Page 79 of Ascendant King

Despite whatever Petrona had done to disperse the magic, it was reforming slowly, knotting together so that soon we’d be encased again. I could hear wolves pounding against the door, the entire frame shaking as our pack tried to get in.

“Let me up.” Cade pushed at me ineffectively, and I stood, using his arm to pull him up and nudge him over to where Sonja stood.

“You perform the ritual, Sonja,” Petrona said. “We will protect the two of you until it is complete.”

With Cade and Tyson next to her, a circle of blue encased them, leaving me on the outside. Cade immediately raised his hand but winced back from Petrona’s blue magic. He turned on her, his brows drawn together.

“Quickly!” Petrona snapped.

“Not without Miles,” Cade said.

“Finish quickly, or it won’t matter because you’ll both be dead.” Petrona jerked her head to the side, and I saw a shimmer of purple in the air, but I didn’t let whoever it was finish forming in the air. I lunged past her, grabbing the attacking mage by the throat and tossing them to the side, where layers of magic from the other council members landed on top of them.

But the darkness wasn’t the magic of one person alone. As soon as the council had restrained one, a thick, braided line of tattoo the color of morning sunlight split the chest of one of the council members. He gurgled, staring down at where it protruded through his rib cage.

“What—”

He collapsed down, blood staining his white hair. Behind him stood one of the younger members of the house. I only vaguely remembered them from when I had been investigating who was trying to kill Cade.

At the time, no one had taken him seriously. He was a younger son of a minor member of House Bartlett, and, according to gossip, his magic had never amounted to much.

Now, he pulled his magic back into him, throwing his hand out so that it sprang from his fingertips like knives. Council members went down, and I ducked low, letting some of the yellow magic slide over my head.

I came up immediately in front of him, my fingers turned to claws, and I tore out his throat, dropping his body even as a new mage sprang up to take his place.

It was another younger man, no older than thirty. I couldn’t even place him; he had been so low on the family tree that he wouldn’t have the access necessary to assassinate Cade.

His magic crawled up his face, dying his eyes red. When he opened his mouth, even his tongue was covered in ink. He laughed, the sound sending a shock wave through the remaining council members. It shook the ground. I lost my footing, landing on one knee before springing up.

In the circle, I heard snatches of words, Cade reciting a pledge, Sonja making promises in return on behalf of the council.

The mage with red magic stepped forward, the ground smoking in his wake. Petrona raised her cane, bringing it down with a brutal outburst of magic. Some of the attacking mages screamed, the darkness finally dispersing. I got a look at the fight and didn’t like what I saw. Four of the council members were down and not getting up, and the flashes of magic around the room made it hard to count the attacking mages.

The one using red laughed again, his words landing like blows on Petrona’s skin.

She gasped, choking, and I leapt forward. Reaching for my chest, I pulled the magic off my skin, stretching it between my hands like I had seen Cade do so many times with his own.

I landed in front of the mage, wrapping a twist of black ink around his arm, pulling it back, and then using a sweep of my legs to send him down to his knees. Raising my free leg against his shoulder, I pulled back with the magic, wrenching his arm out of its socket before removing the black ink from his skin and pulling it tight around his neck.

Something burned my chest, but I didn’t pay any attention, focused on making sure the mage couldn’t get back up. I pulled tighter, but the burning grew more intense, and when I looked down, his red magic had crawled up me, digging a hole through my shirt, straight to my skin.

Pained, I let the line of my own tattoo go slack, and it was enough for the mage to wriggle out of the way, his dislocated arm hanging limply at his side. He looked feral—red eyes, red dripping from his tongue, ink on every free inch of his skin.

With an enraged shout, he swung his good hand in a long swipe. Red claws extended from his fingers, dragging across my chest. They dug deep where his magic had already exposed my skin.

Frustrated, I reached out the next time he moved, grabbing hold of his ink and tearing it loose from his hand. He gaped at me, going pale under the lines of red. Then, he screamed, the sound activating every piece of magic on his skin.

It formed an enormous disc, hovering above his head.

He closed his eyes, still screaming, raising his fist before throwing it down.

Red magic rained down around us, shards so sharp that they embedded themselves in the floor. A handful of councilmembers fell, magic slicing through their skulls, necks, or chests.

There was a moment of silence, and then the screaming began. Men who were used to power and protection scrambled out of the way, trying to evade the next attack. I was left behind with Petrona and two brave members of the council, trembling at the display.

“Zaiden, where did you get such power?” Petrona’s voice was calm, but I could see the tremble in her hand, the twitch of her fingers as she stared at him.

“Where? Where?! I got it from where I should have been getting it all along. This power is House Bartlett power.Iam House Bartlett.Weare House Bartlett!”