Dakota laughed, the sound cruel and cold and grating my ears.
Constantine handed her his scroll and pulled a wand from his cloak. Then he began to murmur a spell, the chords of the enchantment underlined with death.
“Tawaqweef!”I shouted, blasting his incantation to literal pieces. Shard of rocks splayed across the stage, hitting Ella in the face, but keeping her very much alive.
Constantine didn’t hesitate, his lack of surprise telling as he pointed to me in the crowd. “Seize her!”
I’d unknowingly shadowed in with a cloak around my shoulders and hiding my head, which was why no one had noticed me.
But they did now.
A horde of Warrior Bloods appeared from the shadows, the trap evident in the way they moved directly into sight, their focus on me.
Yes, this was definitely real.
Which meant Anrika and Emelyn were dead. Because of this monster. Thisthingthat the Midnight Fae chose to follow. Several fae from the crowd pulled their wands and directed them at me, their propensity for violence a dark mark against my psyche.
Midnight Fae kill, I thought, looking around at these lethal beings and their love for drawing blood.What is wrong with you?
They all craved death.
They all wantedmydeath.
They all were okay with standing by to watch innocents die.
Unworthy, I thought.You’re all so unworthy.
Midnight Fae in general weren’t kind. They were bad. Evil. Vile. They didn’t value life or joy or brightness. They craved the darkness inside their hearts.
I blocked all their incoming spells, the shield Zeph had taught me how to make nearly impenetrable.
And behind it, I growled.
I hated all of them. I hated Midnight Fae. I hated their desire for gruesome displays of torture.
They’d all been enraptured by Constantine’s demonstration. Some of them had evenapplauded. Despicable. Wrong. Cruel beings.
I don’t want to be like any of you. I don’t want to be your queen or represent your kind. You’re evil, all of you!I knelt to the ground, a spell lining my lips. I would destroy them all just the way they liked. Teach them all?—
Aflora!Shade yelled into my mind, stopping me mid-spell and breaking through some sort of block I’d created in my mind. In the next breath, all my mates entered my thoughts, but Zakkai was the loudest among them.
It’s a trial,Zakkai said, his urgency in my mind granting me a brief moment of clarity.
It’s not real?I asked, hopeful.
It’s real,he replied sadly.But it’s still a trial.
Anrika… Emelyn…
I know,he replied.
He killed them.
I know, he repeated.He must have felt you embracing the dark source during training, and he chose to act accordingly. He did all this to trap you.
I’d already guessed that with the Warrior Bloods.
But I hadn’t considered the trial.
