Page 130 of Ascendant King

Then, he began to drain her, pulling the magic from her with such speed that by the time I reached him, she was nothing more than bones. I screamed, raising my hand, the thorns wrapped around my knuckles.

As soon as I hit him, he grabbed hold of me, his hand on my wrist.

“What do you think, Cade? Should I drain him as well?”

“Leon. Wait.” Cade’s voice was intense, desperation baked into it. “What do you want?”

“What I want is a return to the natural order of things. What Iwantis my consort back.” Leon shoved me away, standing. Around us, reality shifted, and his throne burst into flame. Leon glared at me. “There was a time when you would never have even thought to raise a fist against me. I am amage. You are adog.”

“You say that like it’s an insult.” I circled him, trying to keep his attention on me as Nia did the same on his other side. “But I’m not the one destroying the world here.”

“Destroying the world.” Leon scoffed. “Ifyouthink you have any right to touch me, this world deserves to be destroyed.”

“Trust me, I’m not big on touching you either. But someone has to stop you.”

“No one can stop me.” Leon shook his head, his silver cape waving in an invisible breeze, his magic so thick in the air that I almost lost sight of Cade. “I am the most powerful mage in the world. Would you like to see what I can do with that much power?”

I gestured behind us vaguely. “Right now, it looks like you just created a forest in the middle of the city. While I’m sure the ecoterrorists love that, it’s not that impressive. Get a few dryads drunk and I’m sure they could do better.”

“Well, perhaps this will be more to your liking.” Leon grinned, and his cape rose, flaring to life, covering everything in a mass of gold tattoos.

I fell.

Chapter

Forty-Three

Iwoke to a familiar ceiling. Immediately, I sat up, staring at Cade’s bedroom at House Bartlett.

I recognized the soft sheets, the expensive mattress, the laundered smell of everything, as though very recently a servant had washed and cleaned the room. The window that Cade had shattered was still there, the table and armchair in their position.

Everything looked perfect, including the sleeping person next to me.

I shook Cade’s shoulder. “Cade.”

He roused immediately, eyes opening, sitting up, mouth dropping open when he examined the room. He turned his head, a line forming between his brows as he stared.

“No. This is impossible. Sonja and Tyson moved the furniture. The carpet was replaced after they cut off my magic.” He pointed at the ceiling. “There’s no evidence of the explosion.”

I had been distracted at the time, but apparently, Cade had been able to tell where the repair work had covered over the cracks. Now, the ceiling was smooth, eggshell white, showing no evidence of any damage.

When I looked back at him, he was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re wearing a collar,” he said, pointing to his own neck.

I raised my hand and felt smooth leather under my fingertips. Panicked, I clawed at it, but even when I pulled, the buckle didn’t come undone. “It won’t come off.”

“Wait. Hold still.” Cade’s voice was calm, but I could tell the pressure behind it, as though he understood he shouldn’t be calm, he should be panicking, but he couldn’t afford it when my heart was racing, thundering in my ears.

Cade leaned forward, his fingers brushing the leather. He stilled. “It’s sealed by magic. My magic.”

The frown on his face said it was something more, and he pulled off his shirt, dragging his arms through the long sleeves. His chest was covered in plants.

There were no weapons, no blades, no sharp edges or thorny brambles.

Instead, everything was delicate, graceful stems of flowered orchids stretched from his hip up to his nipple. Poppies curved across his collarbone. Palm fronds decorated a miniature tree on his stomach.