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Chapter Seventeen

R oderick:

T he pieces fell into place. It had been too easy. We thought ourselves clever, but Blackstone had expertly maneuvered us into position like chess pieces.

“Clever little birdie,” Reid said, his aristocratic accent making the derogatory name more grating. “And James said you weren’t very bright.”

Bart moved closer to me, but I held him back. We didn’t need to rush further into his trap. “Says the sacrificial pawn sent to die in his place.”

“Die?” Reid’s laugh bounced off the walls. “Centuries of planning, and you think we missed this? Bartholomew was always the prize. Keep you busy while James finishes the real work.”

There was a hint of truth in his words, but like everything else, it was deception.

He didn’t build this place for Bart. My brother hadn’t been born when they began this plan.

Ailpein had been the real plan, but he proved too difficult.

“Translation, Blackstone overestimated his power and couldn’t break the King.

How loyal of you to volunteer to be cannon fodder. ”

“You know nothing!” Reid’s facade cracked. “The Ward falls today. All of you will die with it.”

“Spoken like a being who realizes too late he’s the true fool,” Hro said, his sword glinted as he adjusted his grip.

Ailpein slumped against the bars of his cage, his amber eyes locked with mine. “Leave me! Save the Ward.”

Part of me wanted to do just that for all the pain he’d caused me and Cinaed, but we still needed him to free us before we could create a new Ward. “Not an option.” I kept my attention on Reid. “We don’t leave family behind.”

“Touching,” Reid’s mocking tone reanimated his smile. “But too late. The Ward will be down before you lovebirds can complete your bond.”

Assessing our position, I recalculated our strength. I’d chosen our group to slip in and free Ailpein, not engage in a protracted mage fight. Thank the Earth Darius planned for this possibility. It was time for us to pivot. “Uncles–cover us. Bart, with me! Cael, Malachy, and Cinaed, free the king!”

“Yes,” Cael said. “We’ll need to deactivate the runes or we can’t reach him.”

“We’ve got this,” Cinaed said. “Go wipe the smug off their faces.”

The battle exploded with a blinding flash of pink magic.

The first collision of spells sent a concussive wave through the cavern, dust and small stones raining down from above.

Eldwin’s attack staggered half of Reid’s fellow mages.

One crumpled, probably dead, and another dropped to his knee, leaving a smear of blood on the rough stone floor. I blasted him before he could recover.”

Reid’s stunned expression lasted half a second before Bart pressed our advantage.

The confidence in their numbers had been a mistake.

These fools might not have known the mate bond amplified a mage’s power, but Blackstone did.

Realization flashed across Reid’s face. He had been sent on a suicide mission.

To my right, Cael knelt at the edge of the glyphs. The air near the cage felt wrong. It was thicker, more resistant. Cinaed and Malachy flanked Cael while the guards shielded the trio with their bodies. The air turned icy around them, their breath forming visible puffs.

Blue light seeped into the rock like water, creating rivers of energy that flowed toward the nearest runes.

Where his magic touched the dark symbols, they trembled and cracked, releasing wisps of foul smoke.

Cinaed and Malachy channeled their phoenix fire into Cael’s shoulders, their golden energy merging with his blue in a display that cast emerald shadows across the walls.

On my left, Hro unsheathed a blade that drank in the ambient light.

Ancient sigils etched into the metal glowed gold, each symbol pulsing with its own rhythm.

When he slashed, perfect golden replicas of the marks detached from the sword and spun through the air like deadly throwing stars.

These shattered against the mage’s shield with enough force to make her stagger backward.

Eldwin ended her life with a burst from his stone.

The cavern was awash in magical chaos. Dark energies clashed with our bright magic. Showers of arcane sparks rained onto the rune-covered floor.

Bart’s tourmaline flared as he cast a spell that appeared to miss Reid completely. The man’s smirk of relief froze as Bart twisted his hand, and the purple energy that had sailed past Reid transformed into a dense barrier that sealed the exit like stained glass.

“Can’t let the sacrificial mages run away like scared rabbits,” Bart said.

Before Reid could recover, I hit him hard enough to rattle his shield. Several blows hit my shields as the others rushed to defend their leader. Bart and Eldwin made them pay for ignoring the two most dangerous mages in the cavern.

Eldwin’s pink diamond cast ancient spells forgotten by most. His fingers traced symbols in the air that burned with inner light before launching toward his targets.

Where they struck, enemies erupted in pink flames that consumed them from within, leaving only ash.

Beside him, Hro’s enchanted blade hummed with golden energy, cutting into magical shields like they were soft clay.

Reid engaged me, the black energy of his strike fizzled against my shields with a sound like sizzling oil.

My diamond heated against my palm, almost painfully hot as I channeled more power than it typically carried, interrupting his next attack with one of my own.

Two more concussive arcane balls had him stepping back.

Before I could end the fight, several new mages appeared behind Bart’s barrier.

The newcomers attacked the sheet of purple energy meant to keep our opponents from fleeing. Reid and the others fought with renewed strength, the chamber growing noticeably warmer from the concentrated magical energy.

If the barricade fell, at least ten new mages would join the fight. Quickly defeating those in the chamber became imperative.

I focused on Reid, my diamond blazing with white light. Reid was powerful but arrogant, overconfident in his numerical advantage. He also didn’t know the full extent of my rarely seen skills.

“You’ve made a critical error,” Reid said with a twisted grin. “We don’t need to beat you to win. I only have to keep you in here with us and give James time.”

My diamond pulsed, releasing a blinding flash that swept across the chamber like silent lightning.

Reid and the nearby mages threw their arms up, shielding their eyes.

In that moment of distraction, I shaped my magic into a concentrated beam of white energy that struck Reid’s shield like a sledgehammer.

Reid staggered backward, his smirk gone. “Impressive, but not enough.”

He slammed his stone into the ground, and the floor beneath me turned liquid with darkness.

Shadow-hands erupted upward, reaching for my ankles and wrists.

I struck the darkness with my fire, creating a nova of light that forced the darkness to retreat with an audible shriek.

Reid’s face hardened with the failure of his assault.

Around me, the battle raged with increasing intensity as magic collided in spectacular fashion.

Bart’s purple spears worked in concert with Eldwin’s pink sigils that burned through the air.

Where their spells overlapped, the magic created shimmering distortions that blinded our foes.

Four of Reid’s mages lay unmoving, their stones scattered across the floor, while three more were pinned against the wall by what appeared to be translucent gold chains conjured from Hro’s blade.

Reid fought with the skill I expected from one in his position. He maintained his composure even as his companions went down. A sliver of darkness lanced toward me, nearly piercing my shield. Grunting, I reinforced my protection and then counterattacked.

I checked on Cael’s progress and was pleased to see many glyphs had disappeared from the chamber’s floor. Soon they’d free Ailpein, and hopefully we could end this by creating a new Great Ward.

“They’re breaking through,” Bart’s voice strained as purple energy flared from his stone.

He’d strengthened the barricade, but we were in a race to free Ailpein before the enemy reinforcements broke through.

Reid and the survivors must’ve noticed what Bart had, and fought with renewed tenacity.

Brilliant magic bounced around the room, momentarily blinding me.

Before my sight cleared, attacks from multiple directions battered me.

Most weren’t strong, but a vicious attack from Reid rattled my defenses.

I barely deflected it, countering with a burst of white energy that forced him back a step.

In the pause between attacks, I saw most of the glyphs had vanished.

The fight intensified as Reid’s onyx stone blazed with dark energy as he launched a string of spells at me. I parried his spell and countered with a barrage of crystalline darts that streaked toward his face.

Bart and Eldwin had their opponents backing toward the wall. Once those mages were down, Reid would be overwhelmed.

A flash of blue-gold light caught my peripheral vision. “We’re through!” Cinaed called. “C lear us a path!”

Relief surged through me. I pressed Reid harder, keeping him too busy to stop Ailpein’s rescue.

Panic replaced the smug arrogance on Reid’s face.

He pivoted toward Cinaed, and I sliced my diamond through the air.

A crescent-shaped wave of white energy whistled as it sped toward him.

The spell’s edge carved a gouge in his shield.

His attention snapped back to me, eyes widening.

“The phoenix!” Reid’s voice cracked with panic. “Stop them!”