Tuck froze. “Feel what?”
Before I could answer, the barrier around Hexia quaked, and a loud boom echoed through Hexia. Back toward the marketplace, deafening screams filled the air. I spun on my heels and began to run headlong toward the purple explosions.
Tuck grabbed my arm and yanked me back. “Where are you going?”
“To help.” I yanked my arm free of his grip. “That’s what you all brought me here to do. Now let me go.”
“I’m coming with you!” He summoned his swords from the palms of his hands.
“Get them.” I pointed toward Nova and Serrina, who stood at the edge of the fire fields. “I’m going to need them.”
“How do you know?” Tuck peered off into the distance, looking toward the purple explosions as well. “What’s out there?”
“I can feel him, Tuck…so much power.” It was true. The power sat thick and heavy in the air, drawing magic to it like a vacuum. I knew because I could feel my own power going toward him. But I held it back, clinging to it like a lifeline. I opened my senses, feeling the center of where it all came from. Evil, anger, greed—it was all there in spades. It left a bad taste in my mouth. “It’s him…Alataris.”
Chapter 15
Zinnia
I ran away from Tuck, pumping my arms as hard as I could to get across the fire lands.
Behind me, he called out, “But you’ll burn!”
“I won’t…I borrowed some of your power…thanks.” I waved and kept on going. The barrier shook so hard I swore it would come down on my head at any moment. This was the last witch stronghold in all of Evermore. I’d be damned if it would fall to him just when I’d discovered this amazing world.
I skidded to a halt where the barrier was being attacked. Like a piece of glass, there was a large crack running from the ground halfway up the see-through wall. Shards began to fall into the fire lands, each one hissing as it dropped in the flames. “Alataris!”
The explosions stopped instantly and like a phantom, he appeared through the smoke just outside the barrier. A man who was built from nightmares. He was tall, nearly seven feet, with a slim, long body and an oval face that came down into a chin that was too sharp and pointed. His eyes glowed a deep purple from within, like his powers were burning up his soul. A beat-up crown sat on top of his head, and though he wore a suit, it was too small for his lanky body. Dark circles hung under his eyes, giving his pale skin a sickly look. He stood straight and dusted off the sleeves of his suit coat.
“What’s this? They’ve sent a baby witch to deal with a king?” He pressed his hand against his chest, then looked down his nose at me. “I’m almost offended.”
I held my hands out to my sides. I opened my senses the way I’d done in class the day before. I could feel the magic swirling around him, see it in bright silvery colors that called to me. “I don’t care. You need to leave now.”
Where were these brave words coming from? Terror like I never knew coursed through my veins, yet I stood ready to take on the man who’d killed multiple queens before me.
A wicked sneer spread across his face. He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose. Then his eyes flashed wide open. “Zinnia, you’re lovelier than I ever imagined.”
I stepped back. “How do you know me?”
“A Siphon Witch can recognize one of their own, can they not?” He walked up to the barrier and splayed his hand over it. “I’ve heard much about you. You almost killed my favorite daughter. Something I won’t easily forgive.”
“Sorry, not sorry.” I shrugged, pretending to be braver than I felt. I wanted to turn and run from him. But if I did, Hexia would fall. What then?
Tabitha ran to my side. “Are we really doing this now?”
“Do we have a choice? Hexia can’t fall.” I never took my eyes off of him.
Alataris ran his hand up and down the glass-like wall and tapped his fingers against it. The barrier shuttered and groaned.
“Stop that!” I opened my powers and pulled just a little of his from him. I fell back and caught myself on my hands.
Tabitha bent over and grabbed my elbow to yank me up. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I wasn’t ready for that much…power. It packs a punch.”
The air shifted around me, and Tuck landed at my side with Nova and Serrina. He folded his fire wings against his body. “What are you doing here, Alataris?”
Alataris folded his hands in front of himself. “Hmm… I do believe I am Siphoning power from the barrier surrounding Hexia.” He took a step back. “Funny, I only thought about this after hearing about how powerful you are, Zinnia.”
He reached out in front of him as if to touch me, even though we stood yards away from each other. “I must say, I find it intriguing that you haven’t ascended, and yet you are still able to wield magic the way you do. You will make for a very interesting trophy this cycle.”
He tilted his head to the side, looking right at Tuck. “Oh, a phoenix, how intriguing. I wonder, does she know?”
I glanced from Tuck to Alataris. “What’s he talking about?”
Tuck shook his head. “Leave now, before this gets ugly.”
“I can’t do that, my boy.” Alataris stood back from the barrier and splayed his spider-like fingers. Magic seeped from the wall into his palms.
The ground beneath my feet quaked. Nova turned toward me. “What do we do?”
“Remember the bubble you put around me in class?” I held my hand up, ready to do something that might kill me. “Do it now.”
Serrina and Nova locked their grip. Red streams flew from Serrina’s fingertips and mingled with Nova’s golden sparks. Tabitha shot a stream from her palms to force the bubble into the huge crack.
I gritted my teeth. “My turn.”
I raised my hands and called to the power he stole from Hexia. At first, it trickled toward me, one drop at a time, then suddenly it was like a waterfall flowing into my body so quickly I nearly drowned in it.
Across from me, Alataris threw his head back and bellowed. “No! Stop! No!”
But I couldn’t stop. I had to do this. My body shook from head to toe. “It’s too much. I have to get rid of it. Too much.” I felt like at any moment, I’d explode if I didn’t channel it all in another direction. My legs buckled, and I hit the ground, refusing to stop taking the power he stole.
Tucker caught me around my shoulders. “You have to stop this, Zin. Stop.”
“No!” A wild laugh escaped my lips, and I turned toward the other queens. “Get ready.”
“What?” Nova tilted her head to the side with wide eyes.
But it was too late. I’d already moved one of my hands toward them. With my left hand, I sucked in everything I could from Alataris, and with my right, I shot the power into Nova, Serrina and Tabitha. All at once, they levitated off the ground, and silver bolts of magic danced around their bodies as the wind whipped across the fire field.
“Close the crack. Close it.” I shoved Tucker away and struggled to my feet.
Alataris’s eyes bulging, and he snarled at me. “You think to toy with me, girl?”
“No, I think to kick your ass.” I rose up off the ground. I could see the circle of magic moving along the barrier. Alataris sucked it from the wall, and I drew it from him and shoved it into the other queens. No one was winning, but we weren’t losing ground either. “How long can you do this, old man?”
That’s how it would end, whoever could hold out the longest. Serrina’s shoulders hunched in on herself. “Zin, I can’t take much more.”
Shit. Think, Zinnia. “Tabi, stand at the crack now. Tuck, light it up.”
“Yes!” His eyes lit with understanding. He held his hands out, and like flame throwers, fired erupted in a stream of massive heat at the crack.
Tabitha swiped her hand to the side, sending sand straight into the fireballs. Soon, it was melting together. “Nova, Serrina, we need the power there.”
They each tur
ned and aimed at the swirling ball of glowing molten glass.
I tilted my head at Alataris. “Not today, Satan, not today.” I sucked in the last bit of magic I could from him and shoved it at the ball. It shot forward into a sheet of lava over the crack Alataris had created.
Tabitha let out an ear-piecing scream. “Water!” The water from the fields flew to her command and smacked against the lava, cooling it instantly.
Alataris dropped to the ground on the other side of the wall, and I shut the connection down instantly. His boney shoulders hunched in. “Until next time…Zinnia.” He snapped his finger and disappeared behind a dark cloud of purple smoke. When it cleared, he was gone.
Exhaustion weighed on me. I turned to check on Nova, Serrina and Tabitha. One by one, they dropped to the ground in unconscious heaps. I fell forward barely, holding myself up on my hands and knees. Tears streamed down my face, each one smacking into the ground beneath me.
Tuck drew me onto his lap. “That was crazy. Don’t you ever, ever do that again.”
I reached up and brushed my fingers down the side of his cheek the way I’d wanted to do for days now. “I…had…no…choice…”
And then the blackness took me…I felt him shaking my body. He called my name, but I was too far gone to come back to him now…I let it take me…
Chapter 16
Tucker
Niche paced back and forth in front of me. Her cheeks were so red with anger they nearly matched her hair. “It was too early for them to face him. You realize this, don’t you?”
I ground my teeth together. “What would you have me do? If we ran away, Hexia wouldn’t be standing right now.”
Medical tents and cots littered the area just outside of the Elemental Fields. Though no witches played among them, they drifted along with each passing breeze as if the attack had never happened. But when I turned to face the marketplace, it was in complete chaos. Glass doors had been broken, and witches huddled together, some with dirt marring their faces and others with cuts and bruises covering them from head to toe. When the wall quaked, everyone scattered, nearly trampling each other to get away from Alataris. They ran away while she ran toward him.
Niche’s cheeks puffed out as she blew a breath from her lips. She paced back and forth in front of the tent where the queens were recuperating. “This was too soon. Now he knows their weaknesses, and he’s seen her. He’s seen Zin. He knows what she’s capable of. He can overcome them at the first sign of weakness.”
“Not necessarily. Zinnia ascends tomorrow. We don’t know what that’ll mean for her or for her powers. As of right now, she’s doing beautifully. Who else could have done something like what happened today after only three days of practice?” I wasn’t going to lie, she was utterly amazing, and a shot of pride went through me.
“Tucker, she put herself and the others in danger. This can’t happen again.” She stopped in front of me. “And we have another problem.”
An elderly witch came to stand beside Niche. Though Niche was a small five-foot-two inches and close to one hundred and ten pounds, she towered over the elderly woman. “Tuck, this is Maude.”
I extended my hand out toward her. “Pleased to meet you, Maude.” When she placed her tiny hand in mine, I took care not to squeeze her frail fingers too tightly. I felt as though I could break her bones if I wasn’t careful.
Maude smiled up at me, and the olive skin around her deep hazel eyes wrinkled. “I saw you in the trials, very impressive.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.” Back in Cindelore, my mother always stressed respecting my elders, and that carried through now. “What do you need to show me?”
“There is a problem with the barrier and the siphon stone that charges it.” She spoke so softly I could barely hear her.
I leaned in closer to her. “What do you mean?”
“Come look.” She hobbled over to the barrier behind the tents and pressed her finger against it. It gave against her hand, then pushed it back out. “The barrier isn’t as strong as it once was. It used to be like a cement wall. Now, it’s more like a balloon.”
“Are you saying we have to evacuate Hexia?” There were thousands of witches residing in Hexia. It was the one place they were free to practice their craft in peace. Evacuation of a kingdom this size would be damn near impossible.
Maude’s lips turned down in a frown. “No, my boy, that is impossible. Especially not into the Alpine mountains.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Maude peered up at Niche, and they both shared a concerned look. Niche was the first to speak. “There is a spell that might help save us all.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get it.” I would do whatever it took to protect these people from Alataris. This was the home of the witches, and I had sworn to protect them.
Maude placed her hand on my elbow. “It’s not that simple.”
I glanced from Maude back to Niche. “Then explain it to me.”
Niche pushed her glasses up her nose and sighed. “The barrier is magically charged by the siphon stone, which uses the powers of all five casts bestowed upon it by the Elder Witches.”
“Okay, so why can’t we get them to charge the stone again?”
“Because none of the remaining elders are strong enough to do it. Right now, they’re holding up the barrier by sheer luck. It’s only a matter of days before it falls, and then there will be nothing stopping him from coming… There might be one other issue.” Niche folded her hands in front of her.
I waved her on. There was nothing worse than when I knew bad news was coming, but I had to wait to hear it. “Niche, just tell me.”
“The spell to charge a siphon stone can only be done by a fully powered Siphon Witch. And at this rate, it will take the most powerful one we know. Because only a Siphon Witch can actually touch the stone.”
I kicked at a rock on the ground. “Let me get this straight. Zinnia, who has barely had her powers for three days and who will ascend at midnight tonight after utterly exhausting herself, is the only one who can charge the stone enough so the barriers can be reinforced?”
Maude held up a single finger. “Just one more thing.”
Are you kidding me? I rolled my shoulders back, trying to relax myself. “Okay?”
“The spell to charge the stone has been lost in the crystal caves since the siphon stone was created…We need to find the spell and bring it to the stone in the center of Hexia to fix everything.”
A headache began to form at the back of my neck and run down my shoulders. “How long do we have?”
Niche swallowed. “Three days.”
“Three days! She can not do this, Niche. It’s too much to ask. She’s not ready.”
**Zinnia**
My eyes slid open as I slowly came awake. Where am I? What time is it? Hell, what day is it? When I rolled to my side, every muscle in my body screamed in protest. I groaned and sat up on my elbows. Beside me, Nova, Serrina and Tabitha slept soundly. Outside, the sound of angry voices carried through the walls of the tent.
“You can’t know that?” Niche’s voice rose an octave.
“I do know that. You saw her today. That amount of power could kill someone. She barely contained it, and now you want to send her on this quest!” I’d never heard Tuck so angry before. He was always calm, cool and collected.
“There is no other way, Tucker Brand.” Niche’s words were so harsh, she might as well have slapped him.
“I’m telling you to find one. Zinnia is not capable. She needs more time to train and become more controlled. We’re lucky no one got killed today. And now you want to put a whole kingdom in her hands? She can’t do it.”
I lurched to my feet and began making my way toward the flaps at the back of the tent. I couldn’t believe Tuck would say those things about me. Hurt didn’t even begin to describe how I was feeling. I trusted him, and he was badmouthing me to Niche? I stormed out of the tent. “Can�
��t do what exactly?”
Niche, Tucker and a woman I didn’t recognize all turned to look at me with wide eyes. I strolled out of the tent to join their little circle. “I can’t do what?”
Tucker reached out and placed his hand on my elbow. “Zinnia…”
I took a small step back and let his hand slip from my skin. “Would one of you please tell me what’s happening here…and it should not be Tucker.”
Niche narrowed her eyes at us, then turned toward me. “The fix you placed on the barrier around Hexia will only hold temporarily, and now we need to figure out a way to repair the damage for good before Alataris comes back.”
“And you think you’ve found a way to do that?” I looked around at the madness that was left after Alataris attacked Hexia. Witches lay on cots spread out around at the makeshift triage camp, the shops in the market were in complete disarray and broken glass littered the streets as people clung to each other.
“We believe that if some of the team travels into the crystal siphon caves, we might be able to find the spell to reinforce the siphon stone at the center of Hexia.” Niche wrapped her arm around the older woman’s shoulder and squeezed her. “The catch is…it has to be you.”
Not that I was going to say no. I never would. These people believed in me. They needed me, and I wouldn’t let them down. But I had some questions. “Why does it have to be me?”
“Because only a very powerful Siphon Witch can bind the powers of all five casts into the stone. You’re the only one we have.”
I nodded. “Okay, when do I leave?”
Tucker stepped up beside me. “It’s not that simple. We can’t just leave right now.”
I rounded on him. “I understand you don’t have any faith in me, but I will not let this happen. I am going to get that spell, and I will save Hexia. One way or another.”
“Zin, it’s not that I don’t believe in you.”
I held my hand up, cutting him off. “I heard you loud and clear before.” The only way I could mask the hurt I felt was to use my anger as a shield. How could he have said those things about me? Tears threatened to give me away, but I sucked them back in and swallowed around the ball in my throat. “When do we go?”
Wicked Witch (The Royals: Witch Court Book 1) Page 12
