Page 76 of The Nymph King

Imani threw an arm across her face as white-gold magic flooded the ballroom and her shadows recoiled.

The darkness nearest Tanyl burned away completely, erased so fast that pain tore through Imani’s magical connection and drove a gasp from her throat. She staggered backward, unable to understand what she was feeling. Her shadows had endured fire, blood magic, Kiran’s power, the Fabric itself.

But this magic consumed them on contact. The only other witch who was capable of destroying her shadows was Zadie. A half-Deity breed.

Tanyl straightened as fear vanished from his face.

Imani’s jaw dropped. “That’s quite a secret you’ve been keeping all these years.”

His lips spread into a grim smile. “It is.”

With a swipe, another blast hit before she could prepare. Raising her own Drasil, she tried to block it with her shadows, but the Upper magic struck with enough force to drive her several feet backward. With a grunt, her heels dragged across the polished floor. Heat bit into her palms through the wand.

The next burst punched through her wall of darkness. Pain ripped across her shoulder as his magic caught her, burning through fabric and skin. She hit the floor hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.

People scattered farther back, and she rolled over onto her side.

Someone shouted her name.

Ellisar.

Imani shoved herself onto one elbow before he could reach her. “Don’t.” His advance stopped as Imani growled, “This is mine.”

Tanyl laughed as she struggled to her feet. “You came here convinced you would win. You always were too arrogant for your own good, Imani.”

She forced herself upright, one hand pressed against the burning wound on her shoulder. “What did you have to give up to get the Drasil, though?” She rolled her arm, trying to ignore the agony.

Tanyl’s smile fell slightly.

“Worse, they only chose you because your father was a Deity breed, not because you’re worthy,” she sneered.

“Careful.”

“They recognized Upper blood… and someone they could control.”

His wand rose. Imani barely got her shadows around herself before the attack came.

Light crashed against darkness, and the impact drove her backward again. Her shadows fought to maintain their form, but every point of contact burned them away. Imani forced more power into them, thickening the barrier, drawing darkness from beneath furniture, bodies, walls, every place the Upper magic could not completely reach.

It was not enough, though. White-gold magic bored through as more pain shot through her skull, and her knees struck the floor.

Tanyl advanced. “You wanted to know why they gave me the Drasil?” he asked. “Why did the Upper answer me when they ignored every other pathetic ruler begging for their favor?”

Imani pushed herself up again.

“They know what I am.”

A blast struck her barrier. Tanyl’s shoulders rose with the cast, and his next breath came harder. Light still poured from him, but the veins glowing beneath his skin pulsed unevenly before brightening again.

Cracks opened through the darkness.

“They know what I can become.”

The next attack broke through completely.

Imani flew backward and struck a column’s base. Her head snapped against stone. For several seconds, the ballroom disappeared beneath agony.

She heard Tanyl’s boots scrape. Wrenching her eyes open, she saw him come into focus above her. He was winded now, though nowhere near enough for Imani’s comfort. She heard the court’s frightened breathing… and Kiran laughing somewhere behind her, obviously reveling in the chaos.