Page 61 of Chaos and Crowns

She lifted her hands to put the laurels on her head, but Antony’s hand on her wrist stopped her. “It’s going to grab hold of your most negative thoughts to control you. You have to fight back for me to be able to purify it.”

Odelle hesitated but Antony’s expression held trust. This was an important job, and one she could do. She gave him one sharp nod, looking into his still golden eyes, and then jammed the crown down on her head. Antony stared at her warily, and she instantly felt annoyed by his concern. She might not be a sorcerer, but she could hold her own for more than two seconds.

Cautiously, Antony raised his hands and filaments of Light spilled from his fingers. Odelle turned her eyes upwards to watch them approach the leaves on her head with a sigh of impatience. She had shown the Eteria time and again she could keep up with them and still Antony approached this so delicately, as if she were a lesser being simply because she wasn’t a sorcerer. Even after everything they had been through.

When the Light finally touched the crown, a jolt ran down Odelle’s spine all the way through the tips of the toes. The threads of Light running from Antony’s fingers thickened even as Shadowy darkness began curling around the filaments, obscuring some of their brightness and dancing around Antony’s hands.

“Come on, Odelle,” he grit out. “Fight it.”

Fight it? She had been fighting alongside him this whole time. She had come up with the original plan to capture the crown, and it would have succeeded if Antony had realized it was corrupted ahead of before it was too late. She fought through their trek in the wilderness and on top of the Sears Tower. Even though she had lost her job, the career she had spent her whole life pushing toward, she still fought with the Eteria. It was Antony who didn’t like to fight.

Wait. That didn’t seem right. Had she not just told Antony she loved his peaceful nature a few minutes ago?

As she watched, the tendrils of Shadow winding around Antony’s hands lost some of their opacity, revealing a stronger golden glow.

“Look at me, Odelle,” Antony said softly, barely audible above the crashing of battle inching ever closer behind them.

Odelle did as he bid, letting her gaze drift down to meet his despite the yelling behind her. His eyes werefilled with Light, but the wonderous, open expression he wore was pure Antony. A screech and a sound like a car crashing came from behind her, but still Odelle stared at Antony’s face, utterly transfixed by the smallest, softest smile forming on his lips. Then his lips parted, and he murmured something only Odelle could hear.

“I love you too.”

That was right. He loved her ambition, and he loved her even when she didn’t do everything all on her own. She didn’t need to wear her carefully crafted armor of self-confidence around Antony, because he saw her strength without it, just as she saw his. They were a team.

The Light shining from Antony’s fingers multiplied a hundred times over as the Shadows around his hands dissolved. Odelle was forced to screw her eyes shut against the overwhelming brightness, but she felt the comforting warmth on her face. A ripple of force blew past her, knocking the crown from her head. It fell to the ground with a metallic clatter, and then there was silence.

Odelle peeled her eyes open. Antony still stood before her, but his hands had dropped to his sides and he stared at the ground next to her. Odelle followed his line of sight to the crown lying at her feet. It looked as it had before, stunning craftsmanship and delicate leaves, but it seemed different now. The eye only lingered on it for its physical beauty, and the otherworldly force that drew Odelle’s attention to it before was gone.

Mind clearing of fog, Odelle remembered the battle raging behind her and whirled around. The room only contained her panting friends, looking sweaty and red in the face, but none the worse for wear. The Mars rover model had somehow driven across the room and crashed into the railing defining the edge of its exhibit.

“The Shadows were attached to the crown,” Antony said behind her. “Once we purified it, they disappeared.”

“Good thing too.” Adam huffed as he bent and rested his hands on his knees. “They were getting to be a bit much.”

“Speak for yourself,” Nora nudged Adam playfully with the butt of her spear, although brown curls stuck to her glistening neck where they had escaped their twist. “Although I am glad you thought to run the Shadow over with the Mars rover before it could get to Drew. I’m not sure I would have gotten there in time.”

“Glad to see Adam’s familiarity with the exhibits pay off,” Thad objected, picking up a now irreparably dented serving tray.

Adam twirled the remote controller to the rover in his hand and grinned.

The conversation was cut off by a fit of coughing followed by a shuddering gasp. Amy Biderman began to twitch on the floor in the center of the room. Quickly, Seraphina removed her knee from between her shoulder blades and yanked out the dagger pinning her to the ground to roll her over. The strange darkness was gone from Biderman’s face, but the pupils in her wide, unblinking eyes had shrunk to the size of pinpricks. Breaths puffed through her lips in short, shallow pants, and she twitched lightly,

“Grab my bag,” Drew barked, instantly taking on the persona of Dr. Coleman. As he checked for a pulse, Thad dashed from the room and returned with a leather case, which he set down by Drew’s side.

“He had me smuggle it in and stash it with the weapons,” Thad explained as everybody gathered around. Odelle chewed her lip nervously as Antony pulled her close with an arm around her waist. The whole purpose of purifying the crown of the Shadow’s influence had been to avoid killing Amy Biderman. If she died anyway, they might as well have just destroyed it.

“Extreme tachycardia,” Drew muttered as he pulled a cuff out of his bag and used it to hurriedly take his patient’s blood pressure. “High blood pressure too. It’s almost like she’s overdosed on a stimulant and is in adrenergic storm.”

“The Shadow pushes the human body beyond its capacity when it possesses a person.” Seraphina gently arranged Biderman so her neck was no longer crooked at an awkward angle, as the woman seemed to have no control over her movements.

“Shadow sickness,” Thad agreed. “I’ve seen it before on the few occasions somebody has been able to throw off the Shadow’s influence.”

“Then she is experiencing a catecholamine surge.” Drew’s expression was hard. “I don’t have anything in my bag that can help with that. We’ll have to call an ambulance.”

“Wait—” Thad interjected, placing a hand on Drew’s arm. “That tincture I had you put in your bag. It’s especially designed to help fight off the Shadow’s influence. It should do the trick.”

Drew rummaged in the bag and pulled out a small vial with a dropper lid. Thad snatched it from him, and Seraphina jumped in to help, tilting Biderman’s head back and opening her mouth. Undoing the stopper, Thad dripped a small amount of the vibrant blue liquid under her tongue.

Within moments, Biderman’s breathing leveled out and the twitching stopped. Odelle’s eyes widened in shock as even the wound in Biderman’s hand knit its way back together, skin smooth like it had never been marred. Drew, who still had his fingers pressed against her pulse point, raised his eyebrows.