by Sadie Moss
Theron had stepped back from the railing a few paces, and he pivoted slowly to face Rain. He’d cut off the spell amplifying his voice, so I couldn’t hear what he was saying. But he gestured angrily. Rain shook his head, arms held out in a supplicating gesture.
Olene stepped forward from the line of Representatives, speaking urgently to Theron. The Secretary General nodded then turned toward Jonas, gesturing again toward Rain.
Thank the gods. They believed me.
They had to. They’d heard the truth themselves, seen the demented look in the mage’s eye as he ranted to my father. Seen the ball of pure magic he had pulled from another human being.
Relief flooded me as Rain shrank back from Theron. The Representatives may have been complicit in the violence and subjugation that followed the Great Death, but at least none of them were as evil as Rain. And now that they could no longer pin the blame for it on the Blighted, they would have to make reparations. They’d have to—
It happened so fast my mind didn’t process it until it was over.
One moment, Rain was stumbling away from a towering Theron, and the next, a thick bolt of electricity flew from his hands toward the Secretary General. It struck the white-haired man in the chest, and Theron stumbled backward. Another blast threw him against the balcony railing, and he pitched headfirst over the side, tumbling to the steps below.
The screams around me ceased like someone had hit the mute button.
I waited, stinging eyes held wide, for Theron to rise. To fight Rain, to order the guards to attack.
But he didn’t. His dark form on the palace steps didn’t even stir.
He was dead.
“How…?” My voice was hoarse, and my throat burned at the single word.
“No. It shouldn’t be possible,” Jae murmured slowly. “The Secretary General wears protection charms. Always.”
Rain raised his hands toward the other Representatives, the threat clear. The guards on the balcony had stepped forward, tense and alert, but nobody moved to attack him.
Fuck. Rain may not have performed the second magic pull yet, but he must have already begun testing the transfer of magic into a new host. And clearly, it had worked. The day we’d confronted him in the council room, his magic had seemed different, stronger somehow. I’d thought it was just because of his agitation, but I was wrong. He’d increased his powers.
Light danced around both of his outstretched hands, and I swore I could feel the electric charge in the air from yards away. Slowly, a translucent shield formed in a tight dome around him.
Then he spoke, and this time his raspy voice echoed out over the crowd, louder than Theron’s had been.
“Dominic Lockwood didn’t share my vision. Theron Stearns didn’t either. But I tell you now, my vision for the future is coming. And in that future, all defenders of pure magic will have a place of honor! They will be granted power beyond their wildest hopes. They will be the preservers of magic, and all who are without it will bow before them.” He swept his arm out, encompassing the crowd. “You all have a chance, right now, to join me and secure your place at my side. Or you can resist—and become Blighted yourselves.”
His booming voice died out, and in the brief silence that followed, my gasping breaths were all I could hear.
Then, slowly, Victor Kruger stepped up to Rain’s side. Nicholas Constantine followed, a wide grin splitting his face. A moment later, Jonas Nocturne stepped to his other side. A shocked cry escaped my lips, and Jae’s shoulders stiffened.
As soon as he came to a halt beside Rain, Jonas nodded to the guards surrounding them. Several of the uniformed officers shifted toward the remaining Representatives, their posture threatening. Either the guards were loyal to Jonas, or they’d decided to take Rain up on his offer. Or both.
“Oh shit.” Fen’s voice was low. “What do we do now?”
Before I could force my frozen lips to answer him, chaos erupted around us.
Chapter 12
Several bursts of magic flared to our right as a group of Gifted turned on the people around them. Screams filled the air again as those under attack fought back or dove for cover.
On the balcony, Olene moved. She threw her hand out like a whip, and several green balls of light flew forward and stuck to the translucent shield around Rain. A half-heartbeat later, they exploded, weakening his shield. She repeated the move once more before two demon guards grabbed her from behind, wrestling her back.
Rain let the shield drop entirely, but that only freed him up to attack. He raised both hands above his head, bolts of electricity sparking between them, just as Simon Gaunt turned tail and ran. The older man was halfway to the arched doorway in the palace wall when the lightning struck him in the back. It propelled him the rest of the way, sending his body hurtling into the doorframe. He hit the ground and didn’t get up.
Olene was putting up a valiant fight. The two guards who’d attacked her lay at her feet, and she stepped over their bodies to go after Rain again. The brown-haired mage shouted something to Jonas and jerked his head toward us. I swore his gaze found mine for a moment, even though it was impossible at this distance. But my stomach dropped anyway.
As Victor, Nicholas, and Rain battled against Olene and Eben, Jonas called the remaining guards to his side then leapt off the balcony. But they didn’t fall like Theron had. They dropped gently to the ground, slowed by a levitation spell on Jonas’s part.
When they landed next to the Secretary General’s prone body, none of them spared it a glance. Jonas descended the steps with a heavy stride, and it wasn’t until he and his posse of guards started to cross the street toward us that I shook myself out of my stupor.
“They’re coming for us! Rain must’ve given him orders to collect us. Or kill us.”
I stepped out of Akio and Fen’s supportive grasp, not pleased to find that my legs wobbled as I moved forward. The memory spell had fucked me up. My vision was no longer streaked with red, but I felt fuzzy and disoriented.
“We need to get out of here. Lana, you have the transport spell?” Jae turned worried eyes to me before glancing back at his father.
“Yeah.” I shook my head to clear it. “Yeah, here.”
I dug into my pocket for the small cylinder, dropping it on the ground at my feet.
“Lana! Watch out!”
Corin pulled me out of the way of a blast of ice that had gone wide of its target as two Gifted men traded blows nearby. My heart pounded in my chest as he righted me. Between the Gifted civilians around us and the posse of Representatives headed toward us, we were sitting ducks.
“Thanks,” I breathed, giving his arm a squeeze before turning back to where the transport charm lay.
Shit. Where was it?
My eyes scanned the ground, panic rising in my chest as I searched for a glimpse of the small object.
Jonas gestured, and a puff of purple smoke exploded several yards away. The transport spell. He’d levitated it away when I dropped it.
And now we had no way out of here.
As Jonas and the guards reached the palace’s front lawn, they fanned out into a curved line with the Minister of Justice front and center. Without breaking stride, he raised both hands, and two massive fireballs appeared above his palms. He made a slicing gesture, and an arc of fire flew toward us.
“Fuck!”
I dove out of the way, but not fast enough. The fire caught my shoulder, seeming to cut and burn at the same time. Pain flared, but I shook it off as I rolled and regained my feet.
Jae threw a ball of blue flame at his father, his beautiful face a mask as he attacked his own flesh and blood.
The blazing orange flame flashed again as Jonas hurled a blast to deflect the blue fire. As he did, the guards at his side splintered off, charging for us. Two shifted as they ran, leaping toward us as a tiger and a wolf.
Fen shifted in a burst of light. I followed suit, meeting the snapping jaws of the attacking wolf with my own sharp fangs. We broke away
and circled each other, and a thought occurred to me. Could I still do magic while I was in wolf form?
Summoning the power inside me, I called up a huge gust of wind, striking the wolf in the side. He staggered, and I pounced, my teeth ripping into vulnerable exposed fur. Blood flooded my mouth, the coppery taste urging on my animal instinct to fight. I tore my mouth away and leapt over the wolf’s still body, growling at a warlock who advanced on me.
But before I could attack him, a blade flew past me and sank into the man’s chest. Shock registered on his face even as he pitched sideways.
“Well done, kitten. You distract them with your fierce growl and I’ll kill them,” Akio drawled behind me, another knife already in his hand as he faced off with a red-skinned demon.
I huffed, licking blood from my muzzle. He shouldn’t be allowed to call me ‘kitten’ while I’m literally a wolf.
Ha! Fenris’s bark of laughter echoed in my head as he and the tiger circled each other. I’ll be sure to tell him that.
Before I could respond, the tiger leapt.
Fenris!
The two shifters rolled in a blur of orange and gray, powerful jaws snapping and claws bared.
I’ve got this, killer. Help Jae!
Shit. I swung my head around wildly. Corin and Akio were fighting the demon together, but Jonas kept throwing scorching arcs of fire their way, making them dive for cover. Jae tried to stop him, flinging blast after blast of blue flame. His father was good though. He blocked each attack, seeming to predict Jae’s movements almost before they came.
Of course he did. He was probably the one who’d taught Jae how to fight.
Not announcing my entrance into the melee, I threw my own fireball at the older mage. The smooth motion of his hands was interrupted as he jerked one arm up to block the attack, barely defending himself in time.
Jae shot me a grateful look, and the two of us pressed our advantage, driving Jonas back a few feet.
A sharp call rang out behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder.
My blood chilled.
The guards and Peacekeepers who’d been stationed at the edges of the palace grounds had finally reached us. Dozens of them now raced our way through the rapidly thinning crowd.
How had this many of them sided with Jonas? With Rain?
“Shit! Jae! We’ve gotta get out of here!”
A burst of light in my periphery called my attention back to Jae’s father. I didn’t turn in time to block his attack, but Jae threw a ball of fire to intercept it. The two magical flames collided so close to me I was blown off my feet. I landed flat on my back, the impact jarring my already shaky body.
Jae rushed over and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. My muscles and bones protested the quick movement, but I ignored them.
“I need you to hold off my father. Can you do it?” Jae was breathing heavily, his green eyes wide.
Unable to speak yet, I nodded.
“Good. Don’t try to take him down. Just keep him distracted for a few minutes. And be ready to run when I tell you.”
Jae’s words barely made sense to me. Run? Run where? We were surrounded by palace guards.
But I didn’t bother to question him further. Instead, I stepped forward and flung a dagger at Jonas. The sudden switch to a nonmagical attack caught him by surprise, and he was late with his block. The dagger struck him in the shoulder, making him howl in pain. The two balls of fire burning above his hands flickered out.
Unfortunately, even without the flames, he was far from helpless. He raised his good arm, and I was lifted off my feet, my body suddenly moving toward him.
Godsdamn it! The fucker stole my move!
I twisted and writhed, trying to slow my forward progress, but I had nothing to push against. I couldn’t resist the magic pulling me.
So I did the opposite. Conjuring a huge gust of wind behind me, I drew my dagger as I was propelled forward like a shot. I caught sight of Jonas’s wide eyes before I slammed into him, my blade sinking into his side.
Blood welled over my hand, and I felt his body jerk. He shoved me away, but I didn't fall backward. Instead, his levitation spell lifted me higher into the air before slamming me back down to the ground with a painful thud. Jonas repeated the action a few more times, lifting my body and beating it against the ground like a child taking out his aggression on his least favorite toy.
I tried to use my forearms to absorb the worst of the impact, but on the third rough landing, my cheek smacked painfully against the ground. Stars exploded in front of my eyes, and my brain felt like it was rattling around in my skull.
Finally, he let my body drop and didn’t pick me up again. There was no time to recover though. A half second later, a flash of light flew toward me. I rolled out of the way, and a fireball hit the earth where my prone form had just been, leaving a scorched black trail across the grass.
With one hand pressed to his bloody side, Jonas advanced on me. He threw another blast of fire. This time, I countered with my own, but the flame was weak, barely holding his at bay.
“Jae! Whatever you’re doing, do it faster!” My voice betrayed my panic, but I was beyond caring. This fight was about to end, and I wasn’t going to be the winner.
“Almost there….” Jae’s voice was strained.
Yellow light flared under the hand Jonas held to his abdomen. He was already healing himself.
Fucking great.
Jonas gestured with his other hand. My body slid toward him, dragging across the rough ground.
“Jae!” I scrabbled for purchase, uprooting chunks of grass as I slid by. But there was nothing solid to grab hold of.
“Now!”
At Jae’s shout, strong hands wrapped around my ankle, tugging me back. The spell still pulled me forward, but another set of hands joined the first, and my forward motion stopped. A potion sailed over my head, striking Jonas in the chest. He snarled as it began to eat through his once-pristine suit, sending up a trail of smoke as it devoured the fabric. When it reached his skin, his snarl turned into a roar of pain.
Corin pulled me backward, half dragging, half carrying me. I looked over my shoulder. Jae was crouched on the ground, his head bent low as he hovered his hands over a shimmering blue portal.
“Hurry… I can’t keep it open long,” he ground out.
Not hesitating, Corin and I leapt into the portal. The world spun in a stomach-wrenching way as we passed through the blue glow and “down” suddenly became “sideways.” We emerged from a portal in the wall of a house, landing roughly on our backs as our initial downward momentum shifted.
Corin rolled me out of the way in time to avoid getting crushed by Akio as the incubus came through after us. He somehow made the strange perspective shift look like nothing, landing gracefully on the floor in a crouch. Fenris sailed past him in wolf form and skidded to a stop on the beat-up hardwood. He shook out his gray fur as Akio crawled away from the portal and hauled me to my knees, patting me down roughly for injuries.
“What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve gotten yourself killed going after Jonas like that.”
I wasn’t badly injured, just bruised and exhausted, but I didn’t pull away from his touch. “Jae told me to distract him.”
Akio raised one perfect eyebrow, his hands still roaming my body. “Kitten, you and I need to have a serious discussion about what constitutes a distraction.”
Before I could respond, Jae appeared through the portal behind us. He hit the floor hard then twisted immediately, throwing a hand back toward the portal to close it.
Not a second too late.
A pair of legs in the blue and white uniform of a palace guard were halfway through the portal when it snapped shut. The two polished boots fell to the floor with a quick thud-thud. Bile rose in my throat, and I choked back my disgust. At least the wound looked like it’d been cauterized immediately, so there wasn’t a lot of blood. But still. Fucking gross.
“Holy shit! Jae, did you—?”
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My voice cut off.
Jae lay limp on the floor, his eyes closed.
His chest unmoving.
Chapter 13
“Jae!”
I scrambled over to him, mirroring what Akio had just done to me as I ran my hands over his still body, searching for mortal wounds.
There were none.
Just a few scrapes, but no sign of a life-threatening injury.
I looked up, my eyes wild. “What the fuck happened to him?”
Akio's face was grim. “He opened the portal too fast. Portals aren’t like transport spells; they require opening a hole in the ether. It would normally take several hours to create the gap gently, without tearing anything. But we didn’t have time for that. Jae just ripped through the fabric of existence, and the blowback hit him hard.”
Oh fuck. I pressed my mouth over Jae’s and blew. Then I started doing chest compressions, falling back into old Blighted habits in my panic.
I exhaled into his mouth again, hating that this was the first time my lips had ever touched his. My heart thudded sluggishly in my chest like it was made of lead. Several people rushed into the room, but they weren’t attacking us, so I paid them no attention.
“What does that mean? Is he injured? Can I heal him?” I peppered Akio with questions as my joined hands pressed hard against Jae’s chest in a steady rhythm.
“I don't know, kitten. But… try. Please try.”
Desperately pretending not to hear the fear in his voice, I drew on the magic inside me, trying to clear my adrenaline so the power could flow through me unimpeded. I reached out with my magic, feeling for Jae’s life force.
It was there, but faint—barely stronger than Beatrice’s was after that bomb decimated her office. Pushing away my worry that I’d fail to save Jae just like I’d failed Beatrice, I let my magic flow into his body, piecing together the holes in his life force. It was much more difficult than any healing spell I’d done before, because there wasn’t an obvious physical injury to heal. His life had simply been nearly snuffed out.
I kept doing chest compressions while I worked, not caring if applying Blighted first aid made me a disgrace to mages everywhere. All I cared about was keeping Jae alive.