The Fall Of The King (Lightness Saga Book 3)

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “How long is ‘a time’?”

  “Last time I used it was when West tossed me off a cliff into the ocean. But it lasted only for a couple of minutes. I don’t know how long it actually lasts.”

  “Great. Sounds exciting.” I never liked going into situations where I didn’t know the outcome, but because of my weeks with Fionna I had been getting used to taking things as they came.

  Fionna finished her spell and dipped below the water.

  I took a last breath and dunked my head after her. Here we go. Panic immediately made the demon jump up and down. I didn’t want to breathe in, fearing I’d fill my lungs with water.

  “Relax.” Fionna grabbed my arms, popping my eyes open. Light from the surface broke in, her face glistening as her hair billowed around her. I could see a thin bubble around her head. “Take a breath.”

  Inhaling through my nose, I found oxygen readily entering my lungs. “Impressive.”

  “A Druid trick.” She grinned smugly, knowing no fae had magic similar to that. Either you were born to breath underwater or you weren’t. We could not change our stripes.

  She clicked on her flashlight and began to swim down into the darkness. I couldn’t fight the tightening in my gut, the bad feeling descending as I followed her down. I was aware enough to know obtaining the treasures came with costs, to those who had obtained them for me and even for myself. But it had not been enough to stop me from perusing them.

  Nothing else had meant enough to me to stop. I could no longer say that.

  Her beam of light went down for about twenty feet before the bottom of the rocky lagoon could be made out.

  “Do you feel it?” I swam up next to her, clutching one of the boulders.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “It is happy I’m here. It’s been waiting a long time.”

  Fuck you, cauldron. I’ve been waiting a long time for her too. The thought rushed through my mind.

  “It just said too bad.” Fionna wiggled her head with confusion. “I don’t know what it means.”

  Shit. Had it heard me?

  Fionna’s head jerked to mine, her eyes wide. “It said yes, it can hear you. It understands your intentions and will fight you. What does it mean, Lars? What are you planning?”

  Fantastic. Like the Stone of Fáil, the cauldron could penetrate your thoughts as well. Get into you head.

  “Nothing.”

  “It just called you a liar.” Fionna pressed her mouth together. “I thought we went through this. For once you have no say in something. Deal with it.”

  I won’t just let you have her, I said to the cauldron, not responding to Fionna.

  Yes. You will. A voice stirred in my brain. Ancient, old, and genderless. You are not supposed to be here. This is not your fate.

  I tried to empty my head of thoughts, of anything past the present moment.

  “How do we get it?” I asked.

  “Give me the knife.” She pointed to my boot.

  “Why?” My hand went to it, blocking it from her reach. “What are you going to do with it?”

  “Lars, don’t make this more difficult.” She frowned, holding out her hand. It was the same knife she stole from Travil. The one we used in the blood ritual. Now it would be used in another blood sacrament. “It needs a taste of my blood.”

  I stared at her.

  “Do not make me put a spell on you.” Annoyance flashed in her eyes. “Because I will if I have to.”

  “Fionn—”

  She shoved at my hand, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the knife, which she ripped from my shoe. She didn’t even hesitate before she sliced at her wrists. Red blood wafted out from her wounds, like smoke clouds, mixing with the water until only tendrils remained.

  Ever muscle in my body tensed with anticipation and fear. Waiting for what was to come brought a slow agony. The beat of my heart thumped away the seconds.

  A glow began to surround Fionna so softly at first I thought I was imagining it. But it continued to grow, as did the pressure of magic throbbing against my skin. The more blood poured from her, the brighter the light became.

  The cauldron was siphoning her energy the same as a battery did, taking for its own. A blood sacrifice was some of the most powerful magic you could create, especially self-sacrifice.

  Fionna bent over, a cry tearing from her lips, the magic growing, pounding down on us, pinning me in place and burrowing painfully into my bones. Her blood continued to pour from her arms, hazing the water. Her expression twisted with pain, and a sob parted her trembling lips.

  Stop this! My demon screamed at me. You can’t let this happen. You can’t let her die. She’s ours!

  I felt my teeth grow, tearing at my bottom lip as I growled. Anger staked between my shoulder blades. “No,” I rumbled, trying to move closer to her.

  It happened instantly, as if Rimmon had barreled into me. Magic slammed into my chest, rolling me back through the water, zapping my muscles with blistering hot lava. I roared, the agony shredding every nerve.

  Leave her be, demon. This is her fate.

  “No,” I spat back, my fingers digging into the gravelly bed of the pool, trying to move to her. Energy pinned me down.

  She must sacrifice because fae couldn’t leave us alone. You lust to be the most powerful in the world. This is why she is going to die. I would not have to censor the Stone of Fáil if you let us be. But now I feel it is out there. My destiny is to go to it. All you have to blame is yourself.

  The truth of its words constricted my chest, but I had no time to repent or feel guilty. Fionna was dying before my eyes, her body limp and falling into the rocks, the cauldron taking more of her life every second. The glow around her pulsed but was now dimming quickly. If it went dark, would Fionna be dead?

  “Fuck off.” Pain shot up my fingertips and my legs as I shoved against the power holding me down. My muscles shook, only moving forward a few inches. My demon was frantic and crazed inside me as it tried to reach out for her. The cauldron kept a bubble of magic between us.

  The light around Fionna flickered, diminishing down to a nightlight’s brightness. The spell allowing us to breathe underwater thinned, permitting barely a trickle of air into my lungs while the energy of the magic was directed to a spot between the rocks, thriving with life and light.

  Panic squeezed my heart, ripping a cry from my throat while I dug deeper into the dirt with my toes.

  Your sacrifice for her, insignificant demon, will only make me stronger.

  I wasn’t insignificant or ordinary. I was one of the most powerful fae in the world, even with drained powers. I was the fucking High Demon King. No mixing bowl was going to take from me. Nothing and nobody took from me. Ever.

  The demon roared, shoving the man part of me to the back. My usual instinct was to fight it, to not let the demon take me over, but this time I let go, allowing it to fully consume me. Frivolous emotions fell away, allowing room only for complete and utter power and conviction. My sight sharpened on the Druid, her life barely humming around her. The demon bellowed, shaking the underwater cave, shoving itself into the magic keeping it away from the woman it loved.

  My magic is different, demon. You cannot beat me.

  Watch me. Energy exploded from me, wild and unrestricted, it held nothing back. Like a cannon, it barreled toward the light, slamming into it, breaking apart over the protective surface the cauldron held around itself. It swayed a little.

  The demon leaped for the barrier, grabbed the knife settled into the dirt next to Fionna’s body. Very little blood escaped from her wrists anymore. Her chest shuddered, then the light went out. The spell broke that allowed me to breathe, and water rushed into my mouth.

  The demon understood it could not fight the cauldron with brutal strength. It would have to surrender. Willingly. A selfless act for what it loved. The ultimate sacrifice.

  Fionna’s skin and blood still clung to the blade, but the demon didn’t even hesitate as it sliced my wrist, mixing our ess
ence together. Even the tiny bit of Fionna’s blood was life to me, taking her in as mine. If I breathed, she breathed. If she died, I died.

  The moment I felt her inside me, energy expanded around us, the pressure so intense, it crashed my bones into the rocks.

  Noooo! Do you realize what you just did? The cauldron’s voice filled my head with a cry before everything exploded, tossing my body up to the surface.

  Gasping for air, I breached the water, filling my lungs in great heaves.

  “Fionna?” I sputtered, hoping she had been pushed up as well. However, she was nowhere near me. Panic clawed at my chest as I tugged another pull of oxygen, diving below the surface. My lids blinking through the murk, the light from the cauldron was gone, making it almost impossible to see. But the farther I swam, I spotted a stream of light from the flashlight, letting me get my bearings.

  Fionna? I screamed her name in my head. Fionna!

  No voice or sound returned, but similar to a rope, the connection tugged me farther down, my arms cutting through the water, taking me right to her. The blood magic I’d created between us wouldn’t last for long. The intensity too much to keep up. She could still die if I didn’t reach her in time.

  Fuckfuckfuck.

  At the bottom, between two rocks, a metal object about the size of a large soup bowl lay on her chest, pinning her to the earth. Her face appeared colorless, her body lifeless.

  The cauldron, too, felt dead and lifeless, like an ordinary dish.

  Terror blurred all thoughts except getting to her. My arms swept around her form, seized her in my grip, the treasure tucked into her chest. I shoved off the ground, my legs frantic and kicking and my lungs already straining for more air.

  Like a missile, I headed straight up, not looking down at her. I couldn’t focus on anything but getting us above the line of water.

  Air.

  It was so close.

  Dots filled my vision, my lungs grappling. Aching. Demons were not meant to hold our breath for long. Water wasn’t our domain.

  Rez’s powers would have been extremely helpful right now. Her magic, which I ripped from her, was sitting in my vault waiting for the day it would be returned to her. It was her punishment for betraying me. For having an affair with another while still in my bed.

  It had been my fault. The moment Ember entered my life, Aisling had come with her, stirring up old emotions and feelings. I pushed Rez away. I didn’t love her. And she deserved more.

  The moment I started to think I deserved more as well... it was being taken from me. It didn’t stop the gut-wrenching terror at the thought of losing Fionna.

  With a last kick, my head broke through the surface. Wheezing for breath, I tossed her body up on the dirt with no grace or ease. She flopped on her back, the cauldron rolling off into the corner. I pulled myself out of the water and scrambled next to her body.

  We had been in a similar situation. During the blood ritual, she had put her life on the line for me, for my need to obtain the treasure. How could I not see then how unbelievable amazing and strong she was?

  My magic shoved into her as I tipped her head back, opening her mouth, feeling her neck.

  No pulse.

  No. I cannot be too late.

  My palms slammed down into her chest, pumping, before I covered her mouth with mine, trying to fill her lungs. I resembled a robot working methodically. Over and over again.

  “Fionna. Please.” The words came pleading out of me. Every second she didn’t respond stripped the demon of its shell. Very little was holding it back. Fury stacked like blocks, ready to tumble down and crush everything in sight. “You will not die.”

  I pressed at her chest again, peering down at her unresponsive and ashen face. She was so beautiful. Once full of life. Stubborn and obstinate, challenging me every step of the way.

  “No.” I curled over her. “You’re supposed to fight. For Piper. For me,” I spat through my teeth. “You are not giving up.” I would not take death for an answer. The vision never counted on me. I would not let it win.

  With every ounce of energy I had left, I blasted into her body, trying to jump start her heart.

  No reaction. No pulse.

  She was gone.

  My head fell back, screams tearing out of my throat, the demon thundering through me. Like a slow crack of ice, the demon splintered away from the man, my howls shaking lose debris off the walls. Brutal wrath gripped my chest.

  I was rage.

  Cruelty.

  Pitiless.

  I was adrift with no anchor.

  All my anger and pain zapped down my arms, needing to get out of the small cage of my body. As though a sonic blast went off in the cave, energy rammed everything in its path. Large chunks of rock and earth tumbled down, crashing and breaking over each other.

  Mirroring what I felt inside.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Fionna

  My lashes flung open as water hurled up my throat. My body fought to purge and inhale at the same time. Hacking coughs shredded my chest as my body twisted, vomiting onto the ground.

  I was alive. I shouldn’t be. I had sacrificed myself for the cauldron.

  Spewing out the last bits of water, my stomach and lungs spasmed from the assault. Inhaling slow and evenly, the burn eased as I muttered the paltriest of healing spells, the best I could manage.

  His presence hovered over me, looming and heavy. I kept my gaze on the ground, my skin prickling with awareness.

  I had been in darkness, floating away to death, but he had come for me. I knew it was him, the feeling of his essence, the demon, surrounding my soul like a blanket, protecting me.

  A cry pierced through the darkness, charged with pain, grief, anger, and... love. It surged at my soul, flinging me back to my body. To him.

  Olwyn was the only one I let myself love after losing my parents. I didn’t give myself a chance to love Piper when she was first born. I couldn’t afford to. That kind of love was so deep, pure, and unconditional, it would have broken me. The same fear came back with Lars. He could annihilate me.

  His silence was violent, mutely teeming down on me, coercing me to peer over my shoulder at him. He sat back on his heels, his face void of any emotion. His eyes were black.

  “Lars?”

  “Don’t,” he rumbled, motionless.

  “What’s wrong?” I scouted the cave, spotting the cauldron in the corner. No magic shifted off it. “What happened? What did you do to it?”

  “I broke it.” He rose and spun toward the opening of the cave. He halted at the entrance, his hand striking the wall, his chest moving violently as he breathed in and out.

  Tucking my feet underneath me, I hoisted myself slowly up, my muscles wobbly and my head light from the blood loss and lack of oxygen.

  “I’m sorry.” I walked over to him. “I know how much you wanted it. Maybe it just went quiet.”

  “Silence, Ms. Cathbad,” he growled, his voice clipped and formal.

  “Are you kidding me? Are we bac—?”

  Lars swung around, grabbing me by the shoulders, pushing me into the wall, his hand covering my lips.

  “I said I need a moment, Ms. Cathbad.” His black eyes reflecting me, his voice and expression strained. “The demon is fighting me right now. And I don’t give a damn about the cauldron.”

  I nodded, staring up at him, the brightness from outside striking his face in distinguishing soft and hard lines. He inhaled, a tint of green returning to his eyes, glinting in the light, his full lips pressed together tightly.

  Man.

  Monster.

  Both there, fighting for dominance.

  Shite, he was beautiful. Magnificent and frightening. Savage and refined. Brutal and gentle. He was everything and nothing. Lars could never be defined or put in a box. He just was.

  We stood silently, watching each other. He flattened his tense body into mine, his heat burrowing through my damp clothes. His frame encompassed mine, shielding me from
the world, my back digging into the rocky cave wall.

  There were so many reasons we should grab the cauldron and run. Get far away from Scotland. But all I could focus on was him. The demon. The man. The feel of him ghosting between my legs, reminding me how incredible he felt inside.

  I didn’t need a memory. Lars’s magnificence was pushed against my hip, my hormones tripping and flailing around like a drunk person. My breath struggled to wiggle out of my esophagus, a flush that unceremoniously climbed over my body, heating me in ways I had never experienced. This time it knew how he could make my body feel.

  Fear and desire fought for supremacy. I should have known he wasn’t someone you shagged and walked away from.

  He ruined.

  He took.

  He gave.

  He destroyed.

  And you would beg for more.

  Lars’s muscles constricted against me. His lids narrowed, his eyes drifting down to my mouth. No doubt he had picked up on my emotions. Coming so fast, they essentially shouted from every pour. I couldn’t hide from him anymore. Not since the moment outside. He was everywhere inside me, slipping into the darkest corners of my soul.

  “You saved me,” I whispered. “Again.”

  He didn’t say a word, his gaze penetrating and puncturing my lungs. My chest locked up, almost suffocating from the intensity, remembering how his lips felt on mine. Lars had kissed me.

  He seared himself like a brand through my veins. Now I understood. He was heroin. He was mine.

  He leaned farther into me, puréeing my brain into mush, stealing oxygen from me. His wet hair was wild, asking for my fingers to run through it. I loved his usual faultless appearance was rugged and unkempt.

  I could see the demon right at the surface, the wildness. Lars appeared to be trying to lock it back up. He didn’t seem to understand I was not scared of the demon. He had protected me, been with me.

  “I know we both said only once,” I breathed.

  “Fuck what we said.” A sound similar to a growl erupted from his throat, our breaths dancing together in a rapid rhythm. The intensity of the moment only increased the throbbing between my legs, my need rising like bread in the oven. His head tipped into mine, bringing our lips only centimeters a part. Logic and reason seeped out of my head as his breath tickled down my neck.