Kara took the dagger. It seemed small and insignificant considering what task lay ahead of her.
“Use the blade to cut your hand. The blade will use your blood to bind itself to you. You cannot carry the weapon with you … for obvious reasons. But when it becomes linked to you, all you will need to do is mentally call it, and the blade will come to you. It will also strike true when you wield it, even if you have to throw it. Once it is bound to you, it will carry out any intention you have,” Ember explained.
Kara didn’t hesitate. She ran the blade across her palm, and it sliced through her skin as easily as a knife across warm butter. She expected more pain, but she only felt a slight sting. A few seconds later, the wound closed completely.
“Fae blades hold a lot of power,” Ember said. “Now, you must drink this.”
Kara looked up to see the fae holding out a small vial of silver liquid. She reached out and took it. Kara tilted the vial this way and that, watching the thick poison coat the bottle. “How long will the effects last?”
“The poison will stay in your body until it has carried out its purpose,” Ember answered.
Kara pulled the cork out of the bottle. Without considering all the ways the plan could go to hell, she poured the liquid into her mouth and swallowed. She waited to see if she felt anything, but other than a slight warm flushing of her skin, which dissipated in a matter of seconds, she felt fine.
“It’s done.”Ember looked at each of the elf females. “Once Ludcarab dies, I will remove the bracelets from your arms.”
Kara frowned. “Why can’t you do it now?”
Dyna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If for some reason you fail—”
“I won’t,” Kara bit out.
The elf pressed her lips tightly together and then continued. “Butifyou do. We can’t look as if we had anything to do with it. Our bracelets do not do the same thing yours did. He would know if they were no longer imbued with his power.”
“There was a time when I loved supernatural books and movies,” Kara said, thinking back to a period before she’d known of the world she was now a part of. “I thought magic was so cool. To have the power to fight off those who would hurt you.” She shook her head. “But now”—she huffed out a laugh that had no humor—“I think it sucks.”
“Any power can be abused,” Ember said. “But power can also be used for good. That is what we must remind ourselves when we are tempted to abuse the power the Great Luna has given us.”
Kara handed the empty bottle back to the fae and then took the blade over to her bed and placed it under her pillow. She suddenly felt very tired. The adrenaline from all that had just happened seemed to have seeped from her body, and now she was just weary.
“I think we should let Kara get some sleep,” Dyna said.
Kara looked over at her and tried to smile, but she could tell by the sorrow in the elf’s eyes that the attempt hadn’t been convincing. “Thank you. All of you.”
“Be strong,” Ember said. “Your eyes are haunted for one so young. I will leave you this, and I hope it encourages you. Your name has many meanings in different tongues. But my favorite, and the one that I think rings truest for you, is ‘beloved.’ For that is what you are. To have a true mate is to be beloved. That alone is reason enough to fight, even when you just want to give up and escape the horrors you are facing. But tonight, you are more than just beloved. You have become a warrior, preparing to enter battle. I so name you, Kara Luisa, beloved, renowned warrior. For if you kill the elf king, you will indeed be renowned in every realm by every race.” Ember bowed to Kara, the fae’s eyes never leaving hers. “Until I see you again.” Then she flashed.
Dyna, Reena, and Coya each bowed to her as well. Without a word, they filed out of the room.
“No pressure, Kara Luisa,” she muttered to herself. The weariness that had come over her settled even further into her bones, and she found herself lying on her side, her legs pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Her thoughts immediately jumped to Nick: her true mate, the other half of her soul. She acknowledged the deep longing inside, and she wished for all the world to be back at Peri’s home again, sitting with him, talking to him, seeing the adoration in his eyes as he looked at her. “Nick.” She whispered his name like a prayer.
“KARA!”His voice filled her mind like a boom of thunder, so powerful she actually flinched.
“Nick?”she asked, her own voice trembling. She wasn’t sure if this was another escapist fantasy, but Kara hoped it wasn’t. She wanted this to be real, needed it to be real—Nick speaking to her through their bond. Kara felt a flood of love straight into her heart and soul. Like nourishment for a starved body, she allowed him to invade every cell.
“My Kara, my heart,”he said, his voice full of reverence that she could feel through their bond.“I’m losing my mind. Please tell me this is real. Tell me where you are. I have to find you.”
“I can feel you,”she told him.“I remember you. I remember who you are to me.”
“Thank the Great Luna.”He breathed out and his relief enveloped her.“Where are you? I can feel you, but I can’t locate you. Something is still blocking part of the bond. Do you know where they’re keeping you?”
Kara started to tell him, but then bit her tongue. She quickly threw up a mental wall to the thoughts that Nick didn’t need to know. Not yet. He couldn’t come for her yet. She had to complete her mission. Shehadto kill Ludcarab.
“Sweetheart,”he said, using the endearment that he knew she loved.“Do you know?”
“I can’t tell you yet.”Kara could have told Nick she didn’t know where she was, but she didn’t want to lie to him. There were going to be many painful truths that she would have to share with him soon. Confessing that she lied to him would not be one of them.“There’s something I must do first. I have to do this. The plan is already in place, and I cannot veer from my path.”She didn’t allow him to see the details of that plan. Perhaps now she was a hypocrite, because a lie of omission was still a lie. But she knew if Nick found out she was going to attempt to kill the elf king, he would likely go crazy.
“You do not have to do anything without me by your side,”he told her, his voice so full of anguish that she almost gave in. Because she knew Nick wouldn’t hesitate to kill Ludcarab. And if she was being honest with herself, Kara was terrified she might hesitate for half a second too long and lose the chance to kill her tormentor.“Let me protect you. I failed you once. I will not do it again.”
“You didn’t fail me, Nick. Don’t ever think that. You gave me something I have never had before, somewhere I belonged. You gave me a family.”Tears streamed down her face. She tucked her knees closer to her chest and buried her face in them. Kara felt as if she might shatter from the inside out. The ache of needing her mate, being separated from him for so long, and feeling all of his pain from their separation was something she never wanted to go through again. Just five minutes more. She reminded herself of Jewel’s persistent chant. And she knew she would say it all night long, throughout the next day, and up until the moment when she would plunge the dagger into Ludcarab’s black heart.
