My grip tightened on the hilt. “Then what do youwant?”
She took a slow step forward, cloak brushing the forest floor like shadow. “To talk. I thought it was time you knew.”
“Knew what?”
Seraveth smiled, though it was a tragic attempt. “We’re blood. You and I.”
I froze. The words hit like a slap. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” she said, tilting her head. “Ask your grandfather.”
“No,” I snapped. “You’re not related to me. You’re a killer.”
And then I lunged.
She met my blade with her own, thin, curved steel flashing as it met mine in a shower of sparks. We danced through the trees, fast and brutal, her movements graceful but restrained. She parried more than she struck, her footwork sharp, but defensive.
Every time I came at her, she deflected instead of returning force. Every strike I landed, she dodged, not because shecouldn’thit me, but because shewouldn’t.
It was like sparring with a ghost who anticipated how I moved before I did.
“You’re holding back,” I growled, breath ragged.
Seraveth’s blade met mine with a ring of finality, holding me frozen, eyes inches from mine.
“I don’t want you dead,” she said softly. “Not yet. And you are right. I’m not your sister. I’m your cousin.”
I shoved her back, sword raised, ready for more.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Ilunged with my sword but Seraveth smiled and extended her arm. A pulse of lightning erupted from her fingers and slammed into my chest. My entire body tingled, and it felt like my limbs were numb.
The second burst of magic hit me like a bolt of ice crashing down my spine.
I didn’t understand what she had done at first, just felt the air tighten, the static pulse of something dark pressing against my chest, and theneverythingstopped. My limbs locked, nerves flared with fire, and the short sword slipped from my fingers, hitting the forest floor with a dull thud.
I dropped to my knees.
My breath caught, shallow and ragged. I could feel her magic slithering just under my skin, pinning me, paralyzing me from the inside out.
Seraveth stepped out from the shadows with a predator’s grace, calm and unhurried, her boots silent on the moss. She didn’t need to run. I wasn’t going anywhere.
I didn’t call for Kaelith.
There was no point.
She wouldn’t come.
And even if she did… if I let my magic loose now,trulyloose, I might not be able to stop it. I could scorch the trees. The guards. My squad.Zander.
Everyone I cared about.
Seraveth circled me slowly, her fingers trailing lazily across the air as if tracing invisible lines only she could see.
“It hurts,” she said softly. “But it won’t kill you. I need you alive, Storm-born.”
