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“Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you?” he snapped.
“You will never believe what just happened,” I said, panting for breath.
“It will have to wait. The dark court has arrived unannounced. Everyone is meeting in the throne room. You’re with me.” He pulled me from the wall, and we walked towards danger.
“What? Why are they here?” I asked, feeling a small chill of fear radiate down my spine. Images of my dream the night before began to reply in my mind.
“Apparently there was a large horde of beasts that came through the rift yesterday. They’ve been tracking them since they left their lands, and the horde has now set up camp along our kingdom’s borders. The horde is led by a general we’ve had encounters with before. He goes by the name of Otar. We think Otar is controlling the rift, or at least what comes out of it.”
“Is Otar an alfar?”
“Oh, no. He looks like a demon. His skin is black as coal. He has sharp yellow teeth and bat-like ears with yellow eyes. He’s a smart creature though. Something that is able to scheme and think independently. The royals are hoping that if we eliminate Otar the rift will close.”
“So, the dark court is here to help then?” I asked.
“We shall see. There are a lot of them, so stay close to me and don’t go anywhere alone until they leave. The castle isn’t safe while they are here.”
We entered the throne room and slid into the crowd. I tried to move to the wall the other humans were standing along, but Levos locked his arm in mine and shook his head, keeping me close.
The king, queen, and princess sat on their thrones with Gaelin perched at Daealla’s side. He looked at me and nodded. I didn’t respond. Both large golden doors in the back of the room flung open without warning and a group of dark-haired warriors, both male and female, entered the throne room. The light alfar tensed as the dark court entered like they owned the place. They walked with confidence and pride as if they were the most powerful beings in the world. From what Levos had told me, they very well could be. Their faces were unnervingly beautiful, if not more so, than those of the light court.
The group was being led by a man who could have been Lucifer himself. He was devastatingly handsome and elegant. His jaw was broad and strong. His eyes were silver, the color of liquid mercury. His powerful back veered to form a V at his waist. He wore all black: a floor-length jacket that hugged every part of his body perfectly with satin trim tracing the collar, a buttoned shirt that lay open at the top to reveal his chest, tight-fitting pants, and boots that came to his knees.
The rest of his followers were dressed more practically, in black leather. Some of the females wore revealing tops and dresses. Their hair was styled in all different fashions. A few members of the group winked at some of the light alfar members as they passed by. Most, kept their eyes forward, fixated on the royals at the front of the room.
As I watched the beautiful dark alfar pass us by, my breath caught in my lungs as something familiar caught my eye. A few of the dark alfar members had black markings on different regions of their bodies like the one carried by the man in my dreams. I forced my eyes to the floor before I was caught looking. My mind was in shambles. The connection to what I saw in my dreams and the dark court was uncanny.
The leader stopped in front of King Lysanthier and simply nodded. No bow, no curtsy, just a nod. I couldn’t help but smile at the insult. Suddenly, I had a sense of déjà vu. The dark figures, the throne room, the tension, all of it. I shook my head to dislodge the thought. No, that was impossible.
“Ambassador Lyklor, we weren’t expecting you. A letter would have sufficed,” said King Lysanthier.
“When our fellow brethren are in danger, we come to the rescue. Isn’t that what our little treaty agreed upon?” said the ambassador. His voice was deep and smooth like a shot of whiskey coating your insides. It sent a chill through my body that I couldn’t explain. Levos pulled me closer.
King Lysanthier looked at the ambassador with disgust. “We appreciate the assistance in eliminating the threat at our borders. Since we have only just discovered the position of the horde, we will need time to prepare for an attack. Lord Atros will take charge of the situation. You will relinquish control of your infantry to him for this mission.”
Ambassador Lyklor smiled, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. His canines were longer than normal with sharp points at the end. “While I do respect that we are in your territory,” said Lyklor, “my infantry will only defer to me. But I will be happy to share what I’ve learned about the enemy along with helping Lord Atros defeat our mutual threat. When shall we begin planning? I think we would all agree the sooner the better.”
“Immediately,” said Gaelin coldly.
Lyklor turned slowly to meet Gaelin’s gaze. “Excellent. And in the meantime, what are the living arrangements for my court?” Lyklor looked around the room at the alfar and then at the humans lining the wall. His gaze tracked to the front row where Levos and I stood arm in arm. I could feel his eyes lock onto me only for a moment before he returned his attention to the king.
“We will have rooms ready for you by the end of the day,” answered King Lysanthier. “Until then, you are our guests. I feel the need to remind you that our laws are not like the ones you are accustomed to abiding by. If any action is taken that breaks them, your kind will be punished accordingly.”
“We can behave ourselves, light king. None of your confinements will be broken by our kind while we are under your roof. Though, I must say, you seem to have quite an excessive number of humans. It seems to me we need to revisit our original arrangement,” said Lyklor.
The king tensed. “I’m sure if your kind refrained from offering up human sacrifices to your insufferable god our courts would have the same number of humans,” he said.
Lyklor laughed, shaking his head. “Perception isn’t always reality...king. Gaelin, shall we?”
Gaelin tensed, stepping off the platform. He walked past Levos and I, taking another look at me before leaving the throne room.
Lyklor tracked Gaelin’s attention towards me as if studying our connection. The ambassador grinned at me in a way that made my blood run cold. I dropped my eyes, moving slightly behind Levos. Lyklor and his court followed Gaelin out. A sense of relief swept through the light court, as if the air had been let back into the room.
Chapter 12
“So, what did you think of the sinful dark court?” asked Levos, plopping down onto Gaelin’s bed.
“Dark, rebellious, scary, and intimidating...yet beautiful,” I said, lying next to him.