Chapter 19: Blair

                                    

                                          
I'm exhausted, and everything feels surreal, as if I'm trapped in a dream I can't wake from.
The sun dips lower, inching toward the horizon, and I realize that soon I'll be plunged into complete darkness. The cold stream gurgles at my feet as I walk along its edge. A light breeze brushes against my skin, momentarily dulling the pain in my head.  The Whispers has always felt strange, alien to me — before my father rose through the ranks and we moved to the palace, I grew up in a small family estate, surrounded by fields rather than woods.
Then, suddenly, in the shadowed depths between the trees, I catch sight of something strange. A barely perceptible movement among the bushes—the branches sway slightly, as if stirred by an invisible breeze. I freeze and hold my breath, tense like a drawn bowstring. But there are no trees wide enough nearby to hide behind, so I drop to the ground, watching from a distance.
Fear grips me with clawed hands, it breathes down my neck, slides across my skin, and I feel it with every drop of sweat, with each racing heartbeat.
I lift my head, straining to see the tall, thin figure among the shadows, and I recognize him... Jax.
The boy's face catches the last rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves. His steps are hesitant, his body seems to be breaking under the weight of exhaustion. He looks lost, alone, and for a moment, I feel a pang of sympathy. I even consider offering him an alliance. Jax must be only fifteen, maybe sixteen. He's still a child, too young to be part of this twisted game.
He takes a few steps and suddenly vanishes, as if swallowed by the shadows. I hear a rustle to my right — he teleported, but not far, just a few meters. It's clumsy. He's not used to using his ability in combat, doesn't have a feel for his own power. But somewhere nearby, there might be someone far more dangerous — his brother, Kai. The prince and future Enforcer of Ilya. Definitely not someone I want to encounter.
I watch as Jax teleports again, trying to hide among the trees, but this time he isn't so lucky. He slams into a trunk and falls heavily to the ground, clutching his forehead in pain. I don't know what to do—whether to approach him and see if he's all right, or run as far away as I can.
But Jax just lies there, rubbing his forehead, not even trying to call for help. I curse under my breath and make a decision. I get up, my legs struggling to lift me from the damp earth, each step a battle against my own body. The ground squelches beneath my boots.
He tries to sit up, but his body trembles, and by the time I reach him, pain and fear are written across his face, mingled with a look of desperation in his eyes. I kneel beside him.
"Are you alone?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
"No," he answers through gritted teeth, his breath ragged as he closes his eyes for a moment, trying to steady himself. "If you touch me, Kai..."
"Liar," I hiss, and in that instant, all my sympathetic thoughts vanish. He, like his fake brothers, has always treated me with disdain. If he could, he'd call for Kai right now without a second thought about what he might do to me. I feel that familiar, cold calculation rising within me. His fear is my opportunity.
"Plague." My hand reaches for his strap. I carefully loosen the leather band from his wrist, feeling him flinch slightly at my touch. The skin beneath is raw from being bound for so long, and I bite my lip to keep myself from stopping. He stays silent. I try to be gentle, to avoid causing him more pain, but my fingers shake with tension. "Did you... see anyone nearby?"
"No," he says, not resisting at all, which confirms that he is truly alone. Jax looks up at me, his expression twisted with bitterness, and in that moment, I realize that things will never be the same between us. These six moons will change all of us.