Bright Wicked 2: Radiant Fierce (A Twilight Fae Fantasy Romance)

by Everly Frost

  “Oh, good,” she says as she zeros in on me. “You’re finally here to entertain us. I really don’t know why Cyrian left you to boil for so long.”

  Cyrian grins in the background, a cruel smile. He doesn’t seem to mind Ethel’s verbal jab.

  Ethel pauses in front of me before she begins to circle us. “My, my, look at your face. What an extraordinary quarrel you must have had to wipe Nathaniel’s name off your body.”

  I don’t know what I look like right now, but I can imagine how ugly I appear with the remaining scratched flecks of gold lacquer combined with all the bruises and scratches on my face.

  Ethel runs her hand down my arm and across my stomach, pouting at the rips in my armor. She wanted it for herself and now it’s ruined.

  She turns to Nathaniel where he stands directly behind me. Her fingertips glide across his bicep. His fist snaps out the moment she touches him, but she darts beyond his reach.

  “Feisty!” she exclaims before she spins to Hagan. “Keep Nathaniel busy, won’t you, Hagan?”

  Hagan snarls. “Do your own dirty work.”

  Ethel’s jaw drops, exaggerated outrage shooting across her face as she clasps her chest. She lets out a dramatic laugh. “Well, I never!”

  At the side of the arena, Cyrian shoots to his feet, grabs Christiana’s hair, and wrenches her in his direction. Christiana screams before she clamps her lips closed, half-standing, visibly swallowing the rest of her cry while Cyrian stares with cold eyes at Hagan.

  Nathaniel twitches beside me and I don’t miss the unspoken communication between him and his sister. His worry. Her pain. But she grits her teeth and remains silent.

  Hagan responds to Cyrian’s threat of violence against Christiana by lowering his head with a snarl, his fists clenching in a brief pause before he shrugs off his pelt and strides forward to take a swing at Nathaniel. Nathaniel backsteps to avoid the blow, but it drives him away from me.

  When Nathaniel tries to get back to me, Hagan shoves him farther away.

  As soon as Nathaniel leaves my side, Ethel pounces, stretching out the chains toward me. I step to the side to avoid her, but I bump right up against a large body.

  “Got you,” Snake whispers, his hands clamping around my arms.

  Ethel’s chains sweep around my arms before slithering around my waist and then my feet as I struggle against them. I sense the dark magic in them now, which guides them around my body without effort on Ethel’s part.

  A second later, I’m whisked into the air, parallel with the ground, my body arching painfully because the chains drag my arms and legs up higher than my torso.

  The pressure nearly dislocates my arms, and I scream as my body jolts and swings.

  “Aura!” Nathaniel breaks free from Hagan and charges back to me, but the chains whisk me high above his head out of his reach. I try to stop my scream at the wrenching pain and instant panic shooting through me.

  Cyrian laughs. The lords and ladies lean forward, anticipation filling their faces, and Ethel plants her hands on her hips.

  “Stand back, Nathaniel,” Ethel says. “Or it will be so much more painful for her.”

  My tears of pain drop all the way to the stones below me.

  At the edge of my vision, I catch a flash of pity on Christiana’s face before she hides it. Cyrian released her the moment that Hagan obeyed Ethel.

  Now Christiana grips her armrests again, her hair messy around her face, several strands stuck to her wet cheeks. Despite her hatred of my people, I guess she can still empathize with my pain.

  As I swing in the air, my limbs on the verge of dislocation, I tell myself I’m not beaten. Dark magic is controlling the chains, but I can break through it. I can defeat the magic keeping me suspended, even if I might not be able to destroy the chains themselves—or untie them.

  Nathaniel’s dark eyes, his face upturned as he continues to stand beneath me, will me to try. His arms twitch and I know he’ll catch me.

  I close my eyes and draw on my power. Carefully. Slowly. Preparing myself for the fall as soon as I break through the magic—

  A crackle of lightning in the distance makes my eyes snap open with shock.

  It’s a sound I haven’t heard all day, but it’s as familiar to me as the sound of my own name.

  It’s Treble.

  Chapter 26

  My thunderbird breaks through the haze far above me, his beautiful blue-gray feathers glowing and rippling with lightning.

  A single sweep of his wings cracks across my hearing, his thunder thudding in the air and drowning out the shouts below me as he pins his wings to his sides and dives right for me.

  With only seconds to prepare, I flood my body with my power, starlight bursting from my chest and raging through my arms and legs. The chains disintegrate, bursting into flames a moment before Nathaniel drops to his stomach and Treble soars beneath me.

  I drop safely onto Treble’s back.

  There’s no way for him to land, but I have to remain within Nathaniel’s sight at all times. Otherwise, the bond between him and me will wrench me right off Treble’s back and onto the ground.

  “Up, Treble!” I scream.

  Treble is already banking left, circling around Nathaniel’s location so that I remain within his sight—but only just. With every wing beat, I feel the bond tugging at me, pulling me in Nathaniel’s direction on the ground.

  A barrage of arrows flies at us, but Treble is trained to avoid all projectiles. He darts left and right as fast as he can.

  While the hunters try to shoot us from the sky, Cyrian’s hands are also outstretched, dark light flying toward us.

  My power glows around Treble, protecting him from the dark magic while I shoot as many arrows out of the sky as I can, careful only to aim up so I don’t accidentally hit a human.

  I want to lean over Treble’s neck, breathe in his power, expand my senses with the comforting sounds of his thunderous heart, and cry at his undying loyalty. I have no idea how long he’s been circling above the haze or whether he just arrived. He saved me from a nasty fall. But now he’s in danger.

  “I’m going to jump off now!” I shout to him. “You have to fly away before they kill you.”

  Treble’s answer is to bank again, turning against the direction I was preparing to jump so that I jolt against him instead.

  He’s refusing to allow me to leave his back.

  “No, Treble!” I shout, my heart breaking that Treble is refusing my command. “You have to go!”

  A gasp as another gust of wind—a much more savage blast—knocks me flat against Treble’s back. At first, I think it’s Cyrian’s magic finally breaking through mine, but then…

  An enormous fire-red dragon drops from the haze above us.

  The Vanem Dragon’s wings spread across the sky so far that it looks like the night sky has turned to blood. The wind he causes with his descent pushes and drags at me so wildly that all I can do is cling to Treble so I’m not knocked from his back.

  On the ground, the lords and ladies, along with Ethel, have dropped to the ground, clinging to their diamonds, their screams drowned in the storm. The hunters have also dropped to their knees but are still trying to fire at us.

  Cyrian shouts at his men to lower their weapons. “Don’t harm the Vanem Dragon!”

  As soon as they stop firing at us, Treble dives toward Nathaniel.

  There’s barely any room to fly through the arena, let alone to land in it, but Nathaniel’s already running, darting glances across his shoulder as he judges where Treble will touch down.

  I hold my breath as Treble’s feet graze the pebbles and Nathaniel leaps, catches Treble’s wing, and swings himself up behind me. His weight settles in behind me, a familiar presence on my thunderbird.

  Treble takes off again without missing a beat.

  I catch Christiana’s shocked expression, Hagan’s shuttered gaze, and Cyrian’s rage as Nathaniel’s arms close around me.

  As we rise into the air,
soaring toward the Vanem Dragon’s position, I want nothing more than to fly above the haze and leave everything behind. To see the stars again. I want to tell Treble to fly us far away from both Bright and Fell—to escape together, all three of us.

  But the Vanem Dragon has landed on the road beside the orchard, and Treble flies straight for him, drawn to the dragon’s power. The dragon’s arrival moments after Treble tells me that they flew here together. I’m grateful for that, because it means that the dragon will keep Treble safe while they’re here.

  Treble sets us down twenty paces away from the Vanem Dragon as the dragon thuds to the ground and folds his wings against his sides. Nathaniel and I quickly descend along Treble’s wing, stepping down to the road. We take a knee in unison, our heads bowed to show our respect to the dragon.

  Moments later, the sound of running feet meets my ears.

  Hagan and Christiana appear on the other side of Treble. Hagan immediately takes a knee, but Christiana rips the diamonds from her throat and pitches them along the road, where they scatter. Her chest heaves as she stares, eyes wide, from her brother to Treble, and then to the dragon.

  She glances behind her—confirming that Cyrian isn’t here yet—before she pelts toward Nathaniel and throws her arms around him despite his kneeling position. He catches her, rising to a half-crouch, hugging her tightly.

  Her cheeks are wet with tears, but her angry brown eyes pass to me and her speech is rapid. “Nathaniel, what the fuck? That’s Aura Lucidia! What are you doing with her?”

  He grips his sister tightly. “The Law of Champions—”

  “I don’t care about the Law,” she whisper-shouts. “I care that you drew our family name on her face. You would never do that unless she means something to you, but she can’t mean anything to you—”

  Nathaniel breaks through her speech. “I need you to trust me, Christiana.”

  She tugs away from him. “I can’t trust that creature.” She points at me. “I will never trust her after what she did.”

  The dragon cuts them both off with a roar directed toward Cyrian, who strides down the road toward us with his hunters behind him, all of them carrying torches.

  “Cyrian Deceiver!” Angry flames puff from the dragon’s mouth as he speaks. The ground shudders as he stamps his foot and shakes out his wings. “Do not keep me waiting!”

  “Vanem Dragon,” Cyrian sneers as he draws to a stop without taking a knee. “You will do what I want—”

  “How dare you summon me to Fell country!” the dragon shouts, flames licking around his lips as he lowers his head and thuds across the earth toward Cyrian.

  “I invoked the Three Chances. You will honor the Law!” Cyrian shouts back, standing his ground.

  Fire builds within the dragon’s mouth as he halts only inches from Cyrian, the dragon’s body dwarfing Cyrian so badly that the human looks miniscule.

  “I do not honor the call of a liar and murderer. A traitor to his own King,” the Vanem Dragon says.

  The hunters keep their distance, their weapons firmly put away. They won’t want to get too close to the dragon or anger him by making themselves a threat.

  As Cyrian blusters, the dragon swings back to Nathaniel.

  The creature’s voice lowers. “But I will honor the call of Nathaniel Exalted. Speak, Bright Heart, and explain what has happened. I will believe what you tell me.”

  My heart suddenly hurts. The dragon is giving Nathaniel the chance to deny what Cyrian said, but Nathaniel would never lie to the Vanem Dragon—not even to save himself.

  Nathaniel slowly raises himself up to his full height, drawing Christiana behind him. “The Three Chances have been invoked. The first step was satisfied: Hagan Sever has volunteered to challenge me of his own free will.”

  The dragon makes an unhappy noise in the back of his throat. Deep sadness grows in his eyes. “Your heart never allows you to lie, Nathaniel Exalted. Even when the answer is dangerous to you.”

  The dragon takes a prowling step toward Hagan. “Rise, Challenger. Does Nathaniel speak the truth?”

  “He does,” Hagan replies, drawing to his feet. “However, I struck a bargain in exchange for volunteering. With respect, I ask for assurance that the agreement will be honored.”

  The dragon peers at him. “With whom was this bargain struck?”

  “With King Cyrian.”

  “What were the terms?”

  “Once sealed, Christiana Exalted will be mine. Nobody can interfere, not even the King.”

  Beside me, Christiana stands stiffly, her lips pressed together into a hard line. Her rage is quiet, indicating that she knows all about the bargain but will not accept it without a fight.

  The dragon’s head rises slowly, an air of caution growing around him as he considers Hagan. “Your bargain will be secured once the Three Chances are sealed. King Cyrian can’t break the deal. Nathaniel can’t interfere. Neither can Aura. As for Christiana… she is free to make her own choices.”

  “Understood,” Hagan says.

  The dragon sighs. “Then step forward.”

  Hagan strides toward the dragon and so does Nathaniel, leaving Christiana with me. I allow my power to glow softly around us so that Cyrian can’t try anything, but she shudders, drawing her arms close to her sides to avoid coming into contact with my power. I guess she has no reason to believe I won’t hurt her.

  Nathaniel and Hagan turn to face each other, meet in the middle, and grip arms the same way Nathaniel and I did yesterday.

  “Before I bind you and seal the Three Chances, I will make the rules clear,” the dragon says, giving them both a stern look. “Nobody may interfere in the fight between you. To ensure magic is not used to help or hinder you during the fight, the seal between you will repel magic, whether it is dark magic or fae magic.”

  The dragon glares pointedly at Cyrian before he swings to me, his expression softening but no less firm. “This rule applies until dawn breaks.”

  He returns his attention to Nathaniel and Hagan.

  “You were once brothers,” the dragon says to them, carefully exhaling a ring of flame that encircles their arms. “You are now bound to fight until one of you yields or dies. This fight will determine if Hagan is worthy to take Nathaniel’s place as Cyrian’s Champion. If Nathaniel yields, then he must subsequently die before dawn—either by Hagan’s hand or someone else’s. Whether Hagan is worthy or not, only Nathaniel’s death will grant Hagan the right to take Nathaniel’s place as Cyrian’s Champion.”

  I shiver as the flames fade. The seal is created far too quickly.

  Dread builds inside my chest as Nathaniel and Hagan release each other, their shoulders stiff.

  Christiana’s expression zigzags between anger and fear, but the longer she focuses on Nathaniel, the more her face fills with misery.

  Cyrian shouts as he strides forward. “You’re done here now, Dragon. You will leave Fell country—”

  “Consider your time on this Earth limited, Cyrian,” the dragon says, cutting Cyrian off with a soft snort of hot flame. “When you invoked the Three Chances, you triggered a disturbance in the glitter field that was felt by every fae in Bright—especially Queen Imatra.”

  I’m surprised by this news. The glitter field is the border protection system between Fell and Bright. A bulb of deadly glass rests at the top of every stem of glitter grass. Any living creature that disturbs a bulb is cut to shreds by its exploding shards. Nathaniel and I only survived running through it together because, for a reason I’ve never been able to explain, the glitter field changes when I touch it, becoming harmless and green like soft grass.

  Cyrian laughs. “Why should I be concerned about that?”

  The dragon’s lips draw back into a snarl. “Because parts of the glitter field became airborne. Several glitter bulbs drifted into Fell country and exploded in the mist. Others drifted into Bright.”

  I take an involuntary step forward, my eyes wide. “Was anyone hurt?”

  “No
, dear one,” the dragon says to me, his expression softening.

  “But how did it happen?”

  The Vanem Dragon shakes his head, a worried light entering his eyes. “This afternoon, I sensed the invocation of the Three Chances and rose from the mountains with the thunderbirds. The Border Guards saw us rise across the distance too. At the same time, they also saw a single moth rise out of the Fell mist and fly into the field. The moment the moth touched the glitter field, the stems reacted, sending bulbs into the air.”

  I struggle to understand what the dragon’s telling me. At the moment that the Three Chances were invoked, the dragon rose up and so did… a moth?

  Cyrian laughs, scorn dripping from his voice. “You expect me to believe that a mold moth flies into the glitter field and it mysteriously causes the field to send out explosive bulbs—”

  The dragon ignores Cyrian’s laughter, lowering his head to me, his brown eyes softer than I’ve ever seen them. “Your brother, Evander, saw it with his own eyes. He said the moth was glowing like starlight. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you, Aura?”

  A glowing moth?

  “I’m at a loss,” I whisper. But as I think back… I remember the moth early this morning that cleaned the dust off my hand… the dust that seemed to come from inside me when I stayed too long at the burn site…

  I have no way to describe that event or to explain how it could all be connected to the field, but I meet Nathaniel’s eyes across the distance between us. His lips are parted and a curious frown creases his forehead. He must remember the moth too.

  “A mystery, then,” the dragon says, finally releasing me from his gaze.

  I speak up before he can turn away. “Is Evander okay?”

  “Imatra continues with her plan,” the dragon says, giving me a warning glance. “But, yes. For now, he is safe.”

  Right before I ran from Bright, the Queen proposed to make Evander her husband—despite Evander’s love for the Eventide fae, Talsa. I took Imatra’s proposal as a threat to Evander’s life—a way for the Queen to gain leverage over me.

  The dragon turns to Cyrian, his fierce eyes becoming hard and cold again—a creature of immense power. “Imatra declared the bulbs were created by dark magic sent by the Fell. She is gathering her army and preparing to defend Bright against you. Consider yourself lucky that the Law of Champions is invoked, Cyrian. If not, you would have felt her wrath already.”