Page 163 of A Cursed Son

Right. He thinks I’m incapable of wielding it. “You see, this is an interesting weapon.” I pull it from the scabbard and show the blade. “This part is pointy and sharp. You can stab or cut enemies.” Then I show him the pommel. “This part you hold.” My words sound so much like Marlak’s sass that I feel I’m squeezing my heart. Stupid heart.

Otavio’s mouth is wide open, his eyes wide, staring at it.

I’m starting to think he has never indeed seen a sword, and say, “Impressive, right?”

“Is that… Dawnshadow?”

I almost tell him it’s a replica—when I notice the pommel.

The stones are red.

They were never amethysts, and Dawnshadow never had rubies: they were beacon stones.

The real sword. I had the real sword all along.

28

Marlak

If I flinch, Renel will notice. If I glance her way, he’ll notice.

I laugh instead, even though I can see her disappearing up the stairs from the corner of my eye. I laugh even though I’m pretending I’m subdued, even though I’m letting my brother’s dog clasp dark bracelets on my wrists.

“Fight me!” I yell at my brother. I know he’ll never agree with that, but it draws his attention.

The bracelets are heavy, so heavy that I can’t even move from this position. There’s definitely some dark magic weighting them down. A strange magic, and it can’t come from my magicless brother, his fae friend, or the pixies.

“Dabbling in dark magic, Renel?”

He stands in front of me. “I have no wish to fight you. Never had.”

Something then connects with my ribs. Azur’s boot. I take the opportunity to pull his leg and knock him to the ground. In a second, I’m above him, a dagger against his throat.

“Marlak, stop,” Renel pleads.

Azur’s eyes are wide. Can I kill him? Can I kill my brother’s best friend?

The coward fae then says, “Stand down or I’ll kill them.”

Them. Them. He knows. He means Astra as well. I feel cold all over, while at the same time, that dreadful fire threatens to burn everything. I kick his balls hard enough that he’ll be immobilized for a while, then get up and advance towards my brother.

“I’ll kill them!” Azur yells.

It’s when I realize he means the pixies. Three pixies, drugged and enslaved, gasping for air. As if their lives were not miserable enough, he wants to kill them. If they die, all I’ll have to deal with is Azur and my brother. I have a good chance, even without magic. For Astra, for my sister, I have to escape. I have to keep going.

What are three lives? And then, where does it end? Where do I draw a line? How many lives are worth it? Where do I lose my humanity?

“Stop it!” I raise my hands, even though it feels like lifting boulders.

The pixies breathe again, but I realize Azur could suffocate me just as easily, and his air magic is much more powerful than I thought.

I say, “Aren’t you ashamed? First you enslave other fae, then threaten to kill them?”

Azur gets up and rolls his eyes. “It’s clear you don’t know anything about politics. Don’t know anything.”

“Marlak, just come with us,” Renel says. “I won’t hurt you. If anything, this is for your own good.”

“What, you’re saving me now?” My voice is such a roar that I fear I might spit fire. “Like you saved our sister?”