Page 21

Oronrel

Dirog and Hastur hold Variant down. He writhes and flails as he attempts to fight off the two hulking demons with large, black horns curling up from their bony heads. Gray, leathery skin covers their bodies, broken only by glowing green eyes and flat noses pierced with a row of gold hoops.

I’m angry with the King of Angels because he’s been attempting to free himself from my influence, such that Theren did.

Variant snarls and wiggles his arm free, just long enough to land a punch to Driog’s face. The demon barely flinches. Variant’s power is useless against Aivii demons, because they’re completely resistant to all forms of magic, spawned deep underground in damp earth and stone.

The heels of my boots crunch down on the shards of mirror scattered across the floor of Theren’s study. Blood, blackened and congealed, still stains the grain of the hardwood where the former Unseelie King carved the rune from his flesh. Things aren’t as they seem where Theren, Son of Elioth, is concerned.

“I underestimated Theren’s love for the hybrid...” I say. “It won’t happen again. Eilish will answer for her disobedience.” I take a breath as I look at the destruction of the mirror. “Theren and the others are useful, but they must be eradicated if their trouble outweighs their use. Eilish, on the other hand—she’s the key to all of this. The prophecy demands—”

“To hell with the prophecies!” Variant shouts. “This is the second time they’ve done this, Morrigan! They’re winning because you’re still too blind to see that Dragan, Cambion, Baron, and whoever else in these godforsaken realms are too strong!”

“I see all, Variant,” I seethe as my eyes narrow.

“We can’t let the succubus come to full strength, or everything will be ruined!” I yell. Then I take a deep breath as another thought occurs to me. “And must I remind you it wasyourfault they escaped with Theren, not mine?”

“How the fuck was that my fault?” he insists.

I shrug. “I wasn’t here when they rescued Theren. You were supposed to rule Oronrel without divergence from the plan!”

Variant slumps against the desk as Hastur wrenches his arm behind his back. He eyes me with something akin to contempt, and it causes me to chuckle. Though my spell enforces obedience, it doesn’t make the victim mindless. Sadly, whatever arrogance was there before the spell still remains.

But, where Variant is concerned, I have to admit I like his arrogance. I wouldn’t choose for him to be my mindless minion. I like his… spunk.

“When Eilish and the others first escaped your palace in Earlann, you told me they were weak and gullible. That their aimless bickering and hatred for one another would tear them apart long before they became a threat,” I sneer. “And now look at them.”

“You were the one who watched them grow stronger in the Veil and did nothing to stop it.”

Dirog slams his fist into Variant’s abdomen. I walk over to Variant and yank his head back by his hair, forcing him to look into my eyes.

“You seem intent on provoking my anger,” I seethe. “Dirog and Hastur will watch over you, now that you think it’s wise to fight my spell. Everything you do or say will be reported back to me, do you understand?”

“Yes, I fucking understand.”

“Then be a good little soldier and find out where the mercenaries are hiding in the mortal realm.” I release him, andthe demons drag Variant from the room. It’s a pity how far he’s fallen from my good graces, but he can be taught again. I haven’t given up on Variant. We’ve come too far to turn on one another now.

As the demons move swiftly down the hall, the Cockatrice joins me in the study. He turns up his nose at the gore, despite his own proclivity for violence.

“You still hunt Eilish?” I ask.

The Cockatrice nods. “Indeed. Though not because you ordered me to do so, Morrigan. You may be the Midnight Queen to the lesser species, but I serve my master.”

“Abedon has spoken?” I ask as the creatures nods. I immediately feel as though the ground shifts beneath my feet, this information rocks me so. “When?”

“He speaks only to my kind, for we’re all that’s left of those who are loyal.”

“I am loyal!”

“To yourself,” the creatures snorts. “I’ve watched you, Morrigan, as I’ve watched all the others. You displease him. Siding with a feeble god like Silvanus was unwise.”

“No. I didn’t side with Silvanus!”

“You imprisoned my master so you could devise a plan to kill him and take his power for yourself.” His mocking laughter causes my skin to crawl as he paces toward me. “But you aren’t the only one on this journey. My master will have the girl from the prophecy.”

“You can’t be sure the girl from the prophecy is Eilish!”

“I’m as certain as you are, for I see with my master’s eyes and thisEilishwill be the one to bring upon Abedon’s reckoning. You and Silvanus and all the others who turned your backs on him will suffer greatly...slowly. And when he’s done with you, I will pick the meat from your bones and feast upon your flesh while you still live.” A long, snake-like tongue spears out of hismouth and licks along the side of my face. “So play your little game, Morrigan, but you know what comes upon the wings of darkness.”