Maeve’s eyes burned. Her chest tightened. Pressure built up in the back of her jaw.
Arianna appeared before her. Her knees slammed to the floor. Her hands moved to hold their father’s face. His head was limp in her hands between them.
“No,” cried Ariana, tears spilling onto her face. “No, you can’t.” She was shaking Ambrose’s shoulders now, desperately attempting to wake him. “You can’t, you can’t,” she cried, touching his face again.
She continued to beg her father to wake.
The room was terrifyingly silent, save for Ariann’s sobs. Her voiced bounced high into the hall, echoing across the room. No one moved away. No one stepped forward. They kept their distance, creating a large circle around the Sinclair sisters and their father.
Maeve’s heart was slow and steady. But something electric and deep in her began to swell. It was barreling forward like a hundred year storm.
Maeve tore her eyes away from where her father’s cold dead body lay in her arms. And looked to Mal.
He was a few feet away. His arms limp at his sides. His eyes wide and his mouth hung slightly open. Pure horror plastered across his beautiful face as he looked at Ambrose.
More electricity rushed through her.
Mal’s eyes darted to Maeve as he realized-
He stepped towards her with one long outstretched arm. But it was too late.
Magic, uncontrolled and unyielding, shattered through her. She sucked in a sharp breath as darkness erupted from her.
Chapter 65
Black cosmic swirls of night burst from her entire body. No corner was spared as the room plummeted into a void of light.
Mal darted for her as screams of pain, and frantically fast footsteps filled the hall. Burning hot tears streamed down her face through sobbing, sharp breaths. Arianna was collapsed over on their father. Guests hurled themselves past them, scrambling for safety.
Slender, cool fingers wrapped around her arms, attempting to move her. She ripped from his grip. Hot electricity slammed through her fingertips, uncontrolled and of its own will. It was too much to hold, the force caused her vision to blur.
Reeve appeared before her, wings fully out. With a blast of air, he wrapped them around Arianna and her father, swirling into darkness and disappearing with them.
The pressure exploded through her body. She screamed, extending her arms fully out at either side. An agonizing, bloodcurdling, and monstrous scream. Deadly bolts of green light illuminated the dark hall, shooting in every direction. Even towards Mal.
He threw up his arm, blocking and shielding in himself from nearly all of them. Nearly.
A single bolt slammed into the side of his face, slicing open the skin from his jaw line up his cheek and staggering across his eye.
He recoiled and his hand flew to his face. Blood stained his fingers tips.
And then he dove for her.
His arms wrapped tightly around her middle and slammed her to the floor. Her head cracked against the marble tile. He straddled her stomach and pinned her wrists to the floor with brutal force. His own magic was slamming into her, attempting to sedate her.
“Control!” He bellowed.
Maeve wailed once more. Green bolts of lightning continued to spiral from her trembling hands, shooting flat across the floor of the Hall.
“Maeve!” Mal growled. “Stop!”
Blood dripped from his face, landing across her cheeks in little pools.
There was no control within her reach. The tether had snapped on whatever wall had been inside her, and it could not be repaired.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Maeve,” begged Mal, his breathing quick.
He didn’t speak again. He kept her pinned until she exhausted herself, pushing his Magic into her in an attempt to sedate her. Every ounce of Magic she had poured from her. She was drained entirely. Empty.
