She backed into her chamber. “Malex is lying to you!” she whispered urgently.
My hand gripping the glass, I pulled back my hand, ready to throw it to the ground.
“Phillip didn’t turn into a faery after drinking the ‘blood’ Malex gave him,” she said hurriedly. “Actually, nothing happened. It was tinted sorghum. Nothing more.”
I paused with the potion raised above my head. Tinted sorghum? “Why would he lie?” I asked, suspicious.
She rolled her eyes at me and threw up her hands. “Because he wanted Phillip to die.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re lying. Malex has only ever helped me, whereas you... You’ve always destroyed everything I held dear, and now you’re terrified I’m going to destroy you.”
“Ask him yourself,” she said, motioning to her wardrobe. The doors parted and Phillip stepped out.
He raised his hands to calm me, but there was no mistaking that he’d been healed. Phillip was well. Tears teased at the corners of my eyes. “You’re okay?” I asked incredulously. He was more than okay. There was color in his cheeks. He looked strong and solid and perfect, and for a shaky minute I thought she’d killed him and was bringing him to me in another of our sleep walks.
“I’m fine. Aura healed me.”
I ran to him, felt the scruff of his jaw, and ran my hands over his chest and back, brushing my thumb across his lips.
“It’s really you. I’m not dreaming,” I exclaimed, tears in my eyes.
He shook his head in wonder. “I can’t believe you’re awake during the day! And Aura’s telling the truth. She healed me, and Malex is a liar.”
“Why did you do it?” I asked my sister, questioning her motives.
“Purely as a measure of good faith,” she clarified. “But just so you know, I think Malex is behind all of this. Think about it, Luna. Someone sent William here. Even Phillip said he wouldn’t have just ridden off to Virosa without letting someone from Grithim know where he was going. He was responsible, smart. If he’d been glamoured and sent here, though... Well, it would explain a lot of things. Phillip only came here because someone told him William was here, and I think Malex orchestrated all of it.”
A slow clap came from the doorway. All three of us whirled around to see Malex leaning against the door jamb.
“So nice of you to try to pin all of this on me, Aura of Virosa. Has this been your plan all along? To throw suspicion away from yourself long enough to make Luna hesitate, so that your dagger can pierce her? I’ll bet you mean to take her power for yourself, too.”
My eyes snapped to Aura. Was that her game?
“You can’t honestly take this faery’s word over mine!” White-hot rage burned across Aura’s features and she turned it upon Malex. “I can’t take her powers,” she seethed.
He stood up straight. “But you can. Once your bond is severed, and one of you dies, the surviving princess will inherit the powers of the fallen one.”
“And I bet,” Phillip interjected, “that anyone who happens to be around to kill the survivor will gain the powers of both. Right, fae Prince? Isn’t that why you’re here? You know what’s interesting, is that I’ve never seen you work magic. You order Luna around, you know ingredients and spells, and yet she’s the one doing all the work. Is it because you’re powerless?” he asked harshly. “And desperate?”
Malex growled and stalked toward Phillip. “I should have had her cut your tongue out.”
I felt as if someone punched me in the gut. “It’s true,” I breathed out, tucking the vial back into the pocket inside my doublet. Malex lied! It wasn’t his anger that was his tell, it was the way he raked his teeth over his top lip, the way his hands flexed at his sides. He wanted to kill Phillip right where he stood, which meant that Phillip hadn’t just insulted him, he’d struck a nerve. “You want our powers,” I said slowly. “But why?”
Malex smiled wickedly. “Because they aren’t yours. They’re mine. You took them from me the night you were born.”
chapter twenty-five
MALEX
I shrugged off my coat and rolled up my sleeves. My words had rendered both of the witches speechless. “You half-fae, witch abominations are my bastards.” I paused a few moments to let the words sink in. “When I sired you, my powers—all of them—were somehow transferred to you, divided equally. I lost every ounce of magic I had, and for years I was so weak, so... mortal, I couldn’t do anything about it. When I came to get them back, you were naught but girls, but you were already wielding the elements and could have easily killed me. I saw that you were loyal to one another, and knew there was only one thing that could tear two women apart: a man. When I met William of Grithim, I knew he was the one who could do it.”
And he almost succeeded, I thought.
“He wanted Virosa. He thought it was a wasted kingdom after I told him it belonged to two half-fae witches. Did you know his hatred of the fae ran so deep? He hated me as well, but he was willing to overlook our differences to get the information I had to offer on the pair of you. He was the one who came up with the plan to wedge himself between you; wooing you both at once and then turning you against each other. I didn’t even have to suggest it. He did a good job, but Phillip was something else entirely. William made a fissure, but I was certain Phillip would cleave the pair of you in two. Aura would hate the younger prince because she knew what his brother truly was, and Luna would defend him because she loved his brother and didn’t know about William’s true intentions. But, alas, nothing has worked the way I planned for it to, and now I’m tired of waiting. So if you don’t mind, I need you to give my powers back.”
Luna scrubbed at my mark on her neck. “You kissed me, you sick, dirty—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, little one, if you want your precious Phillip to live.” I might not have power, but I did have superior reflexes and a dagger at his side in no time. Phillip tensed, his jaw ticking back and forth. I pushed the blade into his tunic, tearing through the fabric and pushing the tip against his skin. He sucked in a breath. “The blade is coated in poison. The same kind I gave your familiar, Luna.”
“You poisoned Ember?” she exclaimed, her eyes on my blade.
To Phillip I whispered, “Help me, and I’ll bring your brother back from the grave. You and he can return to Grithim as heroes, having slain the twin fae witches who’d held you hostage for so long.”
Phillip’s teeth were going to grind to dust, the way he worked them back and forth. “My brother is dead,” he panted.
Elbow around his neck, I wrenched him backward. “Perhaps you don’t understand, Prince. You see, with my powers restored, he doesn’t have to remain so.”
He shook his head. “He wouldn’t be the same.”
I smiled. He had me there. No, if I brought William back, he would not be the same. He’d be much better, or worse, depending on the way you looked at it. He would be a fury upon the earth, and no human would be safe from him.
Luna and Aura looked at each other. I could tell they were about to combine forces and blast their anger upon me, but their bond needed to be broken today, during the eclipse. I walked Phillip toward the balcony. He walked stiffly, trying to keep my blade from piercing his skin.
“The first thing you two girls should’ve been taught is not to let a man come between you. You’re sisters first.”
Aura glanced furtively at Luna, but Luna’s eyes were fixed on my dagger.
I threw the attention back toward Aura. “You’ve done well. I love the rose garden. Excellent fertilizer, daughter.”
And then I threw Phillip over the balcony’s rail.
“No!” Luna screamed, instantly calling her wind power. She rushed to the rail, and while she was busy calling the wind to catch her lover, I grabbed her neck.
A thump and an Oof! came from the ground. Phillip groaned, but unfortunately, that meant he was still alive.
“Phillip!” Luna yelled, clawing to get to him even as I held the dagger to he
r neck. With my free hand, I reached into her doublet, scrambling toward the inner pocket to retrieve the potion. She stilled when my blade sliced into her flesh.
I yanked her hair back and she sat up on her knees. “Throw it at Aura,” I demanded.
“No,” she gritted.
I pushed the vial in her hand and twisted her hair. “Throw it!”
“I won’t,” she seethed.
“I’ll torture you both until one of you does,” I promised, whispering into her ear. In response, she tried to burn me with her palms. Little bitch. I had to weaken her.
I cut her throat deep enough so that her blood poured onto the balcony and dripped off to the ground below. She choked, blood gurgling in her throat.
Aura bellowed and ran toward her sister, hands poised and ready to blast me with water or call for the earth to help her. She had been blessed with the two weakest of the four elements. I used my fingers to swipe clean my blade, grabbed the tip, and threw it. The dagger found its mark, embedding into her sternum.
Both of the girls lay in a heap at my feet. Luna clutched the small bottle protectively. They would heal soon enough, but they would die a hundred deaths tonight if they kept testing me, each more painful than the last. I crouched between them.
“You’re both as stubborn as your mother was. She didn’t want me, you know. But she made a promise to me, and my magic sealed the vow. Just as yours has sealed your promises, Luna.”
Aura groaned and tried to push herself up, but fell down again. Her weight drove the blade further into her bone.
I waited until Luna pushed her upper body off the ground, her arms quivering with exhaustion. “You promised me a favor,” I reminded her. “I want you to throw the potion and break the glass in front of your sister’s face.”
She panted against the magic that pulled at her to honor our agreement. The stubborn witch wouldn’t yield, not even to her magic. It had to be painful, but maybe that was what she needed, to be broken. “I think you need more encouragement,” I added venomously.
Pulling her head back by her hair, the wound at her throat reopened. “Have you ever had your spine severed?” I asked conversationally. “It’s an interesting feeling. Excruciating. So many nerves in that area.”
I shoved my dagger into her spine at the top of her back. It got lodged between her vertebrae, and the sound it made when I wrenched it free even turned my stomach for a moment. Luna’s mouth was open in a soundless scream, but when she finally found her voice, it was music to my ears. She bellowed in agony, her legs going slack. I dropped her at my feet.
Aura rolled to her back and began to ease my blade out of her chest, her face wrinkled in pain. “It’s better to pull it out quickly,” I offered. “It’ll hurt, but not as long,” I said, smiling. Her fingers shook violently as she tried to hold the handle.
“Luna,” she said, her voice trembling.
Luna still couldn’t move.
“Luna?” Aura said louder.
Luna groaned in response. Bloody saliva trickled from her mouth onto the stones beneath her face, the ones already slick with her blood.
“You have to get up!” Aura cried, finally yanking the dagger out with a hollow sound. She breathed deeply as her magic began to heal her body. “Luna,” she croaked, crawling toward her sister, checking to see that the potion was still clutched in her hand.
Aura looked up at me. “Can I throw it?”
“She agreed to the blind favor. I’m calling it in. She sealed the deal we made with her magic. It will force her to uphold her end of our bargain.”
“She couldn’t have known you’d ask for this.”
“It doesn’t matter what I would have asked for: her first-born child, her soul, one of her extremities. Any of these, she would have to give to me – willingly – or she won’t be able to use her magic until she does.”
I saw the realization sweep over Aura. She and Luna couldn’t fight Malex unless and until Luna separated them.
“I’ll give you a moment to speak with your sister.”
But I would stay close. I’d need to kill them quickly once they were separated. The only way to get my power back was to end them during the eclipse.
AURA
Malex hovered nearby. A moment, my ass.
“Luna, get up.” I tried to help her sit up, but she crumpled. My wound sent lightning bolts of pain through my chest and arms. “You have to throw the potion.”
“No,” she muttered.
“Why not?”
“Can’t let…him win,” she panted.
I pulled her head up and put it on my chest, holding her like I used to when we were children and fire accidentally sprang out of her fingers and ignited the hanging laundry. She was afraid of herself, and afraid that people would call for her head. I would shush her and tell her that they’d have to come through me to get to her. It wasn’t much, but we always had each other.
Whispering in her ear, I told her, “We will be separated, but we’ll heal. You’ll heal and we can both still fight. Together.”
“Why?” she cried, her tears soaking my gown.
“Because we’re sisters.”
I sniffled, my eyes welling up just thinking about the pain she was in. “It’s his fault. He sent William, and then Phillip, to come between us and tear us apart. I mean, I admit I orchestrated a few things – dense fog and a beautiful stag near a cliff – and sent Phillip to you because I thought you were messing with me, but it worked out well,” I whispered. “You seem to like him, right?”
Luna nodded against me.
“Then let’s kick his ass.” I watched as Luna’s lips curled up at the ends.
“Well, isn’t this endearing?” Malex smarted.
“We have to be fast.” I warned.
I tilted her head until her eyes met mine. We could do this. “Get ready,” I whispered. “As soon as you do it, he’s going to attack immediately.”
With great effort, Luna uncorked the small bottle, held it to my nose, and I breathed it in. I felt the line between us break, like a rope holding on by frayed fibers that couldn’t stand the tension any longer. One moment we were attached, and the next, we were separate. Alone.
Luna sat up, her magic making her whole, but she needed more time to heal completely. He knew what kind of wound to inflict, the one that would take the longest time to heal.
I glanced up, noting that the sun was half-covered. We were running out of time. We had to kill him before the eclipse was over, or else slumber would claim Luna again. I would be left to fight Malex on my own, and Luna would be vulnerable to his attack.
“Luna, get up,” I whispered. “We have to fight him. We aren’t bound, but we can still fight!” I yelled, blasting Malex with a plume of water, shooting into his mouth. He turned his head, but I twisted the water into a globe of water that filled his lungs. Fae might be immortal, but this one had no other power. Malex admitted he was weak, almost mortal. It made me wonder how mortal he actually was without his magic.
Mortal enough to die, I hoped.
I called for my roses. Thorny vines wrapped around his wrists and ankles, holding him in place. Binding him. This was only a temporary measure, as I knew he would be able to break free. He lacked elemental power, but he more than made up for it in determination, strength, and cunning.
“I’m weakening, Luna. The moon has almost eclipsed the sun. Please!” I shouted. “Help me.”
Luna pushed herself up and took a steadying breath. “I’m not sure I can do this.”
“We have to do it all at once,” I pleaded. “All the elements together. Can you try?”
She nodded.
“Good. Carry us to the ground.”
“But Phillip is down there,” she argued.
“Farther, then. Take us into the garden.”
“I have to let his arms and legs go. Blast his dagger away,” I told her. It seemed he had a never-ending supply of blades. When he lost one, embedding it into my sternum, for instance,
he just grabbed another from somewhere on his person.
Luna sent a gust forceful enough to open his hand, and the dagger plunged into the earth below. Then she called another, larger gust that took the three of us to the center of my garden. Malex had been waiting, and in that time, plotting. My water died out, my power waned. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that the sun was being blocked, or the fact that my sister and I weren’t bound. Did we draw more power from each other than we did individually? Her wind held him for a moment longer, and then she sent a fiery wall to separate him from us. When Phillip cried out for her from behind us, she lost her focus.
Damn him for loving her.
From behind the inferno, Malex was ready with another dagger.
He gripped the tip.
Aimed at Luna’s back.
And threw.
But I was faster.
I threw myself in front of Luna instead.
When the blade pierced my heart, I stared up at him, mouth agape, panting with disbelief, numb for a moment.
All I could see was our father with his face contorted in hatred and rage. I’d seen those things in me.
But now they were gone. Released.
“Aura!” my sister screamed, catching me as I fell.
I looked at Luna. “Take my power,” I said, grabbing her hand and forcing every ounce of power I had into her. “You were born to kill him. Make me proud.” I coughed, blood spraying all over my pretty gown. Lightning crackled between our palms as my power flooded into my sister’s flesh, and she was blown back by the magical wave that crashed into her.
I fell backward, the warm earth embracing me, and stared at Mother Sun, who was almost gone. Just like me.
And then she winked brightly and disappeared altogether.
Crickets sang out. An eerie feeling stretched over the earth. My breath weakened and then finally... I felt peace. At last.
The sun in the sky was completely covered by the moon, bathing the world in complete darkness. My soul smiled, knowing what beast was unleashed in the night.
chapter twenty-six
Savage Beauty Page 19