by A. K. Koonce
Darrio’s lips thin as he looks to Daxdyn and then to Ryder.
“Perfect,” a smile perches on my lips, “let’s go, Ryder.”
I can’t bring myself to look at him as I stride out the door, pushing past a soldier on my way.
Ryder’s boots stomp after me and I don’t pause for him to catch up.
“You know this is a shitty idea, right?”
He protests, but he also knows my reasons.
“Do you have a better idea?”
His silence makes my heart thunder to life with anxiety and adrenaline.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
“Nope. For once you get to know what it feels like.”
“Know what what feels like?”
A smile tilts my lips as I grip his forearm. Realization crosses his features just before I tear us away.
It feels good to give him a taste of his own medicine.
So good that my smile is plastered wide across my face when we land. He stumbles out of my grip, barely righting himself just before his face meets the muddy shore.
“Yeah, that feels like shit.” He coughs hard like he can’t catch his breath and it only makes my smile grow impossibly larger.
Cold water laps against my boots and the sky looks stormier here. The smoke overtakes the heavens, clouding them with pollution. It’s darker here and I start to wonder if I really met Tristan at nightfall or if the sky was just overrun with the darkness of the smoke.
Ryder’s fingers skim down the inside of my wrist.
“Should we start at the castle?” He looks out into the heart of the smoky city.
An eerie silence lingers in the air. No mortals or creatures are seen. Everything is unnaturally quiet.
“No.”
“No?”
The hair on my arms stand as a crawling feeling creeps down my spine.
“No, they’re here.”
The gray foam of the sea clings to my boots and my gaze follows the waves out, trailing carefully over the ocean.
White eyes blink back at me. My gaze strains to focus on the white among the dark sea. Slick blue skulls bob within the deep waves. Thousands of them dot the ocean, peppering it with ominous creatures who watch our every move.
Dread drags through my chest as I start to speak.
“I take it back, let’s get to the castle.”
In a flash, Ryder’s magic mingles with mine, ripping me away from the dangerous shores of Juvar.
Chapter Sixteen
The Eminence
Our boots trail over the soot staining the large tiles. The silence of the city consumes the castle as well. Our steps echo through the empty halls.
The memory of how angry I was when we first arrived here skims through my mind.
That anger isn’t in me anymore. I can’t imagine being that angry with any of them now. I love them. I’d do anything for them.
Even die for them …
The gift of sacrifice.
Am I the sacrifice? Is that what the magic within me is?
My stomach dips, reminding me of the bigger life that I’m now responsible for. A helpless baby unknowingly depends on me.
A heavy sigh falls from my lips.
There’s too much responsibility.
The faster this is over the easier it will all be.
My fingers grip my sword and I unsheathe it in a quick movement.
Ryder pulls a sword from his belt as well. He holds it with casual confidence, reminding me of how skilled he is with a weapon.
We’re going to get through this. If anyone could win this war, it’d be the four of us.
And if we can’t do it … then the world’s fucked.
And it’ll no longer be my problem.
“Where should we even be looking?” My whisper crawls up the arching ceilings.
Ryder hesitates for only a moment.
“If it were me, I’d go to the roof. It overlooks the city. You’d be able to see all the way to the coast.”
I nod slowly. Without warning, I grip his hand and shudder us away.
He staggers when we land but doesn’t fall.
“Okay, you’ve proved your point. I get it.”
I almost smirk at his words.
“Good.”
I stalk across the damp concrete. Strong winds pull at my long hair and I curse myself for not tying it back.
“He’s not here.” Her voice is more of a sob than anything.
I turn toward the small sound of it.
The king’s wife stands with her shoulders hunched, her arms wrapped around herself.
Her gaze takes in my appearance as I take in hers. Bruises line her eyes heavily and one is swollen shut. The cut slicing through her lip is puffy and deep.
She’s a painful sight to look at. Her once beautiful, glossy hair is knotted around her harsh features.
Ryder shifts at my side.
None of this would have happened if Ryder hadn’t wanted a small amount of revenge on his step brother.
He wouldn’t have been caught trying to meet this woman, he wouldn’t have been imprisoned, and … I would have never met them.
We all would have lived out simple lives. Simple and easy, but awful lives.
Alone.
I almost want to thank her for sinking her claws into Ryder.
“He’s hiding.”
Those words catch my attention.
“He’s hiding?” Ryder echoes.
“Where?” I take a single step closer to her and she flinches away from me.
Her head turns toward the sea, the wind blows her messy hair back to reveal dark lines around her throat. My attention lingers there on the violent mark against her skin. Pain shoots through my tightly clenched jaw when I force myself to look away.
The sky is a billowing hue of ominous colors behind her.
“There.” She points to the few ships lining the coast. “He’s waiting for your arrival. He’s waiting to destroy you before you even arrive.” Three large ships rock against the shore. They’re nothing but shadows of details from up here.
A wary feeling tingles down my neck.
What if she’s lying?
What if this is all a trap?
But really, what would she have to gain by lying to us? Tristan seems to have caused her more pain than any one person should ever feel in their life.
And yet she stays.
I don’t know if she’s lying or not.
“I’ll come back for you.” I take another step closer to her until my boots are skimming against the dirty ends of her long dress. “If you’re telling the truth, I’ll come back to save you.” Her head tips up to me, trying hard to see my features through her swollen eyes. “But if you’re lying,” my words are spoken carefully and with dark meaning, “just know that I’ll still come back for you. But it won’t be to save you.”
“I—I, I’m not lying.”
My gaze trails over the fearful tremble of her lower lip.
I walk slowly away from her. When I’m close enough, Ryder slips his hand into mine. It’s a reassuring and strong feeling of readiness.
I hold my gaze on the tears that fall from her bloodshot eyes. Her sadness and fear push right into me even after Ryder pulls us away.
We land quietly on one of three ships. In a chance of magic, we land right before the king of Juvar. It’s as if we were drawn to him. It’s as if Ryder’s magic was somehow linked to this man’s magic.
And here we stand. Looking up at the one person we’ve been searching for.
Lucky us.
The sharp angles of his face look down on me with manic interest. A wild look is blazing in his eyes as a smile slashes across his lips.
I had forgotten how terrifying his happiness is.
“Do you know my brother once took something that belonged to me?” Tristan’s words are spoken slowly, and with every passing second, I notice that the nix within the waters wade closer to us. A
few mortals fight off the nix terrorizing the coast line. Not many, only a dozen, and none of them are winning. The nix slice their talons right through the men, feeding off of the fallen in growing herds.
I nod slowly to Tristan, my grip tightening on the hilt of my sword.
“Do you think it’d be fair for me to take something from him in return?” With speed so fast I don’t even see it, he slams his body into mine.
The air is knocked from my lungs. I blink back the stars of pain and slam my sword hard through his abdomen. His body tenses over mine, his weight held above me.
Another wide smile slashes across his face as his magic shakes off of him and through me.
“You’re really not nearly as smart as I thought you’d be.”
Fury fumes through me and I shudder away from him.
I land on the shore, my boots stomping through the gray foam as I stumble back from the ship. The frames of the ships creak with every passing wave that pushes and pulls against them.
With flashing speed, he stands before me. Nix climb with clawing limbs from the waters. Their quiet cries grow into a building sound of terror. I can’t bring myself to look back at the mortals dying behind me.
Tristan looks slowly down at my blade lodged in his side. With a jarring move, he rips it from his flesh. The fire of the city flashes across the clean blade as he studies it.
His pale eyes blaze with power and vengeance and dark magic as he brings his attention back to me.
“I knew you’d bring us our salvation, Miss Storm. I just didn’t realize it would be me.” He tosses the blade to the rocks and it lands with a clattering sound. Magic like a blazing ember lights his palm. The light grows brighter and brighter with every passing second.
With raw power shaking through his hand, his eyes aglow with rage and annihilation, he’s every bit the Eminence Ryder warned me about all that time ago.
And he isn’t here to restore our world to the beauty it once was.
Ryder approaches quietly behind his step brother. Closer and closer he comes.
“I wanted you here for a reason, Miss Storm.” Tristan’s words are deliberate. As if he’s thought about this moment for a long time. “I’ve recently done a little research on Tomas Storm’s only daughter. My mother didn’t deserve to die. Especially not by the hands of a piece of fae trash like you.” The magic he’s holding burns with vengeance, becoming so intense I can feel the power of it in my own chest. His eyes meet mine, his lips pursed into a thin line. “I think it’s only fair that you feel how I felt. I want you to feel that feeling of hopelessness.” His words drill into me, setting a peculiar frenzy of fear through me. “I know you’ll feel that hopelessness when I take Celeste’s life.”
My lips part, and as my legs lunge toward him, as Ryder’s hands fist his brother’s shirt, as the nix leap from the sea;
Tristan shudders out of our reach in the blink of an eye.
Chapter Seventeen
Deadly Magic
The thin dragon leather protects my upper body, holding back the sharp attacks of the creatures. But it only covers me so much.
The talons of the nix’s claws rip through the flesh of my bare shoulder but I don’t feel it. I don’t wait for Ryder as I trail after the King of Juvar. I land in the living room of Saint’s Inn with the creature still attached to my back. I don’t think twice before pulling at its spindly limb. I jerk it to the floor and my flesh tears away beneath its claws. With reckless power and anxious movements, I grab the wine bottle. It shatters against the nix’s face as I slam it into its snarling mouth. My muscles are tense and jerking as I quickly slice the edge of the bottle across the creature’s neck. Its screams drift off into silence. I storm away from the nix without looking back at it.
“Celeste.” I yell her name through the house. My voice carries all through it. Through the glossy windows I spot Daxdyn and Darrio passing out weapons and dragon leathers to our men. I barely even think about the soldiers outside.
“Celeste.” My screams are a shrieking cry. My heart pounds harder with every passing second.
Rapid steps pound against the floorboards when I storm up the stairs.
If anything happens, go to the cellar.
I halt in my tracks, remembering what I told her less than twenty-four hours ago.
I take the stairs several at a time. I race to the one place I promised her she’d be safe.
When I swing open the door, I know he’s here. Crimson magic glows at the bottom of the stairs. The wood creaks beneath my steps as I stalk closer to him. The color of his magic is the only light. It fumes over his features in dark shadows and eerie blood red colors.
His palm is held tightly over my aunt’s mouth. No tears stream down her beautiful face. She looks furious as he holds her tightly to his chest.
She’s never been intimidated by men.
Not even by the Eminence, apparently.
“She made a good show of running from me. You’d have been so proud.”
Another creaking step brings me just a few feet from him.
“Release her and you can have me.”
Laughter shakes through him, curving the angles of his face into a look of terrifying happiness.
“I don’t know how many times I can say this; I don’t want you anymore, Miss Storm.” The light in his hand blazes into so much power it makes my breath catch in my lungs. “All I want now is to watch you suffer. I’m going to take everything you love and I’m going to destroy it. And then, I’m going to rule over the seven realms. I’m going to rule over your entire life. And I want you to see what we could have been together.”
The fire magic within me stings through my palms as I try to find the best way to harm him without burning my aunt and this whole fucking house to the ground.
“But for right now,” his hand rises and I leap for him. The crimson magic slams hard into her chest. “I want you to suffer.”
I slam into him but my eyes are held on Celeste as she slumps to the floor. The crimson color glows through her body, emanating from her chest until it fumes all through her shoulders and legs. It consumes her entirely.
A quiet sound of pain leaves her lips on an empty breath. Her eyes hold mine and I know the moment the life leaves her body. A glossy look fills her gaze and the crimson color drains from her.
My palms are against her unseen wound. I shove at the magic within me, trying to find the healing powers that I know every fae possesses.
Warm energy shakes through me. I feel it. I know it’s what I need. I know it’s the magic that could save her.
But it doesn’t.
The bright white magic that pushes from my palms simply dissolves into her slacken body.
I release it, but it never absorbs.
She’s gone. Several moments pass like that. When I jerk my hands away, a charred and decaying texture starts to burn across her body, leaving a corpse behind.
A startling breath rips from my lungs. Moisture burns my eyes as I stare at her.
Darrio and Dax’s voice sound far off in my thoughts as they enter the house above us.
“The nix should be tearing up the coast by now. I really should greet them properly.” Tristan’s words are an empty sound within my mind.
Pain strikes through my chest, pushing sorrow all through me.
But another feeling is stronger.
Rage shakes through me and as he walks past me, I grip his slender leg. I jerk hard until his palms hit the gritty floor. With fuming anger and burning magic, I jump on him. My knees hit the floor and I waste no time slamming his head into the concrete. Power like I’ve never felt tears through me. As I slam his head to the floor for the second time, fire blazes from my palms. It strikes across his jaw and up his face. The smell of burning flesh fills the small cellar and I can’t seem to stop the fire from pouring from my veins.
His shrieks echo around the room until they stop abruptly.
In the blink of an eye, he’s gone. He’s shuddered away f
rom me once again.
The fire halts in an instant and I waste no time storming up the stairs. I push past Darrio and Daxdyn. My feet are stomping across the dirt outside as quickly as my legs will carry me.
Nefarious breathes out a happy puff of air. I stroke his scales without thought. It’s as if I’m having a silent pep talk with the creature. His silver eyes shine my reflection back at me. My hair is a tangled mess. Ash and blood stain my face.
But I don’t see any of it.
All I see are her empty eyes staring back at me in my mind.
I feel Daxdyn behind me. I feel his tension and apprehension and anger all rolled up into a suffocating ball of energy.
“I want you two to take Nefarious to the shore. Our men are already there.” Probably fighting a losing battle. I keep that awful thought to myself. “I want you guys to guide him across the sea and have him torch those fucking creatures before they even make it to the coast.”
“That’s a one person job. Dax can manage. Let me help you.” Darrio’s reasonable statement sets me further on edge.
He dies saving you.
I can’t stand the thought of another person dying because of me.
It isn’t fair.
“No.” And without another word, I shudder away from them.
The coast is in chaos. Blood and bodies litter the ground. Nix slash through mortals. Their talons tear right through them. The fae aren’t much better. Their magic lights up the darkness, striking through it with bloody power. I catch a glimpse of Ryder as he shudders in, surprising a group of nix right before he slices through them with my very own sword.
A warm feeling flutters through me as I realize he didn’t let me leave the weapon behind in Juvar. It’s a short-lived feeling of affection.
Streven shudders in at my side just in time to clench a nix by its throat. The creature’s talons reach out for my face, whipping past my nose by mere centimeters.
Streven slams the creature to the ground and uses the heel of his boot to silence its cries. I turn my head toward him, and for a second, I consider thanking him.
And then I realize he’ll never make my aunt smile again. I liked him for making her smile. Her smile’s gone and neither of us will ever see it again.
His brows lower with a look of confusion as he stares at my empty expression.