Then it clicked.
Conjuring. He was controlling them.
The boldness in their trembling steps, the defiance in their terror-stricken faces wasn’t their own. It washim. His will coursed through them like invisible strings, forcing their fear-wracked bodies to advance. They weren’t fighting for survival or freedom. They were beingused as puppets.
“Begin to back away, slowly.” I instructed my warriors closest to me. As long as this did not break into a full on battle where we were forced to slaughter innocents, then I could end it before it even began. I just needed a moment of focus.
The conjured flames coiling around my hand flared brighter, licking the air with dangerous intent. I pressed my thumb and pointer finger together, feeling the pulse of raw power surge through me, alive and waiting to be unleashed.
Power pooled within me, reaching past me, down a thread of energy to my target. My flames remained close, preparing to jump to the end of that thread. I would annihilate him.
The Sidhe’s eyes darted toward me, a flicker of realization breaking his concentration. Just for a moment, the strings he’d been pulling faltered.
Good. I wanted him to see me. The male who would end him.
With a snap of my fingers, my power tore free, crossing the distance between us like a bolt of pure wrath. The air crackled as it struck him dead center, a blinding surge of energy consumed him in an instant.
His scream barely formed, the sound ripped away before it could fully leave his throat. I squinted against the brightness of the blaze, there one heartbeat and gone the next. His body crumbled into ash, disintegrating into the wind, leaving nothing behind. No evidence he’d ever stood there, only the faint whisper of smoke carried off by the breeze.
The crowd froze, their weapons clattering to the ground. Their gazes lifted to me, fear raw and unmasked. This time, they did not advance.
I let the flames dissipate from my hand and tried to keep my voice neutral as I said, “You are welcome to leave with us, if you wish.”
They scattered, disappearing into the narrow streets they had come from.
Some of my forces chuckled in response. They felt powerful, seeing the reflection of fear in the eyes of those who looked upon them. Yet I had never felt so weak. We had come to find my sister, to free Ariana, to free the people trapped here. Instead, we made the people fear us.
“Retreat.” The remnants of my army fell in line behind me.
As the last tendrils of ash dispersed in the wind, I caught a movement in the shadows just beyond the square. My gaze snapped to it, but before I could summon more flame, a figure stepped forward.
Iona.
Her blond hair was veiled by her cloak, her face half-hidden by the shadows, but I could see the faint curve of her lips. “Impressive,” she murmured. Despite the distance, I caught the amusement which laced her low voice. “You were always the most skilled out of the two of us.”
“Keep moving,” I instructed those around me, while keeping my eyes on the woman before me.
The last three years were evidently not as horrific to her as any of us imagined. She stood, bold and appearing as healthy as ever. It both relieved me to find her whole and disturbed me. That she would bend her head for a different King, willingly following the man who had taken her from us, and do so by choice. That was not something my mind had the time to wrap itself around yet.
My flames flickered at my fingertips as I watched her approach, though she cautiously clung to the shadows of the street. “Are there more like him? Controlling the citizens?” I asked, choosing to focus on what was easier.
She leaned casually against a broken column, as if weweren’t standing in the aftermath of death. “There are,” she said, her tone matter-of-fact. “Two of them, nearby. I could show you.” She peered to where the general had stood. “You can easily incinerate them.”
“Why the sudden desire to help?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her. We were retreating, yet I could not ignore the value of ridding Sidhe conjurors with the power of manipulative control. Standing against the Sidhe was going to be difficult enough without having those who wished to stay out of the fight being thrown at us.
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she tilted her head, her gaze slipping past me as though she were measuring something unseen. Then her attention returned to mine. “Do you want to kill them or not?”
I held her gaze, searching for some hidden motive. “I do.” Maybe if the citizens were not so scared of being controlled, they would actually take a stand and leave this place.
“Then advance,” she said, stepping closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “And make it look convincing. Capture me. Drag me along if you have to. If anyone sees me with you, it needs to seem as though I’m here against my will.”
She truly intended to stay here, even though I could offer her an escape. I hesitated only for a moment before I reached for her arm. She didn’t flinch as my grip tightened around her wrist. This was the closest I had been to my sister in years, and yet it was as if she had never been farther away.
“If this is some ploy,” I warned, my voice a low growl.
“It’s not,” she said, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. “Believe what you will of me, the freedom of choice is not something I think should be taken from people.”
I yanked her forward, pulling her closer until she was firmlyunder my control. “Then what of the woman you had chained in your whorehouse?”
