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If I could buy myself some time, then there was a chance that Tal would catch up. If I spoke loud enough, perhaps Rhoan would hear and come running. I glanced around at the barren landscape inside the castle walls. Dead, gray grass covered the ground. Black and white roses climbed the exterior of the walls. There was no blue light from the Sluagh spirits or the trapped beasts to be seen.
I had a bit of time, and I was going to use it to my advantage.
“It’s so sad that you can’t convince anyone to spend time with you unless you lock them into a binding deal,” I said, hoping to hit a nerve.
Faust laughed. He laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach and bent double.
Okay, I get it. You don’t want the company.
You want power.
When one shot in the dark missed, the next knew where to aim.
“I know your own nightmare, Faust, your weakness that you’ve been trying so hard to hide behind legions of warriors. Sure, your tongue might be silvered, and your creations might be powerful, but that spindly body of yours could break so easily. We’ve had you at our mercy before.
“It took a woman to come and save you from certain death at our hands. How did you feel after that? I bet you came home,” I gestured to the castle around us, “and you trashed the place in a fit. You could never win against us, and you knew it.”
Faust’s head cocked to the side. Darkness sparked in his narrowed eyes. When his lips parted, I glimpsed the flash of his sliver-tipped canines. He would launch himself at me soon. His anger would make him reckless. I just had to dodge him the best I could.
I just had tosurvive.
Here in Faust’s domain, the dark of night deep inside me shuddered. I could feel it trying to stretch. I could take over his domain and claim it as my own if I really wanted to. With a little bit of time and concentration, I could plant a seed that would spread until it eclipsed everything that had once been Faust’s.
But there wasn’t enough arcana left in me for such a feat. While the Unseelie darkness in me wanted this domain, I’d used too much power planting the seed at Beryl’s underground court. I had barely a sliver of arcana left. It was enough to fight, but definitely not enough for such a large undertaking.
I cursed my friends with near infinite arcana. Vi and Addie should be grateful for the deep well that the gods had given them. Though I could trace my line back to one who’d claimed to be a goddess, she hadn’t been nearly as powerful. I was limited by my arcana and had to rely on my wits today.
“What’s wrong, Faust? Could you not recall the time we had you pinned? Beryl had to come and pluck your ass up off the ground and drag you home where you would be safe.” I mock pouted. “Mommy really came in clutch for you that day.”
I’d pushed too hard.
Faust leapt like a feral animal. Claws hooked, he soared through the air at me. I stumbled backwards. My feet tangled beneath me, and I fell backwards. The impact made my teeth clatter. I braced myself for Faust’s attack, but it never came.
Cracking one eye open, I grimaced and checked to see if I was already dead. Maybe I’d split my head open on a foul rock. Maybe my neck had snapped. All these thoughts rushed to the forefront of my mind until I saw what’d really saved me.
Rhoan.
The beast spread his black feathered wings wide between Faust and me like a wall that none could pass. Rhoan hissed and swiped at Faust’s face. Razor sharp claws raked down the man’s cheek and left a trail of black blood that oozed slowly. Faust touched his cheek, glanced at the black ooze on his fingers, and hissed back at Rhoan.
“You think you have it all,” Faust intoned low. He snapped his hand and flicked the blood to the ground before lifting his gaze to meet mine. “But that just means that there’s so much to take from you.”
With a snap of Faust’s fingers, Rhoan stiffened. The feathers fell from Rhoan’s wings in a great wave of rot. Before even reaching the ground, the feathers turned to ash on the wind. I choked on it. The realization that I’d breathed in the ash of Rhoan’s wings made me panic. I could feel my eyes bulging and my chest seizing as I lurched forward on my hands and knees.
When I looked up, a man knelt between Faust and myself. Rhoan’s familiar inky black mane fluttered in the wind. My heart paused. I didn’t know whether to celebrate or bemoan. Faust had a plan. There was no other reason he would have allowed Rhoan his mortal form again.
We needed to turn that plan against Faust. It was the only way we would be able to win.
Could Rhoan do that while under Faust’s command?
Rhoan
My princess had succeededin one very important way. She’d gotten into Faust’s mind and buried a seed of doubt that was slowly growing over every logical thought Faust could have had. Instead of a clear vision, the man saw nothing but red.
Why else would he have brought me back? Faust wanted to flaunt his triumph over Cerri. He wanted to show her that he had total control over me, when both he and I knew that was very much not the case.
There was nothing Faust could ever do to bring me under his control. My entire being belonged to one person, and one person only.
Standing, I turned back to extend a hand down and help Cerri to her feet. Once I pulled her up to me, I asked, “Are you all right, princess?”
