The creature sliced into my arm with one of her appendages, and blood welled along the cut. Yazmin caught it with the vial, all the while chanting something in a foreign language beneath her breath. The symbol on her hand started to change. The soft pink lines turned dark and ruddy—currant in color—as if the wrongness of this was tainting the very magic she possessed. We never would’ve thought to suspect her.
Now was my chance to act. I homed in on the blood dripping from my arm and willed it to take shape. To form into a deadly blade and stop Yazmin in her tracks, once and for all. My body tightened as I focused, and yet… Nothing. My breath left me in a rush, and Yazmin glanced up at me with a cocked brow.
If not blood, then shadows.Again, I tried to summon dark tendrils to do my bidding, only to come up empty-handed. This spider’s magical web had doused my powers completely. Frustration reached a breaking point, and I let out a wordless groan.
“Not trying to escape, are we?” Yazmin asked, capping the vial and then nodding to her beast. In an instant, sticky threads had recoated my arm, once again sealing my cocoon.
“What are you going to do with me?”
She shrugged. “Leave you here, for the time being. Your strength is already waning. How do you think I knew when to send the Fabric Spinner? I’ve been watching you, Noc. Apparently, the longer you deny the oath’s call, the easier it is for me to try to sway you to answer it.” Turning on her heels, she strolled to the lip of the cave before pausing. “And just in case Leena somehow survived her run in with the Nix Ikari, I could use you.”
“I won’t hurt Leena.” I didn’t even fully believe my own words. Not with Amira and Bowen standing so close. They’d been silent this entire time, but that didn’t mean they’d gone unnoticed. Not by me. With every passing moment the red haze sharpened, and their looks became more damning. Moreconvincing. As if I could save Leena from Yazmin by simply doing what they suggested.
Yazmin laughed. “I seriously doubt that. When I return, Devil’s Hollow will have worked its dark magic on you. You won’t have any fight left. You’ll simply obey.”
And then she left, the edges of her cloak flapping behind her. The faintest light pulsed from the mouth of the cave, but it couldn’t chase away the brooding darkness swallowing me whole. Sickening power reverberated through my blood. I needed out. I needed to save Leena. To tell someone, to warn someone. Cruor was so close, and yet…
Amira floated beside me and placed a hand on my cheek. “My love, don’t fight it.”
“You’ve done enough.” Bowen floated to my other side. Reaching through the unbreakable cage of silken thread, he twined his fingers with mine. “It’s time to let go.”
I fought in vain to block out their words. The whispers of darkest magic.
“Do you remember the day we met?” Amira ran her fingers through my hair. “I thought you were an insolent, arrogant prick. You were obviously annoyed you had to attend the treaty talks. You didn’t even try to hide it. I thought, ‘How could someone so beautiful be so cold?’”
She smiled, and I lost all semblance of what was real. Bowen chuckled. “Always aloof, this one.”
“You didn’t even look at me. Didn’t see me at all.” Her wandering fingers paused.
“You’re wrong.” She was so unbelievably wrong. I still remembered that day. I still remembered the woman sitting in a pool of light as if she commanded the sun itself.
She angled her face my direction. “I am?”
Memories flooded my mind, and angry red tendrils strangled the lingering shadows in my brain. Nothing remained but shades of crimson. “I saw you. I saw only you.”
Bowen sighed. “And what about me?” Pinning my chin between his fingers, he forced me to meet his gaze. Those eyes were a mirror into my past, and I couldn’t deny him. Of course I remembered.
“You were striking. And bold. I can’t believe you tried to rob me.”
His crooked grin sealed my fate. And as the two of them traded stories of my past, my present faded away. Delicious red tendrils replaced my familiar dark shadows. They snaked through me, around me—around us—and Amira and Bowen were all that mattered.
The wet rattling of ragged breath from deep within the cave died, and the tittering, wordless calls of mages turned into a warm hum. There was nothing but my lovers. Each one so different and yet ultimately the same. I’d follow them anywhere. I was entirely devoted to them. I’d wronged them once before, and that betrayal would guide my retribution. I’d give them peace. I’d give Leena peace. And then finally,finally, we could enjoy our lives together. Forever.
Twenty-Six
Leena
Cruor was mostly dark, thanks to the early morning hour. Hedges clambered against the masonry, and the slate-black rycrim core pulsed from the vibrant gems embedded in the stone. The vine-laden mansion was a wondrous reprieve, and though my heart soared at the idea of being home, my mind rebelled.
I slipped off Reine’s back first, followed quickly by Oz. “C’mon. Emelia and the others should be up.”
“Good. We need to hurry,” I said.
“More importantly, we need to be careful.” Kost dismounted and took the stairs to the front door with a glance over his shoulder. “If Raven is the culprit, then it’s possible she’s not acting alone.”
Biting my tongue, I relented with a quick nod. Raven’s legendary feline had decimated our forces. Her beast alone made a full-frontal attack the worst possible idea. Not to mention that if she were pulling the strings behind Noc’s oath, then Eilan, her lover, was most certainly involved too.
Two council members with ferocious legendary beasts. We had to be strategic. With a quick glance at my own A-Class feline, I sent Reine back to the beast realm. Teleporting such a great distance had tired her, but she’d still be able to cover short spaces with her power. And if Raven planned on fighting, my beast would need all the rest she could get.
