Page 48 of FoolSilver
The word landed in my chest like a stone dropped into still water.
Fulfilled.The demon’s word. Accept it fully, let it in completely—power in exchange for possession. I’d heard the terms. I wasn’t fucking paying them.
“Does this mean you won’t train me again? No more sessions?” I fought to keep my expression level, but something tightened behind my ribs at the thought of being left behind.
“We’ll continue,” he said, amusement flickering through his deep blue eyes. “I can still help you map the terrain: meditate, look inward.”
That was the last thing I wanted to do. When I looked inward, the demon looked back.
Wind moved through the canopy, carrying pine and damp earth and early blossom from somewhere deeper in the tree line. Birds. The distant sounds of the compound, reduced by distance to almost nothing.
“I need to tell you something,” I said.
It had pressed against my chest for weeks—this weight of the deception toward him. I needed to tell him about my blood arrangement with Nikolai.
Silk on the path. The sound of it before the sight.
A stunning Fae woman glided through the tree line, moving with the particular grace of her kind. An elaborate gown of deep green and gold. Silver hair dressed high and threaded with blue diamonds.
She looked at Aelindor with warmth on the surface and desire underneath. Her glance moved to me once, then away, as though I’d already left the clearing.
Chapter 19
Max
The Fae woman stood close to Aelindor, closer than necessary, her head tilted toward him, her voice dropping to a low murmur that carried the intimacy of two people who shared a language not meant for anyone else.
My superior hearing caught every word, but the demon wasn’t translating. It sat back and let me hear the melody without the meaning.
Ancient Fae tongue,it offered smugly, having watched me clench my jaw for the past two minutes.She’s talking about you, Max. Shall I translate? All you have to do is?—
I said nothing, holding to my rule of non-engagement, even though I was dying to know what passed between Aelindor and his lady friend.
Jealousy struck without warning, dead center, like an iron-tipped arrow piercing deep and twisting between my ribs. I hadn’t expected it. It nearly bent me double, even sitting cross-legged on the grass.
I’d lectured my fellow cadets about staying cool when another woman came for their man. And here I was, going territorial over a male who wasn’t even mine. A man with aworld that predated me by centuries, a world that had always come with women like her in it.
A sour taste coated my tongue.
Aelindor wasn’t mine. He’d had a life before me. They all had—every heir, long before I came into the picture. The Fae woman was simply a reminder of what I already knew and kept forgetting: they were all out of my league.
Nonsense,the demon scolded.We’re their equal. It’s your alpha nature to defend what’s yours. Ours.
It was getting bolder, announcing its possessiveness over the heirs openly now, and that sent another shot of alarm through me. I’d do everything in my power to prevent the full possession, so it would never get the chance to sink its claws into any of the princes.
The demon let out a low chuckle, then a sigh at my silent vow.
The Fae female is revealing a secret about you,it continued.Something you’ve been carrying without knowing you carried it. And now the Fae prince is concerned. He won’t see you the same way again.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Survival instinct rose behind my sternum, old and animal, and now it screamed:Run. Fast. Don’t look back.
I dug my nails into the earth and grounded myself. Survival instinct wasn’t the only thing keeping me together. The unyielding loyalty I carried toward the heirs, toward the Zodiac Covenant, anchored me just as deeply. I was Max Morning, and I didn’t break when things got hard.
I refused to take the demon’s bait. Once I let it through that door, there was no closing it again. Whatever secret it held about me, learning it at the demon’s price wasn’t an option. I’d sooner take myself to the bitter end than hand over my soul.
I have no interest in your soul, Max,it taunted.You’re already mine.
I shoved it down and buried its voice.
