House of Shadows (Royal Houses 2)

They came upon a small creek. The horses splashed forward through it, and then Wynter finally spoke, “So, tell me about yourself.”

“About myself?” Kerrigan didn’t know what she was supposed to say. Were they still pretending like she was property? She’d rather talk about the House of Shadows than about herself. “Nothing to tell.”

“Oh, I very much doubt that.”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

Wynter’s colorless gaze was disconcerting to meet. “Everything.”

Kerrigan shrugged. “I grew up in Kinkadia and met your brother at the dragon tournament.”

“And you were working there?” she asked carefully.

In a way.

“Yes. I worked for him during the tournament.”

Also true.

“Hmm,” she mused.

They passed through an opening in the trees and came to a small clearing. Kerrigan shivered as they stepped out into the open field. Something about it felt different than the rest of the forest they’d ridden through.

“I know that you are not what you say you are,” Wynter finally said. She hopped off of her stallion and settled her black leather riding boots into the soft grass.

“What do you mean?”

“This whole act with my brother. It was very convincing, but you are not just some half-Fae he seduced.”

Kerrigan dropped to the ground next to her. She didn’t know how she would get back up, but what was more important was that she had misjudged the princess. Wynter had seen through the act that the rest of the court believed.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because of this,” Wynter said and then set her hand upon the open air behind her.

There was a buzzing, and then her hand stopped. In fact, it was almost pushed backward. The buzz turned into a rumble, and Wynter retreated her hand from the invisible wall blocking her exit.

“The barrier,” Kerrigan said in surprise. They hadn’t traveled that far. They must have been much closer on the outskirts of the mountain rather than surrounding the village. “I didn’t realize we’d gone far enough.”

“It’s not a perfect circle. If it were, we’d have more space. It’s more like a corset, tightening the strings.”

“I don’t know how the wall has anything to do with me and Fordham.”

“Oh, nothing to do with Fordham,” Wynter said. “And there you go, using his given name.” She smiled as if she’d won that round.

“I …”

Wynter held up a hand. “Save it. I don’t know your game with him, but I don’t care. That’s up to my father.”

“Then, what am I doing here?” Kerrigan asked.

She drew her magic into her, anticipating the fight that was surely coming.

“Oh, none of that,” she said, waving her hand at Kerrigan. “You can let go. It’s so blinding.”

Kerrigan blinked. “You can see my magic?”

“Clearly. Please, drop it. Gods, how much do you have? You and Fordham together must be formidable.”

Kerrigan’s magic went out like snuffing a candle. She’d always had a little bit of the ability to sense other people’s magic, but that was only when they were actively performing magic. She certainly couldn’t see it like, apparently, Wynter could. She’d never even heard of such a thing. Sensing magic was rare enough. Seeing it would be a huge advantage.

“Thank you,” Wynter said. “You’re already bright enough without drawing on your reserves.”

“You knew the moment you saw me,” Kerrigan realized.

“Of course. My father keeps me as a silent weapon to judge his enemies. He sent me to judge your magical abilities.”

Kerrigan swallowed. “I see.”

“I told him what he expected. That you were a worthless half-Fae, bound to my brother.”

“Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. She couldn’t imagine that it was out of the goodness of her black heart.

“I see magic in color. Elementals are the easiest. Their affinity is shown in the color—blue for water, red for fire, yellow for air, and green for earth. The colors blend for multiple infinities. For instance, a fire and air user usually show up orange. For users with all four, they blend together. Arbor, for instance, looks pink at the edges. Fordham, with his inherited black smoke, has black and gray edges. But you …” She tilted her head at her. “You’re altogether different. You’re golden and as blinding as the sunlight. I’ve never seen this sort of magic anywhere else. Except here.”

She put her hand back out and touched the wall.

Kerrigan gulped. “The wall is golden?”

“Yes. Whatever sort of magic was used to put this barrier up, it was done by someone like you.”

Spirit magic. That was the only answer Kerrigan had and one she could never give Wynter. Her spirit magic gave her visions. It’d helped her win the tournament. It let her access the spirit plane as a dragon did—perhaps better than a dragon did. And if she didn’t learn to control it, she would go mad.

But that meant that all the lore about thirteen magical users coming together to put the wall up was a lie. No amount of magical users could do this. Which meant that a thousand years ago, another spiritcaster had existed, and they had bound all the House of Shadows within.