Imdalind 01 - Kiss of Fire

his chair with his arms folded as if he was getting ready for a show. I determinedly looked away from him, but my eyes were automatically drawn to his hair again.
    “Are you going to be looking at my hair all night, Joclyn?”
    “No!” I responded, a blush at being caught rushing to my cheeks. “It just looks so weird on you.”
    “You don’t look too bad yourself,” Ilyan said and pulled on one of the long red strands that hung down at the sides of my face.
    “Don’t remind me. My hair grows slowly, too; I am going to be stuck with this hairdo forever.”
    To my embarrassment, Ilyan laughed, causing several people to turn.
    “What?”
    “You can grow it back with your magic, Joclyn,” Ilyan chuckled at me, causing a furious blush to deepen against my cheeks.
    “What?”
    “Didn’t Wyn tell you?”
    “No!” My mouth hung open in frustration.
    Ilyan only continued to smile, “No wonder you looked so depressed when I saw you last night.”
    Truthfully, I hadn’t been depressed because of my hair; I had been more concerned about his wicked father, but I wasn’t going to get into that right before we left to rescue Ilyan’s youngest brother. I shook my head and slammed my bare back against the cold metal chair. I tried to shift my clothes again, but there simply wasn’t enough fabric.
    “So… are you going to tell me what this attack plan is?”
    He sighed before nodding once and angled his chair so we could both see the group that was still shuffling around the conference room.
    “Wyn, Talon, Evert, and Glenna will be clearing the roof. Ovailia, Ferne and Nyse will be clearing the upper hallways. Adyl, Benton and Eber will already be stationed at the party. Delia, Iolo, Jevon and Evadne will be clearing the exterior, and Tace and Zilla will be our forward guard. You will be with me.” He pointed each of them out as he spoke; my mind unable to connect faces with their unusual names.
    “And what do we do?”
    “Rescue Ryland,” he stated quietly. “I need you to get him to leave with you. We will all serve as some form of a distraction and guard while you get him out. Once you leave, we all leave. The longer you wait, the more dangerous this mission is for everyone.”
    “Get him out, sounds easy enough,” I sighed sarcastically, thinking my task sounded anything but easy. Getting him to follow me out would be easy, as long as he was Ryland. If he wasn’t Ryland, I wasn’t sure what he would do. He had attacked me in the Tȍuha when he had changed. And if he did attack me, I was not sure I was powerful enough yet to fight him off. And worse yet, what if I got him out as Ryland, and he changed once we left. I sighed and sank into my chair a bit, feeling completely useless.
    “I hope you’re right,” Ilyan’s hands writhed; he seemed to be thinking along the same lines I was. “We will go in under Zmizȇt and make our way into the main hall; that is where Ryland will be.”
    “Zmizȇt?”
    “Yes, it’s a shield that can cause you to be invisible. Of course, if it works in the LaRue estate with the same effectiveness it did on you, then we are all in trouble.”
    “What are you talking about?” I asked, my face squished together in confusion.
    “All those times you saw me in your school, I was shielding myself with Zmizȇt. But it didn’t work so well on you.” He narrowed his eyes at me curiously. “I wonder why that is?”
    I shrank away from him, his blue eyes flashing dangerously. Was I broken or something? I couldn’t get my magic beyond my necklace, and I could see people who were supposed be invisible. Definitely broken.
    “You’re the King; you tell me.” I wished I could move away from him a bit.
    “Manners, Joclyn.” Ilyan didn’t even flinch as Ovailia came up beside him. I, however, got the full extent of her glare and had to fight the urge to run away.
    “I hate to interrupt, but it is time to go.”
    “So it is.” Ilyan stood and moved away, leaving Ovailia alone with me. I had hoped she would follow him, but instead, she stepped closer.
    “I would like you to know, Joclyn, I am only doing this to save my brother. I have no intention of saving you. If you get cornered, you’re on your own.” She smiled acidly at me, waiting for me to respond. Her look reminded me of the way Cynthia McFadden would egg me on. I shrank away from her instinctively. She glared toward me for only a moment longer before striding out of the room. I slumped back down in my