shadows don't lie

Chapter Twenty-Nine

She sat in her shadow-realm for hours, trying to cry, be angry, feel sad, anything.

But all she could find it in herself to feel was hollow. She had been healing all this time, piece by piece, and recently she had even begun to feel whole again, like she belonged.

Now she knew that none of it was real.

She stayed sitting for long enough that her limbs began to stiffen, just staring into the darkness, and wondering what she did wrong.

Inei knew that she couldn’t stay there all day though. She knew that she needed to go somewhere, even if it was only temporary, to get supplies, to find real shelter.

The question then, was where she could go. More staring, and she couldn’t help as the picture of wings entered her mind.

She sat up, an idea occurring to her.

Illyrian war-camps.

No one would ever think to look there, and she knew the Illyrians would see reason as long as she could prove she was strong enough.. Right?

There should have been some sort of apprehension, some sort of.. Logical plan? But she couldn’t feel anything about it.

Except for hunger. She was getting hungry now, which meant she had already spent far too long in here.

Inei stood on weak legs, and looked down at her body. She felt just as empty now as she had after being freed, but at least she didn’t have to worry about living a lie anymore.

Her mouth twisted.

Closing her eyes with a quiet sigh out of her nose, she visualized the Illyrian camps, and although she hadn’t ever seen them she let her shadows guide her.

Her body barely even registered the change in surroundings, and when she opened her eyes, she stood face-to-face with an Illyrian, his very large body blocking the rest of her view, not to mention his wings that towered behind him.

Once again, she silently marvelled at the lack of fear she felt.

“Uh, hello.” She said, and cursed the way her voice croaked. She cleared her throat, and raised her chin, slipping into her mask of confidence.

The male sucked in a breath, but still didn't move, and she stepped forwards, squaring her shoulders. “Take me to the camp’s warlord. I need to speak with him.”

The Illyrian narrowed his eyes, and his dark hair flashed as he looked over his shoulder.

Another male approached, and Inei marked the air of authority he held. “Move away from her Lex. Something tells me you don’t want to pick a fight with this one right now.”

Inei tilted her head as the one called Lex stepped away, but not far enough to leave the other male wholly alone.

“Something tells me you would be correct.” She told the new male, and a wicked smile split his face.

“So what kind of menace are you?” He asked, and his eyes flashed as she loosened her shadows.

Lex swore and moved to draw his blade, but the other male held up a hand, halting him. “A shadowsinger then. We've seen your kind before. Even trained one.”

Inei’s lungs siezed, but she blocked out his name from her mind. She blocked every thought of him.

The tattoo wrapped around her hand seemed to heat up, but she just ignored that too.

The male’s eyes flitted over her, and he asked her, “What do you want, shadowsinger? Has Rhysand acquired a new pet to spy on me?”

She frowned. “No, he hasn’t. In fact, I’d rather he didn’t know that I’m here.” She decided to get straight to the point.