Page 70 of Of Stars and Lightning (Sun and Shadows #1)

Fifty Two

CAS

THE WOOD SPLINTERED beneath Cas’s touch. He stepped over the crumpling debris, his entire being focused only on her.

The weeks they’d spent together during the Vows were almost binding in a way he hadn’t at all expected.

Her sureness in herself, while holding on to a raw humanity Cas could only hope he still had a shred of, made him want to keep her safe, to ensure her light shone in the faces of those who refused to believe in it.

But another very different side of him wanted to keep that light hidden and to himself, safe from those who would abuse it. That side also found itself watching her as she smiled, wishing it would be toward him. Praying to have that dream of her again while he’d been under the Dark Spell.

Cas would take endless blasts of Void Magic if it meant he got to kiss Sol in the dreams they induced.

“Cas!” Nina slid to a stop next to him, grabbing his arm to steady herself.

Sawyer and Alix followed, wearing the same daunting expression he felt on his own face.

“Oh gods,” Sawyer whispered.

He saw it then. Beyond the steps of the castle, past the rows of lilies and roses, the Mind Slayer gave them a wicked grin, its thin, needle-like teeth reflecting the moonlight as its obsidian talons held Sol by her chest.

Cas couldn’t breathe as he noticed the blood dripping from their pointed tips.

“My, what a rare, rare sight,” it hissed.

It unrolled from its crouch, coming to its full height before them.

It was just as repulsive as all other Mind Slayers he had seen, pallid and rotting and all that was wrong with the world.

Its pupil-less eyes blinked and flashed.

“I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the great Yarrow Court all together. Lorkin will be pleased.”

The creature had Sol suspended in the air but facing away from them.

Cas could make the outline of her birthmark, pulsing a subdued blue.

He tried not to panic at the blindness, at not being able to see just how wounded she was, though he could barely make out the light rise and fall of her chest to indicate she still breathed. It didn’t placate him much.

White-hot rage pulsed through him, his Wards following suit.

“Let her go.” Nina’s entire body flared neon as the land shook beneath them.

Cas struggled against his self-restraint, against every fiber of his being that screamed to kill the demon and grab Sol.

But without knowing exactly how deep into the memory transfer they were, it was a gamble he couldn’t take.

Not with her.

“Get the people in the castle notified and safe,” Sawyer ordered. Alix gave her a quick nod before running back the way they came. She didn’t break her gaze from Sol either.

“I don’t think you want me to do that, Ninanette.” The Mind Slayer’s grin widened as it slowly turned Sol over. It hovered her closer, letting her body slump against its chest. It wrapped its limbs around her, laying its decaying, melting face on her shoulder.

Nina made a noise of either horror or dread.

Sol’s gaze was completely hazed, a blinding-white, a mirror to the Mind Slayer’s own sinister eyes. Three curved talons were staked clear through her chest. Cas had never seen a memory passage in action. He’d read of it and had nightmares about it. But this…

“We have seconds,” Sawyer whispered. “Seconds to take her when it disconnects from her mind.”

Nina shook, her magic sparkling and morphing with Cas's Shadows.

He didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t interrupt a memory passage not—

“We can’t sever the connection, Nina.” Sawyer held her friend’s hand in her own. “We have to wait until whatever memory it’s passing is done.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Nina cried, stepping forward. Cas grabbed her shoulder, which she quickly shook off.

“If we sever it now, she dies, Nina. Wait.” Sawyer pulled her back further, easing her all the way behind them.

Cas knew she was right. Severing an active memory passage was a death sentence for the captive.

“Oh, you all look absolutely petrified,” the Mind Slayer laughed. “I’ll make her death quick after this.”

Noises arose behind them, surely from the students and other castle dwellers evacuating. Cas heard the distant rumble of metal, signaling the kingsmen were on their way.

“Who do you work for?” Sawyer’s face was raw, calculating fury as she stepped toward the creature. “The answer will either doom you or save your miserable life.”

“You Yarrows are so demanding,” the creature purred. Its limbs twitched. “I’m only showing her what she wanted to know.”

“Who do you work for?” Sawyer repeated, face stoic and unreadable.

“Why are you talking to it!” Nina said through sobs. “Burn it!”

“I can’t. Not until I know who sent it.”

Nina was practically on the floor begging as Cas pulled her against him. She was absolutely freezing.

“Tell me, Sawyerlyn. Is it true Morna is your captive?” The Mind Slayer’s eyes shone as its grin spread. “All to warn you of something you won’t figure out anyway. She’s the worst of Mavka’s followers.”

Smoke curled around Sawyer’s shoulders. “You ally with Lorkin.”

“And you Ninanette?” The creature’s eyes shifted to Nina.

“How are you taking the news? It’s not too late to come to the winning side.”

“I hope you suffer wherever you come from,” Nina seethed.

Cas watched Sol. Whatever bickering his Court was having with the thing, he didn’t care. All he cared about was the woman before him. With every heartbeat, his blood called to her, muting all other sounds and feelings and thoughts. All he could see was Sol.

Sol.

Sol.

So, at the exact moment her eyes fluttered closed and she slumped against the thing, Cas launched at her.

He kicked the Mind Slayer’s arm away with a swift, potent motion, ripping its claws from her chest. Pulling her against him, he willed his Shadows to spread below them as they tumbled toward the ground.

He managed to twist her on top of him mid-fall, and a ripple of pain radiated from his entire body as he collided against the pavilion.

“Sol,” he panted softly. “Sol, can you hear me?”

Cas didn’t wait to see what his Court did as a Ward erupted around them.