The figure on the other side slammed into her before she could blink, throwing both of them to the ground. Tseren caught the stranger’s arms before they could claw at her face, but a knee to the gut loosened her grip before they leapt to their feet and made for Prince Harman. Tseren regained her strength before they could strike, catching them around the knees and pulling their weight out from under them. In a blink, she had them pinned, their arms locked under her knees, holding fast against their thrashing.

  It was a Resei who struggled against her, with copper skin and short, choppy, uneven hair. He was younger than the others around her, maybe only a few years older than the teenage prince. His sharp, brown eyes weren’t focused, instead in his frenzied state his eyes were rolling all over, searching for something that wasn’t there.

  ‘Ease up,’ Mala ordered. ‘He’s in pain.’

  ‘No.’ Tseren pushed her hand into his chest, holding him still but doing little to stop his struggle. If she let go, he was going to attack them. Though, the tribe girl wasn’t wrong about pain. His breathing was laboured, his face grey, and the movements under her body were twitchy only in the way adrenaline could make possible.

  ‘Let him go,’ Wil snapped. ‘What’s wrong with him?’

  ‘Ask him,’ Tseren said.

  Wil crouched down next to her. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

  ‘We’re not going to hurt you,’ Mala said.

  ‘If you’ll give me permission to talk to Ifran again...’ the Prince said. When Mala threw him a look, he shrugged, ‘he knows his medicines. I’ll see if he can help.’

  ‘Go,’ Mala ordered. ‘And tell your mother it wasn’t you who screamed. You made her panic.’

  Harman gave a mock salute, then turned and ran for the stairs back up to the terrace. The Resei continued to struggle, but as the footsteps receded, he slowly eased into stillness. Tseren eased her knees off his arms, and he remained where he was.

  ‘You’re not him,’ the Resei whispered. ‘Where is he? The man in black, where is he?’

  Wil recoiled next to them. ‘What did he do to you?’

  ‘It’s in my skin,’ the Resei’s voice escaped in a gasp. ‘It’s in my head. He’s not mystic. He’s not real. He’s one of them.’

  ‘One of who?’ Wil demanded.

  ‘The Wild Folk,’ Tseren said. ‘They’re here.’

  ‘You’re not serious,’ Mala said.

  The Resei lurched forward then, catching Tseren’s collar and gripping it tight. Tseren pulled his grip away easily, but he caught her wrist, holding tight. ‘You’ve seen him too, haven’t you. It’s the legend. It’s the truth. You see him and you die. We’re all going to die. He’s going to kill us all.’

  Tseren’s stomach twisted, though she wasn’t surprised. Of course they were going to retaliate. Shihoa was stupid to think they could do something so terrible and walk away. Still, being caught in the middle of it wasn’t going to end well for any of them.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  ‘He was in my head,’ the Resei said. ‘He put something there. It’s under my skin. I can’t get it out. It won’t come out.’

  He was staring at Tseren now, his eyes bloodshot and desperate. She saw dried blood under his fingernails, the colour matching thin claw marks that ran down his arms and neck. Tseren had never met a Wild Folk so powerful, but if one was here, then they weren’t done yet. Slowly, still holding his gaze, she pried his fingers off her wrist, easing them down. His breathing was still heavy, but he was calming down.

  Mala knelt down next to her, taking the boy’s now free hand. ‘We’re not going to hurt you,’ she said. ‘We’re not noble, we’re not lords. We just want to help. What’s your name?’

  The Resei was silent for a beat, and Tseren wondered if he’d even heard her.

  ‘Aric,’ he mumbled. ‘My name is Aric.’

  ‘Hey, Aric,’ Wil said. ‘I know you’re a Northender stuck here in the palace, but is there anywhere you can go? Somewhere safe? Is there someone here you can trust?’

  Aric shook his head. ‘They’re going to kill us all.’

  ‘Then leave,’ Tseren said. ‘If tonight’s the night you go, then it’s time to go.’

  Aric narrowed his eyes, but Tseren held his gaze. She didn’t know even a little bit what it was like to be a Resei, but everyone had their limits, and even the most impossible escape plans could be executed under the right amount of desperation. She knew that.

  ‘I don’t think you know what you’re suggesting,’ Wil told her.

  Tseren ignored him. ‘Tell me what you need to happen.’

  Aric shook his head. ‘He’ll come back. He’ll find me. You know, don’t you? You know what it means.’

  ‘I do,’ Tseren said.

  Aric stared, studying her, trying to read the meaning in her words. Would she admit it here, that she was a Mysica? That she knew how far the threads of magic could reach? These two strangers would hear her, but it wouldn’t be the first time her secret was shared so openly.

  The air shifted again, a cold chill seeping down from the roof like a frozen blanket, prickling down against her back and seeping through her armour. A fluctuation of magic reminding her of a permafrost winter that killed anything it touched. It left famine in its wake and blackened limbs on the people it touched.

  Tseren whirled around as Aric yelped, scrambling out from under her. Standing a little way behind their little group was death. A tall man dressed completely in black watched them with a wry smile, and Wil swore next to her, a sign that they saw something. They saw the human illusion hiding the monster beneath. There were deep, dark claws like mangled tree roots clinging to his hands, a floating disc hanging around his neck like a fallen halo, as sharp as a blade and silver like a crescent moon. Long, pointed ears curved out from beneath the hair, and the hair itself blended into shadowy tendrils that snaked down into the cape, bringing it to life as a writhing mass of shadow. There was something beneath it too, something harsher and deeper than the cold and the feeling of death. There was more to this creature, more to his visage, to what he was.

  The human mask on top of it all glanced down at her as Tseren slowly stood. ‘Well, isn’t this a surprise,’ he said. ‘A real Mysica, right here in front of me. I suppose we all have something to gain tonight.’

  Tseren flinched as the others glanced at her, shifting at the words. Wil shook it off first. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘That’s not what you need to worry about right now,’ the creature said. ‘If you are the ones to watch over my new pet, then I suggest you start running now.’

  ‘What did you do to me?’ Aric was on his feet and charging forward before Tseren could blink, throwing himself at the creature. ‘Take it out! Take it—’

  The creature vanished, but the chill remained, seeping deep into Tseren’s skin. It looked like crystallised water against her armour, floating lazily through the air before finding something to stick to. She shook it off. The others had the same crystals sticking to them, and were noticeably uncomfortable. Only Aric was free of them, still standing where the creature had been, shaking and blank-faced. The crystals of magic surrounded him in a perfect ring, none touching a single part of him. As he turned to stare at them, the crystals brushed across the stone, pushed away like some invisible wall surrounded him.