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He went on. “What you just did – I called it magic, but it was mystical, not magical. You harnessed the energy of the cosmos to do your bidding. Our ancestors branded it as sorcery. They’d have shunned you as a witch. Very few ever born have possessed the power you do. That’s why the Lord of Darkness wants not only your kingdom but you as well. He must control your ability to summon the force of light from the Seven Stars. For only the light can defeat him.”
Only the light can defeat him.
Drayke’s words rang in my head, and I knew instinctively what I had to do. This time I didn’t even bother counting to three. I closed my eyes, envisioned boundless energy flowing into me, gathered it into a beam of pure white light – and shot it unerringly into the heart of the stone.
Chapter Twenty
Magnus
I thought the lightning bolt would kill me.
I lay on the ground, gasping, with the weight of the stone slowly compressing my lungs until there was no room to draw in a breath.
Barely conscious, with the world turning dark, time slowed as I watched it come at me. So bright the light seared my eyeballs, even after I squeezed my eyes shut. My body jerked convulsively when it hit, and the impact drove what little breath I had left from my body.
I gasped and heaved, like a man does when he’s sucker-punched in the gut. Air rushed back into my lungs, and I rolled over on my side, curling into a fetal position. Wheezing and fighting a wave of nausea.
Tiny crystalline shards covered my whole body. Around me, thousands more glittered harmlessly in the yellow-gold light from torches still burning. The red glow that had filled the temple was gone. As was the Lord of Darkness.
Fighting to get my breathing under control, I rolled over onto my knees and stood up. Though my legs were trembling, I refused to give in to weakness and lean on the altar.
I knew Melisandre had mystical power. She’d told me about it, and so had Drayke. But seeing it first-hand, reeling from the blast of energy she’d harnessed, the sheer might she wielded came as a shock.
“I’d better be careful not to piss you off.” I went for casual humor, to hide a very real pang of fear.
Melisandre didn’t answer.
I turned around to face her, expecting to see her make a face at me then laugh. She lay outside the chamber, motionless. Collapsed in a heap on the ground, as I’d been a few moments ago. I stumbled toward her and fell on my knees.
“Meli? Are you all right?” Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t respond.
I gathered my queen into my arms. Her body hung limp, and her head fell against my chest.
“Meli?” I shook her, but her eyes didn’t open. “Melisandre!” I shouted, shaking harder, like a madman. Still nothing.
To this day, I blame the bolt that hit me. It addled my wits or else I’d have realized the truth sooner.
My queen wasn’t going to open her eyes and throw her arms around my neck with a smile. The blast of energy she’d sent out to save my life was powerful enough to destroy a diamond, the hardest substance in our world. Powerful enough to shatter the sacred stone into a million fragments.
So powerful it stopped her heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
Magnus
I had only seconds to react. I wasn’t about to waste them wailing in grief.
Instead, I tried a remedy I’d read about in one of the ancient scrolls. It came from a story I would once have dismissed as a myth. But as I’d recently discovered, at their heart, myths are based on fact.
In the tale, a handsome prince brings his beloved back from beyond with a kiss that breathes life into her.
I kissed my queen.
But it wasn’t just a kiss. I took the story literally, covered her mouth with mine, and sent the breath from my lungs pouring into hers. Then I forced it back out with my hands pressing down on her breasts, only to do it again.
I don’t know how long I continued. Time ceased to exist. I couldn’t stop while her body was still warm, her breasts soft beneath my palms. All the while, I prayed silently to the Goddess.
“Please. I love her. Send her back. Not just for me. For all the good and innocent beings in this world. We need her if the Light is to defeat the Darkness.”
