Commander by Milana Jacks

Author:Milana Jacks [Jacks, Milana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Milana Jacks, LLC
Published: 2024-03-29T00:00:00+00:00

24

CHLOE

D’Artaron extends a gloved hand, and I take it without hesitation.

We step through the portal, and even though I have no idea where I’m going, I trust he won’t lead me to the throne until I’m good and ready. The revelation of how much I trust this male makes me question my own sanity, but I have no time for sanity now because we stop in the bright center of the throne room.

“Holy fuck, D’Artaron,” I whisper-hiss and turn to run, but I bump into him. His arms come around me, and he holds me pressed against him.

I inhale the smell of leather and what feels like comfort and confidence. Instantly, I calm down and surrender, my muscles going limp and my body leaning against his.

“You’re fine,” he coos, and I think of the bird in the cage. “Nobody knows we’re here.”

“What do you mean?”

He spins me around by my shoulders. “Pay attention to the guards.”

We’re standing in the dead center of a large circle where people can gather to watch the royals sitting on the raised dais at the end of the space. People mingle on either side of the red carpet, yet they can’t seem to see us or even sense that we’re here. The guards’ backs are turned to us, and they appear none the wiser.

“Hey!” I call out, but the guards remain in position.

“How are you doing this?”

D’Artaron speaks above me and behind me, his body like a solid wall at my back. “There was this theory once that said that if the Unseelie used the shadows, the Seelie should be able to use the light.”

“We use the light. We travel via portals.”

“And that’s all the rest of us can do. You are the exception.”

“Ah. More exceptions.”

“Indeed,” he says, voice low, intimate. “You hide in the light. You use it the way the Unseelie use shadows. As a means of travel, spying, and as a weapon.”

“I’m not using any of it.”

“But I am, and once I’ve honed this magnificent magic of yours, you will too. It will be like walking in the gardens. Or, for that matter, the throne room. Something you do easily.”

His telling me I’m powerful does nothing to alleviate my fears of what’ll happen when I come in here on my own. “When we arrived only last morning, you said the people didn’t know. There’re people here, and they know.”

“The situation escalated last night.”

“What happened?”

“Frederick and I had a disagreement. I went to see you. He called the council, who called for his coronation.”

“They’re supporting him, then.”

“He gave them land and riches, promising them even more power over the farmers.”

“That’s not right. We’re struggling in the villages as it is, paying high taxes to the landowners and the crown and whoever wishes to impose themselves on us.”

The commander remains quiet.

I nudge him with my elbow. “Say something.”

“You must take the throne, and you must do it now.”

I stare at the red carpet and the myriad petals thrown all over it. “I’m terrified of what’s at the end of the walkway.

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