She straightens and walks swiftly toward her hall, and she gasps as she sees the commotion. She must work a conjure because I can suddenly hear the skirmishes that are still raging. She looks back at Locke, her eyes flashing in anger as she throws magick out into the hall, and I hear screams.
I see Locke’s lips moving and Fiana whirls around, eyes wide. ‘You dare? In my own palace?’
His eyes widen as he realizes that whatever he just tried to do didn't work.
'Ugh, I knew you were false,' she hisses. 'How disappointing. We could have done such great things together.'
A burst of power flies from her, and he's knocked against the wall before he can block it.
'You fool,' she mutters. 'You know I'm more powerful than you.'
‘It’s over,’ he gasps out. ‘Your empire has fallen.’
Her laugh is dark. ‘You think this is all there is? You think this place matters to me at all? I’ll rebuild everything in a matter of months!’
She advances on him. He claws at his throat, gagging and choking. I slowly draw a small dagger from my belt and come out from the desk behind her, raising it high, but she stops me in my tracks without even looking at me, and I can't move. It’s as if I’m stuck to the floor.
‘You can’t defeat me,’ she laughs at Locke. ‘Not you, and certainly not a little fae with a knife.’
'Stop!' I hear Bryn say as she runs into the room, but she’s caught as well. Her feet stick to the stone, and she struggles.
Fiana rolls her eyes hard.
'How did I know that this was all about the Kismet?' she says.
Morgan comes barreling in after her a moment later, and she stops him where he is too. Whatever she is doing to Locke, she begins to do to us as well. I can't draw breath. My dagger clatters to the floor as my hands claw at my throat, but there's nothing there to pull away.
Bryn’s eyes dart between all three of us, widening in fear.
‘Wait! Don’t kill them. Please! We can…make a deal.’
No!
I struggle, my eyes finding hers as I shake my head vigorously.
‘A deal?’ Fiana asks, and I find that my throat unlocks just enough to wheeze in a breath.
‘Yes,’ Bryn says clearly.
Fiana steps closer to her. ‘What do you propose, Kismet?’
The fae queen is playing with her. This is just another diversion for her twisted mind.
Bryn opens her mouth to speak, but then something begins to happen to the fae queen. The color drains from Fiana's face and she grabs her stomach, bending over with a groan, falling to her knees.
My eyes fly to Bryn’s. She’s taking Fiana’s magick!
'What's happening to me?' the fae queen wails.
She looks up at Bryn and lets out a scream of anger.
‘No, Kismet! I’m more powerful than you as well!’
She hits the floor hard with her hand, a conjure bursting from her so powerfully, that I would have fallen over if my feet weren’t stuck.
Bryn’s eyes narrow, not moving from Fiana, focusing on taking her magick, trying harder. She steps forward, now able to move, but when I try, I still can’t.
Fiana looks surprised and a bit afraid now. She puts out her hand, and the dagger that I had dropped slides across the floor. She grabs it, gets to her feet, and puts it to Bryn’s throat as she moves behind her quicker than I’ve ever seen anyone move.
