I feel magic whirling through the air around us and wonder if the others feel it too. No one has said anything since we arrived. The silence has only been disturbed by the crunch of gravel and debris under our boots. The air is chilled, and our breath comes out in puffs of white as we all scan the barren lands. The sun has yet to rise high enough to warm us.
As we move closer to the Colosseum, noise drifts to us that has us all stopping in our tracks.
“Is that?” Raelle asks, her eyebrows furrowed as she glances at all the faces within our small group.
“Cheering,” Ambriel responds.
“How did we not notice that many Fae were here from our lookout point?” Trent questions tensely, and I find myself worrying that I’ve yet again underestimated Cano in my seeking revenge.
Chapter fifteen
Fae from all aroundgather in the wastelands. The Colosseum nearly buckling at the sound of all the commotion. Eleonora summoned them all the moment she got word of the duel. Within the next few hours, I will stand over Dax as he leaves this world. His soul will be mine to sever from his body.
Cracking my neck, I stride across the dusty stone floor of the dungeons below the Colosseum to the dias that stands in the center of the shadowy space. Thames stands on the other side in her black cloak. She places the items required onto the hard surface to summon the dark magic. This will be my upper hand on Dax. This will be his reckoning and the power I need to rule the kingdom with an iron fist.
Swirling smoke of black and green begins to build at the altar where Thames works. Her hands manipulate the dark magic into containment.
“Come here; I’m ready for you.” I step closer to the growing frenzy of dark power, the tendrils of smoke almost reaching for me, my soul. Thames begins to speak in a hushed tone, in words I can’t understand. A language that has been dead for ages. The smoke seems to come alive with her words. It seeps out of her grip and caresses over the skin of my fingers first. The darkness tickles and burns as it touches my skin, then it begins to creep up my arms and wraps around my torso, sending shudders of pure ecstasy through me.
The magic that fills the space between my hands is a raw, powerful, dark energy, and my soul reaches for it just as it reaches for life. I close my eyes as I feel the power ripple and pulse over my skin. The silky, smooth feel of it elicits a growl from deep inside my chest as the dark power glides from my torso and arms, embracing my chest and swirling around my neck. I tilt my head back as a high, unlike anything I have ever felt before, works its way through my very essence.
My lips part sucking in air through my mouth, and I breathe in the dark energy. It grips my soul, and I begin to convulse as I stand there, overtaken by the pure sinister magic. Then it stops. Everything stills. Slowly, my head falls forward, and my eyes snap open. I level them onto Thames.
A deep laugh erupts from my throat as a wicked grin pulls my lips wide. I look down at my hands, expecting to see the magic still swirling around my fingers, but I see nothing. It’s what I feel coursing through my veins that has me nearly bursting with excitement. I flex my fingers, balling them into fists, then releasing them in a quick succession. Thames sweeps the items from the altar into a leather pouch and ties them to her belt, a laugh just as dark slipping from her.
I flick a finger at the steel bars that used to house the monsters and criminals of the kingdom. Those who had power unmatched and used it for deeds that were unworthy of respect of the crown. The dark metal bars evaporate entirely. My grin spreads even farther across my face as I realize the vast amount of power I now wield. Dax doesn't stand a chance. This is the tipping point.
I tilt my head, looking at Thames like the predator I am. “Let the duel begin.” She tilts hers back as a wild laugh breaks from her and echoes through the chamber.
“Let it, indeed,” She says as she levels her gaze on me, the darkness inside her hood causes anger to rise in me once again. I want to know her true identity. I could use this magic and get rid of her in-between bullshit between Eleonora and me. I could eliminate her now. “Don’t allow the power to consume you, Cano. You can burn up from it if you don’t use it carefully. Here one moment, and gone the next. Also, only wield it if you are aiming to use it on Dax. I know what you’re thinking, and it won’t work. The power is spelled only to work on him. You can’t touch me with it.”
“What the fuck do you mean it is spelled to only work on him?” I growl. The fury almost visibly rippled across my skin. “How am I going to claim the kingdom with this power if it’s useless?”
“We don’t need it to affect anyone else. This fight—it’s meant to be his death and his alone. You know that as well as I do.”
“No, Thames,” my voice doesn’t even sound like my own as it vibrates from my chest. “There is nowe…You are not any part of the future… of my kingdom.” The last words come out as a pure growl as I stalk closer to her, slowly putting her back to the corner of the dank room.
“There is more to the plan. Pieces that you don’t know yet, Cano. Plus, you need me. Without me… that magic you feel coursingthrough you right now? It will be depleted before you even try to use it against me. Not only that, you need me to replenish it. So…” She steps forward. “I think you will see that there is awein the future.”
“Show me your face.” I demand through clenched teeth, because I know she’s right. If I want to show power with this magic and scare the kingdom into being under my rule, I’ll need her to give it to me…for now.
“Now is not the time for this. You need to focus. Dax could be here already. Do you hear that, Cano?” She waves her arm at the small window above our heads and the sound coming from the other side of the bars covering them. The three windows only allow one ribbon of light each to shine through toward the dais, spotlighting the space where we just performed the ritual.
The crowd roars in the distance, many of them chanting Croix. Metal clangs on metal as my regime pounds their swords on their shields. Aiming to amp me up for the coming battle. Thames steps around me, placing a hand on my shoulder as she does. “I know that you are angry—” She pauses as she comes to stand in front of me. “But you need to tuck your emotions away, Cano.”
My eyes snap to hers and narrow, my brows furrowing deep at her words. Words that my father spoke to me as a boy, so many times that I can’t even begin to count. Words he would always yell at me—for being too emotional.“Your emotions cloud your judgment, son! I know you’re angry, but you need to tuck your emotions away. Emotions don’t belong on the battlefield. Emotions don’t belong to a great soldier! Get your shit together, Boy!”My eyes are merely slits. I hear my father’s voice in my head. The disapproval he always spit at me during training. The constant disappointmentthat radiated from the man I tried so hard to emulate and make proud.
Soren Croix is dead. I am the only Croix left, but Thames and the voice of my father in my head are right. I won’t take emotions onto the battlefield. I won’t let my anger hold me back or chain me up. If Eleonora wants to have this bitch as an in-between, so be it. I’m sure it’s for a good reason. I’ll ignore the fact that she doesn’t want me privy as to why she's so fucking secretive... Regardless of the other shit, I'm just glad Dax will leave this duel on his back. I will kill the bastard who stands in my way.
Thames pats me on the shoulder placatingly, and my lip curls back into a sneer. Though I am facing away from her, so she can’t see the pure hatred that washes over my face, I am sure she sees it in my posture. “Prepare yourself for the battle, Cano. This is your chance to make him proud.” Slowly, my head tilts to the side as I take in her words. Her laugh echoes through the dungeons as she saunters away from me, then disappears in a cloud of black and green smoke.
Chapter sixteen
My skin is crawlingwith the energy spiraling around me as we walk through the ruins. I've never been here before. Or I guess I’ve never been here as an adult—I suppose in reality, this is where I was born before the Kingdom was turned into what it is today.
Dax’s hand in mine is like an anchor as we make our way to the sound of cheering from all the Fae gathered here. This has to be Cano’s doing to bring them all here. No doubt he wants a spectacle of this duel that will end in one of their deaths. I have to believe that Dax will survive this. Now that we have bonded, I’ve given in to the fact that I’ve fallen for the man with more than just the bond, but with my entire heart. I know there is no way I could live in this world without him.
“Breathe,” Dax whispers to me as he squeezes my hand and helps me step up the crumbling steps to the Colosseum.
