Queen Antares wasted no time. Her eyes narrowed, and she threw her arms into the air, her honeysuckle wind roaring in turn. I stepped back as several small boulders rose into the air and hurtled toward me.
I reacted, sending the darkness reaching for the boulders when I realized too late, I’d never successfully destroyed anything other than organic material. A spasm of panic sent me diving for the ground as the boulders flew through the darkness, past me, and over the edge of the cliff.
Disappointment escaped the queen’s lips in a click as I got to my feet.
“No stones. I assume no steel then, either?”
I pulled my gaze away.
“Pity.”
Another volley of boulders burst forward, hurtling toward Tiberius. My heart leaped in my throat, and a wild hysteriagrew as I released the Obscura. This time, I sent it right for the queen’s smug face.
The boulders faltered in the air and dropped, rolling to where Tiberius had previously stood. He circled overhead, waves of rage rippling off him. The queen threw up a shield of her own as her eyes locked on mine, narrowing in focus. Icy rage raced through my veins, feeding the Obscura. The darkness swarmed as I released it in ribbons of black mist. They bucked as they hit her shield, and I pushed. Howdareshe come after Ti?
I loosened my control over the darkness, allowing it to search the shield for weakness.
Harder, I demanded.
It obeyed, thrilled with my rage.
The queen’s eyes locked on mine, triumph glimmering in their depths. I blinked and closed my hands, choking off the darkness. The power recoiled as the black streaks along my forearms slowly receded. Tiberius landed in the distance and snorted as his massive hooves stomped on the ground.
That was a test,he grumbled.
I realize that now, I snapped.
The queen looked between the two of us as she let her shield drop.
“I suspected there was more to the bond than magic wings. You can speak, can’t you?” she asked, arching a delicate eyebrow.
Her smile widened when I didn’t respond, and my stomach dropped. I was exceedingly outmatched by this woman.
The queen’s sweet wind whipped up from the ground, flipping my feet above my head in a vice grip. Tiberius let out a snort as he cast to me from behind another cage of wind. I sent the Obscura after her, attempting to distract her enough to drop the force of air. She threw up a pile of logs into the shadows, forcing it to obliterate the wood instead of herself.
I strained to block out Tiberius’s rage and panic, trying like hell to concentrate on breaking the hold she had on me. I slowed my breathing, pushing past that sickly smell, allowing my mind to empty as it did during my centering exercises with Vulcan.
A tiny, prickling sensation snagged my attention. It was foreign, curious. I opened my eyes and glanced into the forest around us. My gaze snagged on the smallest glimmers of silver, flickering in and out of the dense pocket of leaves.
The queen snarled in irritation, and she hurled a group of stones at the silver, which disappeared, along with the tingling sensation.
Her wind shifted, and I began to spin. The world around me tilted and blurred. I swallowed the nausea that rose and reached desperately for that connection with the wind. My brain rattled in my skull as she picked up speed. I opened my mouth to beg when I thumped on the damp forest floor with a hard thud.
I stood on the wobbling knees of a foal and blinked against the still-turning world when my heart stopped. A crazed look of delight danced in the queen’s eyes. She held a new shield against Tiberius, whose black wings pumped wildly as he reared before her. Rivers of black mist streamed from the tips of his soft feathers as he blew a cloud of raw darkness and power in her direction.
A look of wild triumph crossed the queen’s features, and my stomach plummeted.
STOP!
His anger was the only response.
My lips parted as Tiberius’s massive hooves cut through the air, shadows of death rippling from his wings and chest, a mighty and formidable sight. My knees crashed to the ground in shock.
Tiberius’s dark eyes flashed to mine, and he galloped to where I knelt, the shadows siphoning back into his raven body as he snorted and huffed, frothy sweat dripping from his withers.
How did you… When did?—
I don’t know,he replied, his voice wavering in my head.I thought she was going to kill you?—
