A Court of Night and Starlight

Chapter XII

Nyx

The rest of the day I spend pacing back and forth in my room, tracking he sun as it makes its journey across the clear blue sky.

The sky is too blue, the sun too bright for the dark thunder cloud of thoughts and emotions raging in me. I reach for my magic once again.

Nothing.

As expected.

If I had access to my powers those pricks never would've been able to overpower me and use me against my sister. Haroll was right, their fire didn't touch me thanks to the affinity for it I inherited from my mother, who got it from the late High Lord Beron himself. But they had other methods of kicking the shit out of me.

Luckily I got a few pretty good hits in myself but, unluckily, all the Fae I managed to injure healed quickly thanks to the fact that none of them have to wear the blue magic canceling stone.

But I can't think of all the ways I failed yesterday.

What I need now is a plan.

I rack my brain for anything that I might somehow use to my advantage. Tamlin made a bargain that none in his court would harm me, but if I could get them to hurt me in some way, would that void the bargain?

When one breaks a bargain the consequences are never anything but bad. Like really bad. If I can get one of Tamlin's sentries to, say, hit me, it might break the bargain and then the Mother and Cauldron can exact punishment on Tamlin.

Then maybe Amaris would be free of her end of the bargain as well.

It could work.

And I don't have anything else.

I march up to the door and start banging on it. "I know you guys are out there! Open up! Open up open up open uuup!"

Most would assume whining is beneath me, but it's really not. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, after all.

"Oh, I get it," I say. "You're too scared to open the door after I gave you that black eye and bruised crotch yesterday."

A heavy fist slams into the other side of the door. "Shut up!"

I grin. Mari likes to complain about Illyrian male pride and ego, when in reality it's something shared between all males in general.

"It's okay, you know," I continue, "to not be the best at your job. I mean, it only took you, what? Ten soldiers and three Autumn heirs to finally take down one powerless child?"

I take a step back from the door and wait for it to open. "That's nothing to be ashamed of, even if you did have to take my powers away for it to be a fair fight. Some males just don't have that fire, you know?"

On cue the door bangs open and the guard storms in, his three buddies staying in the hallway, looking in.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much," he snarls, the hunger for violence glowing in his dark eyes.

I rock back on my heels, shoving my hands into my pockets. "It has come up."

"Then I suggest you listen and shut up."

A slow grin spreads across my face and I look the Spring guard dead in the eye. "Or else what?"

Take the bait. Come on, take the bait. Hit me. Do something.

"Stand down, Umber," one of the sentries in the hall orders. "He's just trying to get a rise out of you."

"Wow!" I fake surprise. "I didn't think any of you stupid bastards were smart enough to figure it out. I stand corrected."