Arianna had left him alone.
If only.
Now he didn't know what to do. He could go to the Shaman, but he doubted she'd be much help.
She hadn't been any help before.
She knew that Visions could be changed, but she didn't know how this one could be. Or these two, since they represented a fork.
And he understood the fork.
Either he or Sebastian would be killed that day.
Unless they were both out of the palace, away from Jahn.
He took a deep breath. The humid air had a thickness here, along with the stench. It almost felt as if he were breathing the river.
Getting Sebastian out of the palace would be difficult. He hadn't realized Sebastian's resistance went so deep. He had seen Sebastian follow others' suggestions, but they had never been about abandoning his family or the only home he'd ever known.
Maybe Gift could convince Arianna.
He would have to explain who he was. That would be difficult. And he didn't know what her reaction would be.
His breath was beginning to return. His legs still felt wobbly, uncertain, weak. He hadn't run like that ever, at least that he could remember. And he had never been so terrified in all his life. If she had caught him, if she had harmed him, the magick would have stirred in the Black Blood.
If she had killed him, she would have destroyed the Fey.
Sweat trickled down his chin and dripped onto his shirt. He needed to rest before he went back to Shadowlands.
If he went to Shadowlands at all.
He still had one solution. He could get Coulter. They hadn't seen each other a lot since they were boys, but they were close, as close as Gift and Sebastian were. Maybe closer.
Coulter was an Islander whom Solanda had brought to Shadowlands when he was just a baby. She claimed he had magickal abilities. The Fey scoffed at her. No one had magick except Fey. Then the Domestics confirmed his magick and his age. He was too old to have been born to a mating between Islander and Fey.
Solanda abandoned him, and the Fey ignored him. He ran wild through Shadowlands, and an Islander prisoner, Adrian, took care of him. But on that day Gift's real mother was killed, Gift nearly died because his Link with his mother had not been properly severed. Coulter broke into Gift's house, severed Gift's Link with his mother, and forged a new Link, Binding Coulter and Gift together, forever.
Only Enchanters could do such things. Gift's grandfather decided to test Coulter, to see if he was an Enchanter. But the tests amounted to torture, and the prisoner Adrian helped Coulter escape from Shadowlands. Since then, Coulter had lived at Adrian's farm, as Adrian's son, and was, for all Gift could see, extremely happy.
Gift had never been to the farm. But he had seen Coulter in Jahn a few times, when Coulter was bringing in the harvest for sale in the city. They usually talked across the Link, so it felt odd to talk face to face.
Just as it had been odd to talk to Sebastian face to face.
Two other Fey ducked under the bridge. They weren't panting as hard. The first was a Spy, Epla. He was as old as Gift's grandfather would have been. Young Spies had indistinct features that could be molded into other faces, not replicas of faces they saw, but something close. Older Spies like Epla had evolved a face of their own, one that took the best features of all the faces they once wore. Epla could still change his face to look like someone else's, but in repose, he was among the most handsome of the Fey.
Spies had their uses. They could watch and gather information. But they couldn't fight without damaging their delicate magick, and they couldn't kill without losing it.
Gift hadn't expected to need fighters on this trip. He had only wanted people who could blend in with the crowd. That was why he had brought so many Spies with him.
The other Fey was Prey, a Foot Soldier. Foot Soldiers killed with their fingers. They often tortured their victims to
If only.
Now he didn't know what to do. He could go to the Shaman, but he doubted she'd be much help.
She hadn't been any help before.
She knew that Visions could be changed, but she didn't know how this one could be. Or these two, since they represented a fork.
And he understood the fork.
Either he or Sebastian would be killed that day.
Unless they were both out of the palace, away from Jahn.
He took a deep breath. The humid air had a thickness here, along with the stench. It almost felt as if he were breathing the river.
Getting Sebastian out of the palace would be difficult. He hadn't realized Sebastian's resistance went so deep. He had seen Sebastian follow others' suggestions, but they had never been about abandoning his family or the only home he'd ever known.
Maybe Gift could convince Arianna.
He would have to explain who he was. That would be difficult. And he didn't know what her reaction would be.
His breath was beginning to return. His legs still felt wobbly, uncertain, weak. He hadn't run like that ever, at least that he could remember. And he had never been so terrified in all his life. If she had caught him, if she had harmed him, the magick would have stirred in the Black Blood.
If she had killed him, she would have destroyed the Fey.
Sweat trickled down his chin and dripped onto his shirt. He needed to rest before he went back to Shadowlands.
If he went to Shadowlands at all.
He still had one solution. He could get Coulter. They hadn't seen each other a lot since they were boys, but they were close, as close as Gift and Sebastian were. Maybe closer.
Coulter was an Islander whom Solanda had brought to Shadowlands when he was just a baby. She claimed he had magickal abilities. The Fey scoffed at her. No one had magick except Fey. Then the Domestics confirmed his magick and his age. He was too old to have been born to a mating between Islander and Fey.
Solanda abandoned him, and the Fey ignored him. He ran wild through Shadowlands, and an Islander prisoner, Adrian, took care of him. But on that day Gift's real mother was killed, Gift nearly died because his Link with his mother had not been properly severed. Coulter broke into Gift's house, severed Gift's Link with his mother, and forged a new Link, Binding Coulter and Gift together, forever.
Only Enchanters could do such things. Gift's grandfather decided to test Coulter, to see if he was an Enchanter. But the tests amounted to torture, and the prisoner Adrian helped Coulter escape from Shadowlands. Since then, Coulter had lived at Adrian's farm, as Adrian's son, and was, for all Gift could see, extremely happy.
Gift had never been to the farm. But he had seen Coulter in Jahn a few times, when Coulter was bringing in the harvest for sale in the city. They usually talked across the Link, so it felt odd to talk face to face.
Just as it had been odd to talk to Sebastian face to face.
Two other Fey ducked under the bridge. They weren't panting as hard. The first was a Spy, Epla. He was as old as Gift's grandfather would have been. Young Spies had indistinct features that could be molded into other faces, not replicas of faces they saw, but something close. Older Spies like Epla had evolved a face of their own, one that took the best features of all the faces they once wore. Epla could still change his face to look like someone else's, but in repose, he was among the most handsome of the Fey.
Spies had their uses. They could watch and gather information. But they couldn't fight without damaging their delicate magick, and they couldn't kill without losing it.
Gift hadn't expected to need fighters on this trip. He had only wanted people who could blend in with the crowd. That was why he had brought so many Spies with him.
The other Fey was Prey, a Foot Soldier. Foot Soldiers killed with their fingers. They often tortured their victims to
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