“If that’s all?” Brad raised a brow; daring anyone else to say more.
That he silenced an entire throne room would make this all the sweeter. I took a first step onto the dais, tracing the sigil in my mind. I kept tabs on the three biggest threats, but the bride, the Fae and the bodyguard didn’t move, frozen in Brad’s anger.
The sigil I had planned should never be used lightly. Rue made me swear to reserve it only for the worst the Harrowlands had to offer because it was a rebound spell. Any hurt caused by the target would rebound upon them threefold. Brad looked like a murderer in my book so he was as good as dead. I understood it in my bones. Rue would have been proud of me for this.
Another quick few steps and I stood behind him with no time to waste, but I had to get in the last word.
“I’m going to enjoy this.” I told him as his eyes widened.
The magic came without effort. There wasn’t a lot when I still maintained the illusion, but it was there, ready, leaping into my fingertips, which grew dark as sin. The beauty of that sigil was that it didn’t take a lot of power, using what already resided inside the target. Easy to paint on Brad’s back. Simple to drive the magic into him. I didn’t even need a crystal.
He crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony and his bodyguard swung at me in slow motion. Adrenaline and magic tasted metallic on the back of my tongue. I froze,unsure I would survive this mad attempt. A large pair of hands snatched me out of the fight. Jax shoved me away, engaging with the bodyguard in a flurry of muscles and speed. Weapons clanged together loudly enough for everyone to wake up and converge on us. If his screams were any indication, payback was in process even if Brad looked decidedly not dead.
The Fae popped up next to me like an icy villain statue. “And who are you?”
He raised a hand and slowly smudged my illusion. I didn’t have enough power to prevent him, maintain the mirage and fuel the spell coursing through Brad. So I slapped him right across the face. A red handprint matched the shocked expression on his features. I guess no one had ever done that to him, which, honestly, was a surprise. He carried himself so remotely, someone must have checked if he still breathed from time to time.
I slapped him a couple more times before he gathered himself and grabbed my wrist. If complete pandemonium hadn’t broken out around us, I would have been worried, but where there was chaos, there was opportunity. Brad cried like a baby and most of the room’s focus remained on him.
I kicked the Fae straight in the nuts, his wings straightening like two exclamation points. I really perfected my Fallon moves. She and I might not have been the best of friends like she was with Evie, butthe girl imparted quality knowledge. The sound of all the air leaving his body doubled as Jax and Yaya barreled into us.
“Thank God it worked,” Jax said as we all tumbled into the inky shadow that appeared behind us.
A magical rush skittered across my skin as we fell through nothing. The pile of us rolled out into Yaya’s kitchen garden, crushing plants, setting Noth to screeching.
I did it. My magic came when I called. Every time I used it, I felt a fraction better, more clear-headed, less willing to destroy every relationship in front of me. It still coursed through me even though the illusion fell away and cut off from the rebounding sigil. The magic was everything I hoped it would be after all those failed attempts and hours of practice with Rue. I was invincible! Unstoppable!
Except for the part where Brad wasn’t dead. I crashed back to reality as I stood up in the garden split into half moons of shadow and light. I was grateful the Fae and Noth had squared off amid the squashed plants, looking like they were about to end the world. I took the opportunity to edge closer to the house. He couldn’t find out I didn’t kill Brad. Noth’s disappointment was something I didn’t know I would hate. I already had Evie’s to carry.
Like a second sight, his eyes found me even if his head didn’t turn from his opponent. Shadows wrapped around my legs and carried me to him, where he automaticallycupped his hands under my ass. My body twisted away from him but he proved as relentless as the dark.
A kiss was apparently worth his break in concentration. And as his piercing slid across my tongue, I realized no matter what this journey turned out to be, some part of me understood Noth would be the death of me in a whole other way.
Chapter 15
Noth
“Why is Severin’s face all red?” I whispered to Maggie when she extricated her delightful tongue from my mouth. Wait, that wasn’t the right question. Why was the Fae King here?
“I didn’t try to kill him,” she said quickly.
“I would disagree,” Severin replied, turning his hips away in an unconscious gesture I had had to practice many times with Maggie. She had great aim with that left foot.
I couldn’t stop the smile spreading too wide over my face, showing him all my Nightmare teeth. I always loved a good complication. But more pressing; Maggie’s expression was too tense.
“What?” I asked her.
“I don’t think Brad is dead. I made a mistake.”
She actually flinched. I felt it all over my body. The thready bond leaked her fear and sadness into me.
“Don’t do that, Pumpkin. I would never leave you for making a mistake. I would never leave you for making a lifetime of mistakes.”
Her watery sigh stiffened my cock, but her burying her face in my neck made me feral. My Pumpkin was often without words for the important things unless it came with a barb, but that was okay. I was fonder of action anyway. It soothed the anxiety that sometimes swamped me.
Severin cleared his throat and I turned to him with ire for interrupting my dessert. I needed Maggie now.
“Finally trying for my territory, Twinkles?” I growled.
