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That was exactly the problem. “Hold still.” He closed his eyes, searching first for his team. He hoped to find his enemies in the same place.
He was a bit surprised when he did, and was relieved to find they were all still on the mountain side of the portal. But from their trajectory, it did seem that Denham had been going for the portal.Denham and Cecilia.Even now it was a little difficult to remember she wasn’t on his side, but a quick scan of the group’s energies confirmed enough.
Mitzi was feeding healing energy actively into Viveca, though Viveca was engaged in the fight. But whereas Viveca seemed to be fighting defensively, having positioned herself to block their forward path, Darnel had taken offense. And to Aric’s surprise, Darnel had drawn his unique sword, Starburn. The fact that Darnel had made that decision in a battle against the Elder Prince made Aric wonder what he’d missed in the past five minutes.
Once he had everyone’s positions, including an awareness of the fact that their enemies had been freed from the magic-sealing rope, Aric transported himself and Rochelle to Mitzi’s side.
“Mitzi. How did this happen?”
She turned her head slightly, but her half-extended arms and steady outpouring of magic never faltered. In the split-second their eyes met, her pain lanced him. He hadn’t seen such hurt in her eyes since they’d first learned Trisha had been lost. “Viveca lost her temper and the wall broke,” she said. “It was all we could do to catch them here, and Cecilia— Viveca took a hit for me.”
“Is that why Darnel’s using Starburn?” Aric asked.
Lightning crashed from the sky in violet, twisting arches. Electric blades stabbed the ground as close as three feet from Mitzi’s opposite side, and one side-slammed into Viveca’s magically reinforced sword.
Cecilia’s enraged voice carried over the storm. “Howis that unnatural wretch still alive?”
An inward pulse of magic rippled over the field, immediately drawing Aric’s attention away from Cecilia.
Denham was absorbing mana from the region. He and Darnel had appeared to be at a stalemate, but that would change in moments depending on how he used the additional magic he was building.
“Aric,” Rochelle said, speaking quietly. “Do what you have to. I’ll stay here with Mitzi.”
Aric ran his thumb along the back of her hand. “Watch each other’s backs.”
Mitzi nodded.
Rochelle gave his hand a squeeze.
Aric shot a glare in Cecilia’s direction, letting his disappointment and anger show, and moved himself to the farther side of the battlefield. As important as the conflict with Cecilia was, it paled in comparison to whatever was going on with Denham.
Aric sharpened his mana like a massive scythe and swung it between his arrival point and Denham’s position, severing the threads of magic Denham was attempting to absorb. “It seems you’ve insisted on making this complicated, Prince Denham.”
Denham’s blue eyes were wilder than Aric had ever seen. “I will not let you and your minions destroy my plans. You are merely one obstacle to my birthright!”
“He plans to murder the King,” Darnel said. He held his silver longsword in front of him, and judging from the shine in the engraved runes, it had already collected a charge. Darnel was serious. Starburn was not a sword to wield against a casual opponent, or in any situation where the wielder wished to leave their opponent alive. But if what Darnel had just said was true, that explained his decision.
Aric kept his focus on the Prince. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
“He said it.”
Denham barked out a bitter laugh. “Jensen will never believe you. Go ahead, we’ll both stand before him and let him decide who speaks the truth!”
“I will never allow a man who explicitly declared his intent to murder King Jensen to share a room with His Majesty,” Darnel said.
“Particularly not when that individual can lie so flawlessly,” Aric said.
“Then which was it?” Denham asked, a smirk twisting his lips. “Did I lie? Or do I wish my dear cousin dead?”
“Oh,” Aric said, “we’re past the point where I attempt to badger answers out of you. You squandered that opportunity quite effectively when you laid hands on the woman I love. So, if I’m being honest, I don’t care.” He held out his arm and let his own magic build, even allowing his circle to form in front of his palm. “I’ll just have to submit to the King’s Inquest when this is done.”
Denham’s smirk didn’t falter. “Then you should have killed me earlier, Vardanyan.” He held out his arms as his own circle appeared beneath his feet. The circle rushed up his body, seemingly embedding itself on his skin and sealing all the mana he’d already absorbed inside him. The technique would bolster his natural magic, enhancing both his physical defense and the offensive spell Denham likely didn’t realize Aric could see building.
None of it mattered.
Aric folded his fingers in, forefingers pointed in Denham’s direction. “Don’t underestimate me.” He blended air, fire, water, and earth with electricity, soul, energy, and matter until the eight elements which formed the foundation of magic had coalesced into one single, unstoppable force. He shaped that power into a beam which then poured from his fingers, pierced Denham’s pathetic attempt at reinforced defenses, and ripped a hole in Elder Prince Denham’s heart.
Chapter Twenty-One
