Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

“Shall we excuse ourselves?”he taunted quietly.

I frowned deeply, but I had other things on my mind. Aniya had been gone when I woke up this morning. At first I had thought Trick had simply recalled her, but there were no shadows around him either. None.

In fact, his hair was lifeless, his eyes dull.“What happened to you?”I asked as I pulled out a chair directly across from him.

“Good morning, Ky,” Mark called happily.

I gave him the best smile I could manage, but I was exhausted too. Not just because of the events from last night but because of the nightmares. They were horrible and I don’t think I slept more than an hour after Trick had left. “Good morning, little fox,” I greeted.

“I had a long night.”

I gave him a look.“You lasted less than an hour. It was unimpressive.”

A brow lifted.“Is that the game you want to play, Angel?”

My spine tingled. “Why are you hiding your wings?” I asked instead. Where had he gone after leaving here?What constituted a ‘long night’ for the High—ex High King?

He lifted his chin, even his smile exhausted. “They’re very large,” he answered and turned back to the book he had been reading.“This book is calledThe Founders of Mesi, and there’s a scene in here that I think I’d like to give you a taste of.”

My heart skipped, eyes widening. Shit.“Which one?”

His eyes sparked.“There’s more than one?”he asked and then dipped the book forward just enough to show me how far he had made it.

I’d say he was within the first 100 pages. I swallowed, my mouth going dry.“It’s fictional.”

His eyes flicked back to the book.“It was.”

Gods-dammit. I really should have burned all of those. “You are going to die if you keep using your magic on something as stupid as hiding your wings,” I snapped, perhaps a little too harshly.

His eyes lifted to mine again.

Cole looked over, confusion coating his expression.

Mark popped up on Trick’s left side out of nowhere. “She’s right.”

He looked over, confused at the small human that managed to appear out of thin air.

“She told me all magic-users have a limit, and you’re looking awfully sweaty. Pale too. I know you’re not sick because people can’t get sick overnight. So, it has to be the magic.”

They could get sick overnight, but I let that one go.

“So you should do what Cole’s doing. It’s good for you, and also,Ihaven’t gotten to see your wings yet, andthat’s a little unfair of you.”

Trick watched him for a moment before turning to me and raising a brow.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, refusing to give him any more than what I already had.

“Hey, what’s that?”

My eyes shifted back to Mark who was now staring at my neck. I touched the collar gently, my face heating at the weight of everyone’s stares. “I already told you—”

“No, not the cool necklace, the black marks on your neck.”

My eyes widened and shot to Trick.“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Amusement danced in his eyes.“I have to claim what’s mine, baby.”

But before I could respond, another voice piped up. “Are you kidding me?”