Chapter Six

Harrow lit the lantern outside Raith’s tent and ducked inside. It was dark, even with the light. However he’d done it the first time, Raith didn’t light the other lamps. She heard nothing and saw no movement in the tiny space of illumination surrounding her.

“Raith?”

Nothing.

“Raith?” Panic seized her. Was he gone?

Then, a shuffling sound and a muffled groan, instantly stifled.

But Harrow heard it and knew instantly what it was—a sound of pain.

Caution abandoned, she raced to the cage and peered through the bars. A dark shadow on the far side had her running around to the back. He was there, painstakingly sitting up but trying to hide it from her.

Someone had hurt him.

Helpless fury choked her as she reached through the bars to help him. Something warm wet her hand when it touched his chest, and she withdrew her palm to the lantern’s light to see. It was blood.

She gasped. “What happened? Who did this?”

Raith, of course, said nothing. His fiery eyes met hers in the darkness.

Harrow pieced it together anyway. “Salizar.”

She stared at the blood on her hand and at the man behind the bars, and suddenly, she felt the Water rise within her.

“I have to get you out of here,” she whispered as the realization hit like a waterfall crashing overhead. He was in danger. And not just from more beatings.

Her power told her clearly that if she left him here, he would die.

His eyes snapped back to hers. “No, Harrow.”

“I have to.”

“No.”

“You don’t understand, I—” She swallowed, trying to make sense of the feelings of panic and fear for his life that suddenly boiled up inside her like a geyser. This was bigger than her own feelings of protectiveness or the way she’d been so helplessly drawn to him from the moment they met.

This was a matter of life and death.

The Water had led her to him from the start, she realized. He was the source of the premonition she’d had months ago, the person she’d needed to find. The Water had urged her to seek him out and help him, before she’d even known of his existence.

She had every intention of listening to it now.

“No,” Raith said again, clasping the bars on either side of her face and leaning toward her, a firm line drawn between his brows. “It’s not safe.”

His adamant refusal out of concern for her only made her more determined. How could she explain that the moment the Water had spoken, the decision was taken out of her hands? It wasn’t about what was safe for her or what either of them wanted at this point. All she knew was that he was in danger, and it was her duty to help him. The Water had declared it so, and she agreed.

“You don’t understand,” she said again, reaching up to clasp the same bars as him, their hands brushing as she did so. Despite the turmoil inside her, the contact sent tingles up her arms. “I have to do this.”

At their touch, he flinched visibly, but he didn’t pull away. He leaned in closer. “Why?”

So did she. “I just…have to.”

His hands tightened around the bars, causing the veins tracing his powerful arms to stand out, and suddenly, she wasn’t thinking about the Water anymore. Unable to help herself, her gaze followed them up his biceps to the breadth of his shoulders, traveled across his collarbone, and trailed down the line of his pectorals.

When she finally met his eyes again, she knew he was aware of her attention and what it meant. His pupils expanded until the flames were nearly swallowed, turning his eyes fully black save for the thinnest orange ring.

Their faces were so close. She couldn’t blink, and she definitely couldn’t breathe. Her stomach was doing backflips that would put Malaikah to shame.

The tent flap was thrown open. “Get away from him!”

Harrow lurched back from the cage with a yelp of surprise.

“What in the Shades are you doing in here?”

“I—”

Raith started to growl.

To make matters worse, Loren raced into the tent with a lantern, nearly running into Salizar’s broad back. He saw Harrow and blanched. “Harrow? Wha—”

“Quiet.” Salizar advanced, causing Raith’s growl to rise in volume. He was furious; it was plain to see. “Do you have any idea what he is? I would have thought the sign would be a pretty good indication.”

Harrow found her voice. “He’s not what you think.”

“He’s exactly what I think.”

“You can’t keep him locked up like this! You make me sick!”

Raith’s growling grew louder.

“I’d have thought you, of all people, Harrow, would have a vested interest in the capture of one of the creatures responsible for the extinction of an entire line of Elementals.”

He knows, Harrow realized, eyes wide. He knows exactly what I am. He’s probably known it since the day he took me in. She’d always suspected but had never known for sure.

Now she did, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Salizar had cared for her and protected her identity all these years, ensuring word of her survival didn’t reach Furie and her supporters.

“He’s not one of them,” she said. “Trust me when I say, I would know.”

Raith quieted at Harrow’s words, watching the interaction intently.

Salizar’s eyes narrowed. “How would you know?”

“What’s going on?” Loren asked. “What are you talking about?”

They both ignored him. Harrow tried to think of a way to explain the Water’s guidance without giving away her identity to the human in their company. “If he was evil, I would have sensed it. I’m telling you, he’s not what you think he is.”

“That you don’t sense evil proves nothing.”

“It proves everything. Wraiths are evil. And I would have sensed if Raith had killed. I can always sense those who have taken life before, and he hasn’t.”

It was true—and another thing Harrow sensed? Salizar had taken life before. More than once. She’d always known this but had believed he must have had good cause. She had trusted him. Now? Not so much.

“Wraith? Why call him a wraith if you don’t believe he is one?”

“It’s his name. Raith with an R.” She glanced at the still-silent Raith. “After Loren’s silly sign.”

Despite the circumstances, Salizar snorted a laugh. Loren scowled. Then, the ringmaster shook his head. “You’re mistaken, Harrow. There are things you don’t know—”

“I know enough!”

“Don’t push me,” he snapped. “I’m telling you he is exactly what he appears to be. Of that, I’m certain. He will remain in that cage, and in one week, the chance to view a corporeal wraith will be offered to the good people of Allegra. The money earned will go toward keeping this circus afloat and providing for Elementals who have nowhere else to go. He will cooperate with my plans or suffer the consequences.”

“You can’t do this. You can’t force him to be in a show like an animal!”

“Can’t I? This is my circus, after all. If you know of another way to make him behave, I’m all ears.”

Harrow stared at him. He genuinely believed he had captured a wraith. There would be no changing his mind or making him understand the error of his ways.

It couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t allow it to happen.

So she said the only thing she could think of to stop it.

“Let me do it.”

Salizar blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“Let me do it. Let me work with him and get him ready. Cancel next week’s show and give me some time. We’re heading to the West after Allegra, right? I’ll have him ready before we reach the border city. He trusts me. I’ll convince him to do whatever it is you want him to do.”

Raith stared at her from the cage, his face unreadable. She could guess what he was thinking, however, and it made her feel terrible. But it was the only way.

“You want to work with him.”

“Yes.”

“Even knowing what he is, you want to do this?”

“He isn’t what you think he is.”

Salizar shook his head. “But what if he is?”

“He isn’t.”

“Humor me. On the off chance that he is actually a wraith, no matter how small or unlikely”—his disbelief was evident—“would you still wish to care for such a creature?”

“Never,” Harrow stated, revulsion filling her at the mere thought. “I would die first.”

“And yet you still want to do this.”

“I trust my instincts. He isn’t what you think he is. I’d bet my life on it.”

Salizar considered this for what felt like forever. Finally, he nodded, and relief crashed through her. “Very well. It seems nothing can sway you. I admire your tenacity and can only hope you aren’t forced to learn a very painful lesson.” He flung a hand in Raith’s direction. “He’s your responsibility.”

“Thank you.” She could scarcely breathe, let alone speak.

“For the performance, he has two tasks—present the audience with his wings and change his skin back to its original shade. You can work with him, but only during daylight hours.”

Raith had wings? That was news to her. “Yes, sir.”

“I will not be canceling the shows next week. Don’t even try arguing with me on that,” he said when she opened her mouth. “He performs in one week.”

“Yes, sir.” Though it wasn’t a total win, she was still reeling from her good fortune, scarcely believing she had convinced Salizar to listen to her.

The ringmaster spun on a heel but stopped at the exit. “Don’t make me regret this, Harrow.”

“No, sir.”

“I’ve always been lenient with you because of the unfortunate circumstances that landed you here. That leniency does not apply here. I have no sympathy for that creature. If your plan fails, I’ll treat you no differently than I would anyone else who crossed me. If you want to keep your home in this circus, I suggest you do not fail.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Good luck then.” And he was gone.

Loren immediately rounded on her. “What were you thinking, Harrow?”

After facing off with Salizar, she was not even remotely intimidated. “Go away, Loren.”

“No, you need to—”

A low growl filled the air once again. Raith was gripping the bars of his cage with clawed hands, lip curled off his teeth, black gaze locked on Loren.

“You aren’t safe with him. You can’t seriously think you are.”

“Go away, please.”

“You need to listen to me. He’s not human—”

Harrow’s patience finally snapped. Her power rushed to the surface, static charge filling the air.

As a rule, the Seers had been peaceful, respected by the inhabitants of the places they traveled. They were neutral in political conflicts, and wise leaders left them to their own devices, trusting that they could lure them to their domains for counsel with gifts. The not-so-wise leaders who tried controlling the Seers or forcing them to pick sides soon found that they were not quite so peaceful when provoked.

When threatened, a Seer could defend herself—quite well, in fact.

At the first stirrings of Harrow’s power, Loren fell silent, eyes widening as he stepped back. He thought she was human. Everyone did, except Malaikah and, evidently, Salizar. Harrow had always gone to great lengths to hide the truth, but suddenly she was done. She was sick to death of pretending to be something she wasn’t. Sick to death of being afraid of her origins, secretive about her past, fearful of her future.

Reaching her hands beneath her hair, she untied the colorful scarf over her ears and watched the silk float to the ground. “I’m not human, Loren.”

For fifty years, she’d hidden her identity. Even if she didn’t believe in the existence of wraiths, something had killed the Seers, and there was a chance it would come for her if word spread that a Seer had survived. As well, human descendants of Ferron the Conqueror’s armies still lived in the South. Loyal to Queen Furie, they blamed Darya for starting the war, and Harrow had always feared they would use her as a chance to seek vengeance for their losses.

She didn’t know what the ramifications of her choice to reveal her identity would be, but soon, it wouldn’t matter anymore anyway.

Loren blanched at the unmistakable sight of her pointed ears. “You’re… But you… What are you?”

The Water rarely expressed itself through any physical display, and tonight was no different, save for the sudden charge blasting through the tent and the mist collecting in the air. Harrow knew her eyes had started to glow, and she could feel her hair lifting in the phantom gusts.

“Get out.”

It was all she needed to say. The words were pitched lower than her normal speaking voice and loaded with power.

Loren turned and fled the tent.

Alone at last, Harrow deflated, power retreating within immediately.

But she wasn’t alone—Raith was there. Raith, whose fragile trust she had betrayed by promising to discipline him for Salizar. The wary look he was giving her was proof enough of that.

Harrow buried her face in her hands. She had, in one night, made a promise to Salizar she couldn’t keep and, consequently, brought about the beginning of the end of her life as she knew it. Malaikah was going to be furious.

Raith rattled the bars of the cage door to get her attention. She glanced up at him, finding a frown creasing his brow.

“Are you okay?” His voice was quiet, as it always was the rare times he used it.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She nearly choked on the words. He was still concerned for her, enough to fight his aversion to speech, even after he thought she’d betrayed him.

Suddenly, making him understand was her top priority. Somehow, in the short time she’d known him, he’d become one of the most important people in her life. The truth of that scared her, but it was too late to turn back now.

She approached his cage. “I’m sorry. I had to say whatever I could to get Salizar to leave you alone. I have no intention of training you for any ridiculous circus show, I swear.”

Raith’s fingers tightened around the bars.

“I’m not going to force you to show your wings, and I don’t care about your other abilities. I promise.”

Raith didn’t move, didn’t even blink, and Harrow’s heart sank. He didn’t believe her. And why should he? Everyone he’d ever met had hurt him in some way, so why should he think Harrow was any different—

His skin suddenly morphed into a brilliant orange.

It was so bright, she lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the dazzling onslaught. Noticing the stubborn set to his chin, it clicked.

A bubble of surprised laughter burst out of her. “Yes, you can even be that color, if that’s what you want. It might help save some lamp oil, it’s so bright.”

He smiled. Or, at least, his eyes did.

His skin became brown again as Harrow turned and leaned against the cage bars. “We have one week before the show. We have to figure out how to get you out of here, gather supplies, and decide where to go. No one can know what we’re planning.” She craned her neck to look up at him. “I guess that’s not a problem for you. You’re not much of a talker.”

Facing forward again, she sighed. “I’ll have to tell Malaikah, though. She can help us, and besides, I couldn’t leave her without saying goodbye.”

A light touch on her shoulder had her twisting around to find Raith crouched behind her, a frown creasing his brow. Somehow, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“I do have to do this. Even without what the Water told me, there’s no way I could pretend I didn’t see what I did tonight.”

He frowned at the mention of the Water, and she debated explaining but decided against it. There was no point upsetting him with dire predictions, and besides, there was nothing to worry about anyway. She was going to help him escape before anything could happen.

She faced forward again, leaning her head against the bars, and an image of Loren’s stunned expression flashed through her mind. She couldn’t believe she’d blown her human disguise. What in the Shades had she been thinking?

She smiled into the darkness. No more hiding. No more pretending. No more damnable headbands. She thought of how good it had felt to give true readings again, and a sense of rightness filled her. She was done playing human.

If there were risks, so be it. She would find a way to circumvent the dangers. She would find a way to survive and make her people proud.

As if Raith was following her thoughts, the tiniest touch on her exposed ear tip sent tingles racing down her spine.

She looked back. “Yeah, they’re pointed.” She reached up to touch the tip as he had. “Just like yours.”

He frowned, tucked his hair back, and touched his own ear. His eyes widened like he hadn’t realized until that moment he had Elemental ears.

Harrow’s heart clenched amid a wave of tenderness. There was something so pure about him. Oh, he was lethal, there was no doubt about it, but he was also innocent in many ways. He was an enigma she was determined to understand.

She wanted to be the first to touch that secret side of him and protect it from harm. She wanted him to trust her with an almost desperate need. She wanted to be closer to him than she’d ever been to anyone. She just…wanted.

“We’re different, you and I,” she said. “People like us have to look out for each other.”

“Why?”

“Because.” Did he genuinely not understand? “It’s the right thing to do.”

He didn’t respond, and Harrow faced forward again. “You have a nice voice. You should speak more.” She quickly added, “But only if you want to.” She didn’t like the idea of pressuring him to do anything before he was ready.

He didn’t speak. Apparently, he wasn’t ready. That was okay. Hopefully, in time, he would trust her more.

“I should go. Tomorrow’s a big day. We have to start working on our escape plan. First things first, I need to figure out how to get you out of that cage.”

Luckily, she knew just who to talk to.

…

When Harrow was gone, Raith lay on his back in the center of his cage and stared at the tent’s roof through the bars. He thought about Harrow’s fierce conviction to liberate him and wondered where it had come from. And he thought about the strange urges that had risen in him when their hands brushed. Urges to touch. To taste. To possess.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was intense, all-consuming, and therefore frightening. He wasn’t sure yet if he preferred the numbness. It certainly felt safer and more familiar.

One thing he was sure about, however, was that he didn’t like the sacrifice Harrow was planning to make for him.

Contrary to what his preference for silence might lead others to believe, he was not stupid or lacking perception in any way. Based on what he’d heard tonight, he had pieced a lot together.

Salizar had told him that wraiths were responsible for the deaths of the Seers. I enjoy witnessing your pain, he’d said, while still knowing it will never equal the pain your kind inflicted upon the Seers before you killed them all.

But then his voice had dropped as he added, All but one.

And then, before Salizar had stabbed him with the staff… This is for Harrow.

The Seers had been destroyed by wraiths. All of them were dead, except one. One survivor.

That survivor was Harrow.

What if Salizar was right? What if Raith really was a wraith?

Harrow was positive he wasn’t. He’d seen the certainty in her eyes and heard it in her voice when she swore it to Salizar. But how did she know? He certainly couldn’t confirm or deny it either way. He had no memory of anything, which in itself was suspicious.

He couldn’t allow Harrow to help him if there was even the slightest chance he was one of the monsters that killed her family. She was planning to free him, sacrificing her safety and security to do so. He didn’t think he deserved it and didn’t want her to throw her life away anyway.

But what could he do?

He briefly entertained the notion of finding a way to escape without her, but he reluctantly dismissed it. If he escaped now, Salizar would blame Harrow. He’d promised her no leniency if she failed in her efforts to discipline him. No, if Raith was escaping at all, it had to be with her at his side.

But he couldn’t take her from her life here unless he could guarantee another safe way for her to live, which he couldn’t. He hadn’t even been able to save himself from capture, and he doubted his ability to protect himself and another from ending up in the same situation…or worse.

That left only one option.

He could play along with Salizar’s circus act, becoming nothing but a trained animal for humans to gawk at. He’d change his appearance on command, flash his wings and claws, do whatever that bloody bastard wanted him to do. He would rather die than do that, but now Harrow was involved, and it wasn’t that simple anymore.

Would he sacrifice his pride to protect her? The answer was yes.

His heart sank as he realized that was what he would have to do. Harrow had unintentionally betrayed him, though he could never hold it against her.

But because of her, Salizar had won.

Raith would stay in Salizar’s circus. He would behave. He would perform for the masses like a dog. He would become the soulless monster Salizar believed he was.

For all he knew, that was exactly what he was anyway.