by Linsey Hall
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced it back, bending over the egg to inspect it. There was a tiny latch in the middle, and I flicked it with trembling fingers. The egg popped open, revealing the dagger within.
It was beautifully ornate, silver and gold. I withdrew it, enjoying the warmth on my palm.
“What the hell do I do with it?” I muttered.
A quick glance showed the monsters nearly through the ice wall.
But no.
Just killing them didn’t seem right.
I was a Dragon Blood, in the land of the Dragon Bloods, here to create new power.
There was only one thing to do.
I dragged the blade down my wrist, wincing as the pain cut deep. Magic sparked from the silver, and it was clear that this blade was different.
It would be the blade that gave me the magic I needed. It would allow me to adopt my mother’s power to heal Tarron and defeat her.
Midnight blood poured over my pale skin as I turned to the other wrist, slicing the skin deep. More blood welled, and I sucked in a deep breath as I turned my wrists to the ground and let the warm blood flow over my cold legs.
I forced my magic out with it, pushing every bit of power that I had into the air around me. As weakness stole over me, I gripped the magical blade tight and envisioned the power I needed.
Healing and strength.
My mother’s magic had cursed him, so I’d adopt it and use it to cure him. I’d also use it to fight her on even footing.
My vision began to blacken as more and more of my blood flowed onto the slate around me. The magic that rushed out along with it made my soul feel empty.
More power.
I just needed more. Like her. Enough to heal, enough to defeat. Adopting her skills was the only way I could turn back the damage that she had done.
When I was nearly about to fall over, magic sparked on the air. The hilt of the dagger heated in my hand, and the power rushed back into me, filling me up with strength and warmth. Filling me up with magic like hers.
Please work.
10
Magic surged through my veins, filling me with power I’d never had before. Shaking, I stood. The wounds on my arms had healed, and my strength had returned. Magic pulsed within me.
The monsters that menaced my family spun to face me, sniffing the air as their gazes landed on me. They tilted their heads, clearly curious.
Slowly, they prowled toward me. My skin prickled with anticipation, and it took everything I had not to draw a weapon.
No.
Something told me that was a bad idea. I sucked in a breath and waited, trying to slow my racing heart as they moved forward. They were so big that their heads were level with my shoulders. Each one had to weigh at least a thousand pounds, all muscle and deadly claws and teeth.
They stopped right in front of me and sniffed.
My mind raced as I debated whether or not to draw a weapon.
Then, they disappeared.
My shoulders sagged.
Oh, thank fates I’d read the situation correctly.
The cavern was quiet except for the sound of my heaving breaths. I stood alone with my family, power coursing through me. The ice walls still encased Tarron and Aeri, but they were thinner than they had been.
I rubbed my hands together. Time for a little magic.
I called upon my new power and thrust out my hands, envisioning blasting golden light that the false queen had conjured. Surely it could blow away these walls.
Nothing came.
Frustration surged inside me.
I tried again.
Still, nothing came.
What the hell?
I had magic—I could feel it. But not the power that I’d asked for, it seemed.
Fear chilled me, followed closely by anger. Had this really not worked?
I called upon an ax from the ether and gripped the wooden handle tight. The ice fortress that surrounded Aeri and Declan was closer to me, so I charged toward them, attacking the wall that stood between us.
Rage surged as I hacked at the ice. Sweat poured down my back as I gave it everything I had—the rage that I couldn’t do the job, the rage that I didn’t know where to go from here. It coursed through me like fire, and I turned it toward the ice, hacking at it until I could reach Aeri.
Finally, the last shards broke free. I scrambled through the hole and stumbled toward her. She and Declan were tied to a post, both slumped and unconscious.
“Aeri!” I called a knife from the ether and sliced at the ropes that bound her.
She twitched. “Mari!”
I cut the last of the rope free, and she stumbled forward, Declan at her side.
Quickly, I ran around to face her and threw my arms around her. “You’re okay!”
She hugged me tight, then pulled back, her gaze confused. “Yeah. I blacked out. Now…I’m here?”
“I’ll explain in a minute.”
I climbed back through the hole in the rapidly melting ice wall and sprinted to Tarron. Again, I conjured the ax. Rage still drove my motions. Even worse, there was uncertainty. I hadn’t done what I’d come here to do. I had new power—I could feel it—but not what I’d expected. Not all that I wanted.
Please let the healing work.
Something had changed in me, and I prayed that it would be the ability to heal Tarron.
My lungs heaved as I smashed my ax against the ice, the force of the blows singing up my arms. Finally, I hacked through the last of the ice, forming a hole big enough to climb through. I scrambled inside, cutting myself on shards of ice. Pain shot through my arm where the ice had slashed me, but I ignored it.
Like Aeri and Declan, Tarron was slumped against his bindings.
“Tarron!”
His head jerked up and his eyes flared gold and black.
Shit.
“You.” He hissed, thrashing against his bindings. His muscles bulged and his face turned red as he fought to reach me.
I gripped his shoulders and shook him. “Tarron! I know you’re in there!”
“I’m coming for you. She’s coming for you.”
That bitch. I couldn’t take it anymore. She’d been hounding me since this began, and I was going to take her out. I didn’t care that I didn’t have the magic she did. I was going to end her.
But first, I was going to heal Tarron, damn it.
I wouldn’t fail at that. Couldn’t.
I sucked in a deep breath and gripped his shoulders tightly. My new magic bubbled up inside me, and I fed it into him. “I’m going to find this poison and drive it out of you.”
“The hell you will,” he growled.
My magic connected with his, and suddenly, I could feel the curse that was inside him. Like black ink spilled over his soul, it polluted him. The curse took away the goodness and replaced it with the false queen’s evil rage.
I forced my own magic toward it. The healing power connected to his soul—something I’d never been able to do before. Maybe it was a version of my mother’s magic or maybe it was something entirely new.
But it’s working.
Determination and energy flowed through me, and I pushed them into him. No way I was stopping this until it was done, even if it killed me.
And I’d finish in time. We didn’t have long until the final battle came, and Tarron would be on my side fully. I might not have all the magic I needed to defeat her and survive the battle—but damned if I’d give up.
As my magic stamped out the evil that had been painted onto his soul, the gold began to fade from Tarron’s eyes. The black streaks receded, and his struggles slowed.
“What are you doing?” His voice was still rough with anger, but confusion flowed between the words.
“Healing you.” My heart pounded. The darkness was almost gone. “Bringing you back.”
He jerked away halfheartedly, but the bindings kept him in place.
Finally, I dro
ve the last of the darkness from his soul.
He blinked, his eyes totally green once more. “Mari?”
“Tarron!” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged tight. “Do you feel her anymore?”
“No. She’s gone.”
I pulled back, joy surging through me. I might have failed at part of this—but not all of it, thank fates.
I’d healed him.
Ecstatic, I pressed my lips to his and kissed him with everything I had. He groaned and kissed me back, so skilled that he swept my mind away.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I groaned, pulling back.
Tarron gave me a half smile, relief on his face. “Your sister wants you.”
I turned, exhaustion pulling at my muscles. I’d used so much magic, and I could feel it. Standing on the other side of the ice wall with her head peeking through the hole was Aeri.
She grinned at me. “Perisea is here to see you.”
Shit. I turned back to Tarron. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Damned straight we will.”
I hurried around behind him, using a dagger to saw away at the bindings that lashed him to the post.
He freed himself and shook out his arms, then turned to me. “How’d we get in here?”
“Perisea. You remember nothing?”
“I blacked out.”
“Aeri said the same.” I climbed back through the hole in the ice and found Perisea waiting for me.
Unlike before, she was in her dragon form. Awe filled me at the sight of her. She was incredible. Her crimson scales glinted in the light, and her black claws gleamed like onyx. Ebony eyes watched me carefully.
I stood still under her inspection, hoping I was passing.
Finally, magic swirled around her, and she transformed to her semi-human body.
She sauntered toward me, all grace and power. “You’ve completed the tasks.”
“Have I?” I asked as she stopped in front of me. “Because I don’t have everything I came for.”
She shrugged elegantly. “My Arachanaliths report that you didn’t kill them or their young. And the Hydrera, the water dragon, allowed you to pass. So it seems that you proved yourself worthy.” Her gaze moved to Tarron. “And he appears to be healed.”
I looked back at Tarron, who stood a few feet behind me, clearly healthy again. I hadn’t realized that he’d looked different before—and he hadn’t, not really. But he’d felt different. Like his aura had been off.
That difference was gone now, and he was entirely back to himself. It soothed the not-so-low-level anxiety that I’d been harboring.
I turned back to Perisea. “You’re right. I did heal him. And that was the most important thing.” I ignored his gruff noise of disapproval. “But I’d hoped to get the same crazy golden magic that the false queen has. The speed and power of that is something we can’t possibly beat. We’ve tried.”
“Have you tried everything?”
“Yes!” I wanted to shout the words, but I managed to keep my tone at a reasonable decibel. Barely. “We’ve tried everything, and I’m still not as strong as she is.”
“Perhaps you’re approaching this the wrong way.” Perisea tilted her head. “Perhaps you need to remember who you are.”
“What does that mean?”
A thunderous boom shook the cavern. Slate chips rained from the ceiling, and I staggered, covering my head. Even Perisea stumbled.
Her black eyes widened as they met mine. “She comes.”
“What?”
Before Perisea could answer, a white light flashed in the middle of the cavern.
The false queen appeared, tall and powerful, her lacy black dress looking like it was made of chips of black glass strung together with threads.
“Daughter.” She strode toward me, her hair in an elaborate updo that was threaded through with spikes. “I have been looking for you.”
“Oh, have you?” Fear thrummed through me as I drew my sword and shield from the ether. I wasn’t strong enough to fight her—I could feel the strength of her power wafting toward me. If she struck out, I was going down. Deep in my soul, I knew that my ability to reflect magic would no longer work against her. The power imbalance was too obvious. But maybe the shield could help a bit. At the very least, I needed to draw her attention from the others.
“Of course.” Her gaze flicked to Aeri, who stood about twenty feet to my left. “Both of you are integral to my plan.”
“And what is that?” I asked, stalling for time while I hoped that Perisea might transform into a dragon and fry her ass with some fire. That might be the only thing that could defeat this bitch.
She laughed. “I couldn’t possibly tell you, though I will say that your blood—both pure and tainted—will come in very handy. But rather than explain, I think it’s better that I just take you.”
She raised her hand, magic sparking around her.
I ducked behind my shield.
“You shall not!” Perisea roared. She thrust out her palm and shot a blast of fiery magic at the false queen. It was so bright that it blinded me, but I heard the false queen’s scream.
Frantic, I blinked, trying to clear my vision. I caught sight of the false queen disappearing, the hem of her black dress the last thing to go.
She was gone.
“Is everyone okay?” I spun in a circle, searching for my family and Perisea.
Aeri, Tarron, and Declan looked fine. Perisea, on the other hand…
She was on her knees, her crimson form duller than before. She no longer sparkled under the light, and her eyes were dimmed.
“Perisea!” I sprinted toward her and knelt at her side, gripping her arms to support her.
“Thank you.” She took the help gratefully, her voice hoarse.
“No, thank you.” I looked at the spot where the false queen had once been. “Somehow, she made it here, but you stopped her.”
She coughed and nodded. “That kind of magic is very powerful, but it drains me.”
Aeri knelt at our side. “Will you be all right?”
“Eventually, I hope.”
I called upon my healing magic, hoping that it might work here. I didn’t fully understand it yet—it was somehow related to the soul and capable of things I didn’t understand. But I had to try.
Carefully, I fed the healing energy into her. Tarron joined us, kneeling at my side.
He caught Perisea’s eye and hovered his hands over her shoulders. “May I?”
She nodded. “Though I doubt you can fix me.”
“We can try.” He gently laid his hands upon her shoulders and fed his magic into her. I felt his healing energy combine with mine, and slowly, Perisea’s brightness began to return.
As my magic flowed into her, I grew weaker. My limbs started to feel heavy and my mind to slow. Next to me, Tarron seemed to grow dimmer as well, as if the light of health was fading from his skin.
Perisea pulled back, breaking our hold on her. “Stop. You cannot give me too much.”
“But you could die.” I reached for her.
She dodged, coughing. “I will not. I will heal.” Her gaze moved to the spot where the false queen had been. “And you must retain your strength to fight her. She is most powerful.”
“An understatement.” Despair filled me. “I can feel that I didn’t get what I needed to fight her. She is still too powerful.”
“Remember who you are.” Perisea stared hard into my eyes, as if trying to will me to understand. Stars sparkled in her dark eyes, a strange knowledge lingering there. “Now go. I was able to see what the false queen is planning. What she has accomplished. And it is not good. She has infiltrated your realm.” Her gaze moved to Tarron. “Taken over the minds of some of your subjects. You do not have long before she has taken all of them. Her power grows with every conquest.”
Oh.
Suddenly her growing power made sense.
“What is she planning?” Aeri asked.
“As sh
e said, something with the two of you. Your blood.” She looked at Aeri. “Pure dragon blood.” Her gaze moved to mine. “Tainted.”
I frowned, not liking that term.
Before I could argue, she said, “You have something in your possession that will help. Aranthian Crystal.”
I frowned. “But it doesn’t freeze the false queen.”
“Still, it will be useful. In the moment, you will know.” She flicked her hand. “That is the most I can tell you. Now go. And be victorious.”
The ether sucked me in, spinning me through space. I reached out, trying to stop myself from being dragged away. But it was too late. I was swept into the ether and thrust out onto the street in front of my house.
The last thing I heard was the echoing voice of Perisea, “Have faith. And remember who you are.”
The words floated eerily in the air, fading quickly away.
Nighttime had fallen in Darklane, and the street lamps shed a golden glow over the cobblestones. I spun in a circle, taking in the quiet, empty street.
Tarron appeared next to me, then Aeri and Declan.
“What the hell just happened back there?” Tarron asked. “The false queen actually arrived there, didn’t she? It wasn’t just an illusion.”
“Yeah.” Horror opened a hole in my chest. “She’s so powerful she was able to transport into that stronghold.”
“Do you believe Perisea?” Aeri asked Tarron. “That the false queen has infiltrated your realm?”
“I will check.” He raised his wrist to his lips and spoke into his comms charm. “Luna? Are you there?”
“King Tarron!” Relief sounded in Luna’s voice. “We’ve been trying to reach you. The Unseelie queen has somehow gotten her hooks into our court. Her magic has polluted the minds of some of your subjects.”
Shit. So it was true. And it must have happened while he was unconscious in the dragons’ slate caverns.
“How many?” he asked.
“Twenty percent, maybe. And counting. It’s worse in the Unseelie Realm. Everyone who is not in the Resistance is on her side. With the way her strength is growing, we don’t have much longer.”
I looked between my companions, dread unfurling within me. I’d gotten as much magic as I was going to get for this battle.
