste of him still linger on my own.

"Damn him," I pant, attempting to get my breathing and the growing tightness in my chest under control.

My thundering heart soon slows down, but the tightness in my chest only grows, spreading out to my arms and legs. A small ache quickly becomes an agony that burns, leaving me breathless.

Darkness clouds my vision as the world around me becomes a deafening roar. The hall tilts and spins, and my knees hit the floor. My head follows next, hitting the ground with a crack. And the world shutters to a stop as the darkness snares me whole.