by Linsey Hall
I flew down, landing on the muddy ground. It sloshed around my feet. If I wasn’t quick, I would flood this place while trying to keep it from burning.
I strode toward the well, finding the shaft entirely filled in. Dirt had been packed into the hole, and dead grass now covered the top.
The dark magic pulsed from deep within, coming from somewhere in the earth.
Shit.
Whatever power was cursing this land was so far underground that I wouldn’t be able to reach it.
No.
I dragged my hands through my hair. There had to be a way.
Lightning crackled in my veins.
An idea flared. It seemed impossible, but I had to try. If there was any water left in the well at all, I might be able to blast the whole thing open to get to the curse inside.
Anyway, there were no other options. I had to be strong enough, because there was no way I could get digging machinery out here. That was ridiculous.
I called upon the lightning within me, drawing it from the sky. I directed my hand toward the well, blasting it as thunder cracked. The bolt struck so hard and so fierce that the earth exploded upward. Steam billowed.
Thank fates.
I called upon more lightning, hitting it again. The bolt was so strong that it struck deep into the earth, boiling the water in the well and causing the ground to explode. I gave it all the power I had, grateful for the combination of science and magic that blew the well apart.
The darkness still called from deep within, and in the distance, the flames roared. I could hear the screams of the Fae as they tried to evacuate their homes.
I launched myself into the air to get a better vantage point, shooting more lightning into the well. It plowed deeper, causing explosions that dug deep down into the earth.
There was so much steam filling the sky that it was nearly impossible to see, but I felt it. It hit me like a blow to the face when my lightning blasted away the last of the earth between myself and whatever was cursing this land.
I flew downward, squinting against the burning steam that billowed out of the well. As the steam dissipated, the shaft loomed dark and deep, the magic within it as evil as anything I’d ever felt…yet familiar. Far too familiar, thanks to my dreams.
A calming sense of fate suffused me as I flew down into the darkness. It was damp and warm, so black that it was nearly impossible to see. If it weren’t for the glowing green light at the bottom, I wouldn’t be able to see at all.
The magic that emanated from it made my stomach turn and my skin chill. Someone had put this down here long ago, and it had come to life, the magic seeping through the ground and bringing the drought that had nearly destroyed this place. I’d heard of curses like this, but I’d never seen one.
I landed near the small green stone that pulsed with evil magic. The bottom of the well shaft was only about four feet in diameter, and the water in it turned the bottom to mud.
The gem called to me, and I bent low, about to pick it up.
No.
It was too dangerous. Knowledge pulsed within me, and I closed my hand into a fist.
I couldn’t touch it, but I had to destroy it.
There was only one option. I called upon the lightning within me once again, feeling it burn and crackle in my veins. I drew it down from the sky, hearing the crack of thunder as it shot into the well shaft and pierced the green stone.
The dark magic within it pulsed, resisting.
I hit it again, calling on an even bigger burst of lightning.
Again, the cursed stone resisted.
I gave it everything I had, knowing that I was permanently sacrificing some of my power.
The lightning bolt that shot down through the well shaft was so huge that it struck me as well. Pain flared, tearing through my muscles as the lightning enveloped both me and the stone.
For the briefest moment, I could feel the curse’s dark magic seep inside of me. It seemed to suck all the magic out of me, forcing a drought inside my body that made me as powerless as a human.
Then it burst outward, the curse evaporating on the air as my magic overpowered it.
I collapsed to my knees in the darkness, the magic fading in the air around me. Panting, my shoulders bent, I tried to get my strength back.
Was all of my magic gone?
I’d known it was a risk when I’d done it. I’d gotten my magic back, yet so quickly I might have lost it.
Memories of the burning village filtered through my mind.
Worth it.
That vision had haunted me most of my life, and now it was done. The worst had come to pass—it was true—but now it was over.
I drew in a shuddering breath and stood. The sky above blazed red with the light of the setting sun. It was a long way up to the surface.
Aching, I called upon my wings, grateful to find that they still worked. Magic still pulsed through my veins, too, growing stronger with each moment.
I launched myself into the air, reaching the surface only a few seconds later. The wind chilled my skin as I flew higher, observing the scene.
The rain still fell, but it was natural this time. The curse that had forced the drought was gone, and this place could take care of itself.
In the distance, the gleaming form of the guardian of the Sacred Sea hovered in the air. She drifted toward me. I waited, watching as she approached.
I could feel the magic still in me—possibly weaker than it had been, but there. I could call on the rain if I needed to, on the lighting or wind.
She stopped in front of me and inclined her head. “You did well.”
I looked at the scene beyond her. “I always thought it was just a dream.”
She shook her head. “It was your fate, waiting for you.”
“What if I had never gotten my magic back?”
She shrugged. “They would have died.”
I watched the people in the village below. They celebrated the rain that finally fell from the sky. “Who cursed them?”
“I do not know, but it happened long ago. Long before you were born.”
“Was I born to save them?” My sister had been born to save our people, the Fire Fae. Had I been born to save these unknown others?
“Perhaps.”
“But I don’t know them.”
“Do you need to?”
“No.” The answer came easily. All I needed to know was that they were in trouble and I could help.
“Well, there’s your answer. You’ll help where you can and when you can with the magic that you gave up for your sister.”
The mention of her reminded me of the situation I’d left them in. “Can I go back to them? They’re in danger.”
The guardian nodded. “I’d say that you can. And may fate’s best wishes be upon you.”
I’d never heard the saying before, but I nodded. “Thank you.”
She flicked her hand, and the ether sucked me in spinning me through space.
When the world stopped whirling, I found myself kneeling at the shore of the Sacred Sea once more. I surged to my feet and spun around.
Time seemed to start again. Sora, Claire, and Cass unfroze, bursting to life as the fight continued. I stepped in front of them and threw out my hands. A hundred bolts of crackling lighting shot from my palms, blasting into the stone soldiers as thunder cracked deafeningly through the air.
The soldiers stopped, toppling to the ground and becoming unassuming piles of rocks.
“Whoa,” Claire’s voice sounded. “That is a badass power.”
I turned to face them. Sora looked at me. A huge grin stretched across her beautiful face as she spotted me. “Connor! You’re fixed!”
“I think I am.”
“I’d say you are,” Cass said. “You just took out a hundred stone soldiers in one fell swoop.”
I could still feel that I’d lost some of my new power when I’d stopped the curse that had almost destroyed that village, but it had been worth it.
> All around, the day was silent. The stones lay scattered on the ground, the magic fallen still.
My sister met my gaze, a million questions in her eyes. “You have some stories to tell, I think.”
17
Sora
Twelve hours later, I snoozed in a chair that had been pulled up to the door of Connor’s lab. It didn’t fit all the way in, so I was halfway in the narrow kitchen, but I didn’t mind. He’d been hard at work these last hours, trying to make the potion that we’d give to the Devil of Darkvale. After everything that had happened, I couldn’t believe we were almost done.
But we were. He’d told Claire everything he’d been hiding all these years—she’d been shocked, of course, but she’d understood—then he’d gotten to work on the potion. After Connor and I had told her the truth, Claire and I had spent some time getting to know each other.
I really liked her. And Cass.
In fact, I really liked this whole place.
As I watched Connor, I wondered where my life would go.
I had options. We’d come so close to death that I’d realized maybe what I was doing wasn’t really living. I could do better.
I settled deeper into the chair. Music echoed through the kitchen, something I didn’t recognize, but Connor hummed along to as he worked.
“How is it coming?” I asked.
“Almost there.” He shot me a grin over his shoulder. “Getting angsty?”
“Ready to have the Devil off my back and go on that date with you.”
He grinned. “In that case, I’ll hurry up.”
I laughed and watched him work. Finally, he turned, a glass vial in his hand. “Ready?”
I hopped upright. “Am I ever.”
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s? Don’t you mean me?”
“No. I’m going with you.”
“The Devil won’t let you in.”
“I’d like to see him try to keep me out.”
Warmth flowed through me. I didn’t want to put Connor in yet another dangerous position, but after what I’d seen of him these last couple days, I knew he could handle himself—even with the Devil. And if I were being honest, I was damned glad to have him at my back. “Okay. Thanks.”
He grinned. “Let’s get a move on.”
We went directly to London using one of Connor’s transport stones. The midafternoon sun was surprisingly bright, welcoming us to the dreary alley where the Haunted Hound was located.
We slipped through the alley and into the pub. Mac no longer worked the bar and had been replaced with a guy I didn’t know well. He ignored us as we went to the secret entrance to Guild City.
Connor moved quickly, as if he knew exactly where he was going and was ready to get the job done—which, I supposed, was exactly the case. He led us through the wall, and then through the gate into Guild City, which was busier than it had been the first time we’d come. The lunch crowd was out in force, filling the bars and restaurants on the square.
Connor turned to me. “Care to lead the way?”
I nodded, my heart thundering. I wasn’t afraid so much as anxious to have this over with. I’d seen how Connor had blasted a hundred soldiers in one go. Even the Devil of Darkvale couldn’t fight that.
And he no longer held my home over my head.
As much as I loved this place—what wasn’t there to love?—I’d seen more of the world now. There were more places I could be happy. More people I could be happy with. Which meant that even if the Devil wasn’t satisfied with the potion we’d made for him, he could kick me out, and it wouldn't devastate me.
Confidence filled me as I strode down the street. This was the first time in years I’d walked through Guild City with my magic intact. I was as powerful as anyone here, no longer a second-class citizen who was as likely to blow myself up as I was to use my magic properly.
It didn’t take long to reach the Devil’s place, and the bouncers at the door seemed to recognize me immediately. Both were bald and wore identical suits. They hesitated at the sight of Connor, who stuck close to my side as we waited.
The one on the right spoke briefly into the comms charm on his wrist, then nodded at us and opened the door. A tall, slender hostess led us through the beautifully appointed nightclub and toward the back.
We stopped at the big black door that led to the Devil’s office.
“Don’t worry,” Connor murmured at me. “I’ve got your back.”
I grinned at him and squeezed his hand. “I know.”
When the door swung open to reveal the Devil seated at his desk, I realized that he looked slightly…shocked.
Perhaps shocked wasn’t quite the right word. But his pupils were dilated, and he looked slightly unsettled, which was unusual for him.
And it had nothing to do with us. His expression didn’t so much as flicker as he looked our way.
Someone had been here before us—someone who had startled the Devil himself.
Nah, I was being crazy.
The Devil’s brows rose. “You brought an escort.”
“Just a friend,” Connor said.
I liked that his tone implied that I could take care of myself.
“Not just a friend.” The Devil’s gray eyes moved between us. “A mate.”
Did I sense longing in his voice?
No—that was crazy.
He was so famous in Guild City that dozens of stories swirled around him. The one that had always stuck with me had come from a seer—that the Devil of Darkvale, the impossible ice man, would have his cold heart thawed by an outsider who would later betray him. It hadn’t happened yet, and I didn’t envy the person who was the other half of that prophecy.
Almost as if he’d read my thoughts, the Devil turned to ice. He’d already been a granite statue, so still and cold that he looked like rock. Now he could be mistaken for an impossibly perfect ice sculpture.
Yeah, I was being crazy. There was no one for the Devil.
“We brought the potion.” I pulled it out of my pocket and approached.
Connor stuck by my side, not deviating an inch.
The Devil watched us keenly, a marble statue animated by intelligence and tightly leashed violence.
I set the potion on his desk, and he inspected it, picking it up to study it.
“It’s perfect,” Connor said.
“You made it?”
“Yes.”
“Are you for hire?”
“If you vow to leave Sora alone and allow her to do whatever she wants in the city.”
Warmth exploded within me. We’d known each other such a short time, but it felt like forever. It felt like there could be forever, if this was how he treated me.
“Agreed,” the Devil said.
“And ensure that the Sorcerer’s Guild doesn’t seek retribution for what we took from them,” Connor added. “I’m sure you have the power for that?”
The Devil merely inclined his head. “I do. And I will.”
“Then feel free to call on me. Potions & Pastilles in Magic’s Bend.”
The Devil nodded once more, and it was clearly our cue.
We turned and left, but I couldn’t help looking back at him. He seemed to have completely forgotten we were there and stared off into space. I shivered.
He was a cold bastard, and scary as hell. I reached for Connor’s hand and gripped it tightly. Having him with me had proven one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt—he was the man for me. I could fight my own battles, but I could do so better with him.
The same hostess escorted us from the Devil’s lair, and by the time we stepped out onto the street, I was grateful to be in the sunshine again. I pulled Connor down the road, away from the keen eyes of the bouncers. We slipped into an alley, and I turned to him, standing up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “Thanks for having my back in there.”
He pulled back and met my eyes. “I want to do more stuff like that for you. In the future, I mean.”
“You
want a future?”
“A future with a date in it, at least.” Something flickered on his face, and though I couldn’t identify it, I liked it. If it hadn’t been so soon, I’d have almost said it looked something like love. “A lot of dates, I hope. All of them. Forever.”
I grinned. “I could be cool with that, I think.”
A cloud drifted over the sun, shrouding Guild City in darkness. “Will you come with me?”
“Anywhere.”
I led him through the city to the street where my tiny flat was located. The road was narrow, and the two-story buildings were ancient, their second story protruding out over the road in the way that many medieval buildings did. I lived on the second floor, and I led him up to it, unlocking the door and stepping into the tiny one-room studio flat. The furniture was old and the smell a bit dusty.
I’d never loved it, but it had kept me dry. The best I could say was that I liked it pretty well, but that wasn’t enough to make a life on.
“What are we doing here?” Connor asked.
“I just need to get something.” There wasn’t much in the flat that mattered to me, and maybe I would come back here one day. But I also liked the idea of leaving with Connor and having the option to keep on going. Not that I’d move in with him, or anything. But I wanted to see other things.
There was so much more to life than Guild City. It had been my home, and an amazing one at that, but I hadn’t had friends here. Or loved ones.
Being with Claire and Connor and Cass had made me see that. My uncontrollable magic had kept me apart from everyone here, and now that I had it back, maybe that could change.
But did I want it to?
Claire and Connor had liked me without it. I’d rather try my luck in Magic’s Bend.
Quickly, I packed a bag with some books and clothes, making sure to gather up all the photos and mementos I could find. It didn’t take me long, and soon I was ready.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Connor nodded and went to the door, leading the way down. We stepped out onto the street just as the three witches arrived.
Coraline, Mary, and Beth stared at us, their brows rising.
Beth smiled. “Perfect timing.”
