Page 51

K ian

Instinct saves my life, but only just.

I throw myself sideways, the lightning bolt searing past me so close I can smell the ozone and feel my hair stand on end. The magical energy scrapes along my left arm, burning through fabric and flesh alike, and the force of it sends me tumbling across the rocky ground.

Pain explodes through my shoulder, but I roll to my feet immediately, my hand going to the scorched wound. Blood seeps through my torn sleeve, but I’m alive. That’s what matters.

I can already feel myself healing since it’s just a flesh wound. It certainly helps that I have fae blood coursing through me. Right now, it’s the only thing I have going for me.

I reach for my magic. Desperation clawing at me. To my relief, the power responds immediately, flooding through me like molten gold, crackling along my skin in visible sparks.

“What the hell are you doing?” I snarl.

“I was waiting for you, fae king. I thought we could have a little chat, just the two of us.” She laughs, the sound cold and sharp.

“A chat? You don’t throw a fireball at someone you want a conversation with.”

“That was nothing. Just a warning. It was never meant to kill you since you’re too valuable to us alive.” Another bolt of lightning erupts from her hands, and this time, I’m ready for it.

She wants to take me alive.

That tidbit of information gives me the edge.

I throw up a shield of raw energy, the two magical forces colliding in a shower of sparks that illuminates the mountainside. The impact sends shockwaves through the ground beneath our feet as my barrier falls.

Dammit! I’m not a magic wielder.

“But if you end up dead, I would be fine with that, too.” She laughs, and unfortunately, I believe her. So much for my edge.

“You should give up now and surrender, Kian. You know that you’re no match for me.”

“Why? What do you have planned? What do you want with me? What about the alliance?” I say through gritted teeth, trying to raise another shield, but all I get is raw energy that blasts a hole in the ground just ahead of me.

“Was any of it real?” I project my voice since she is a little way down the path.

“Oh, it’s very real,” Lilith replies, her purple robes whipping around her as magic swirls through the air between us. “We are going to work together, just not in the way you imagined. Do you give up?”

“No, of course—” I don’t get to finish.

Fire erupts from her palms this time, a wall of flame that rushes toward me with deadly intent.

I counter with my own magic, and raw energy explodes from my hands in a massive rush that not only extinguishes her flames but scorches the rocks around us black.

Lilith throws up a shield as if it is nothing and then counters.

I curse under my breath, leaping behind a bank of rocks, where I hunker down until the onslaught is over.

I stand, facing her. I have no choice.

“It’s a pity, Kian. I had hoped we could be civilized. This is your last chance to give up. To surrender.”

I know I don’t stand much chance against the likes of her, but I will never go willingly. I know that whatever she has planned will be against my best interests.

I shake my head but before I can say anything, Lilith swings into action, moving like the master artisan she is.

Her magic flows from her in elegant, deadly patterns – binding spells that try to wrap around my ankles, cutting winds that slice through the air where my head was a moment before, earth magic that makes the ground beneath me shift and crack.

I try to counter. I try to block. I fumble my way through.

“You’re not good enough for her,” she says as we circle each other, trading magical blows that light up the sky. “Did you think a failed king with no throne, no kingdom, no prospects could be worthy of my daughter? A fae, at that?”

Her words hit harder than her magic. “McColl doesn’t care about any of that,” I say through gritted teeth, working hard to keep my shield up.

“Doesn’t she?” Lilith’s smile is cruel as she sends a barrage of ice shards my way. “Or did you simply hear what you wanted to hear?” Her magic comes easily.

I deflect the ice with another wild burst of power that turns the projectiles to steam, too busy for a while to answer her. When she slows her attack, I shout, “We love each other.”

The words ring true. Lilith did this. Lilith tore us apart so that she could get me alone. She, too, is acting alone. The two of us may have been too much for her to take on her own. McColl and I have always been strong together. Now it’s just me and Lilith. Cold fear grips me.

Where is McColl now?

Has Lilith done something to her, too?

The laughter that erupts from her throat is like breaking glass. “Love? There is no such thing, you naive fool. There’s desire, there’s usefulness, there’s power – but love?” She shakes her head. “That's a fairy tale for children. McColl is an adult now. It is time for her to act like it.”

McColl.

What have I done?

A binding spell catches my left leg, magical ropes of energy wrapping around my ankle. I blast them apart with raw force, but the momentary distraction costs me. Another spell hits my chest, sending me stumbling backward.

“You can’t have my daughter,” Lilith continues, pressing her advantage with a series of rapid-fire attacks that force me to give ground.

She strikes with ruthless efficiency. Binding spells wrap around my arms and legs faster than I can break them. Each rope of magical energy that snaps around me makes it harder to move, harder to fight back.

This is where precision is needed. A scalpel instead of a sword. It’s the kind of magic I am simply not capable of.

“You see?” she purrs as I struggle against the bonds. “This is why you’re not worthy.”

I pour everything I have into smiting her down, magic erupting from my body in wild, uncontrolled bursts. But Lilith bats my attempts away. She’s too skilled, too experienced.

Within minutes, I can’t move so much as a finger. The magical bonds hold me rigid, every muscle in my body locked in place by her will. I can’t even speak – she’s bound my jaw shut with the same magical ropes.

“Much better,” she says, approaching me with slow, deliberate steps. She reaches into her robes and withdraws a small glass vial filled with a thick, dark liquid that seems to move on its own. “Now we can get to the real business.”

I try to struggle, but it’s useless. My body no longer belongs to me.

“Open your mouth,” she commands, and to my horror, my jaw obeys against my will. The binding spell forces compliance, making me a prisoner in my own flesh.

“The era of the witch is about to begin,” Lilith says, her eyes bright with fanatical fervor as she uncorks the vial. “And you, my dear failed king, are going to help us usher it in.”

The fluid she pours down my throat tastes like liquid fire mixed with rot. It burns all the way down, leaving a trail of agony in its wake. I want to spit it out, want to resist, but my body swallows reflexively, consuming every last drop of whatever poison she’s given me.

For the first time in my life, I am truly, utterly terrified.