Page 213 of Bedeviled

A panicked, almost animalistic fear rises in me. I nearly lost Memnon minutes ago.

I shove against his magic, annoyed to find that it’s still powerful.

The sound of agonized cries dies out, and there’s an awful stretch of silence.

“That bond I placed on you was powerful.” Eislyn’s voice causes the back of my neck to prick. “Tell me how you outmaneuvered it?”

It’s quiet for a moment. Then Memnon’s wrathful voice rings out. “You turned my people on me, set the enemy upon my kingdom, you killed my family and my wife, and you murdered the child that was in her belly.

“And you did it all again in this life. You tormented my wife, then set me upon her.” His voice breaks, like the memory haunts him even now. “All of it for this?” He laughs, the sound hollow.

“Memnon,” Eislyn says derisively. “You have received what few other mortals have, immortality⁠—”

“Fuck your immortality.”

She sighs. “Incapacitate him,” she commands someone. “But,” she adds, “do not kill him—” Her words end in a choked cry.

I yank against Memnon’s spell as war cries and shouts ring out. Just how many people are in this room?

It takes an eternity and a half for me to remember that Memnon’s magic will undo itself if I tinker with it. Why? How? A mystery, but I crouch and bring my hand to my ankles, where I can see the faint shimmer of it holding my feet in place.

Gently, I stroke his magic, trying to keep my panic down. I swear I live lifetimes in the time it takes for his power to pull away from the ground and consider my fingers an adequate alternative. I don’t have time to wonder about why the hue of his magic is lighter before it crawls up my fingertips and dissolves away.

There are scuffling sounds, and Memnon’s roar of fury as I reach for Nero and coax away Memnon’s spell from his paws.

And then we’re free. I hear screams as throats and hearts are ripped out, and however many people I assumed were in this room before, there’s more.

I sprint toward the noise. At the far end of the room, a battle rages. There must be more than a dozen individuals, and I cannot tell which ones are fighting for Eislyn and which are battling against her. Amongst them I catch sight of Memnon and his power. I see the flash of his dagger, and across our bond, I feel the rush in his blood.

His eyes rise to mine just as his opponent breaks away. Two demons grab him by either arm and drag him back.

Stop her! Memnon shouts down our bond.

My eyes move to his target. Eislyn stumbles up the walkway. She wears battle leathers that fit close to her body and a sheathed sword at her side. For once, she looks like a warrior, her pale hair plaited away from her face.

That’s not what shocks me most, however. Because Eislyn’s hand grips her bloody stomach where Memnon’s dagger protrudes.

The sight of untouchable Eislyn bleeding shakes me to my core. Even she, who has had centuries to plot out all her deepest desires, is fallible.

Her ancient gaze rises, then meets mine. A spark of disbelief flashes in those eyes, and she stumbles. And again, I am thrown by how very vulnerable and human she appears right now when she’s always ever been composed.

I recover first.

Magic floods down my arm and I raise my hand. “Annihilate.”

Eislyn ducks, then falls, and my spell careens across the conservatory before⁠—

BOOM!

A portion of the glass structure blows out sending shards out into the night.

She doesn’t incant her spell, but I see the iridescent sphere of it rush toward me. I’ve known that the fairy wielded power, but never have we fought like this.

Nero and I dive out of the way, and her magic hits a monstera plant behind me, sizzling away the waxy leaves.

Holy balls, that was too close.

I place a hand on Nero. “Impenetrable armor for your body,” I incant.