“Donotcall me ‘cat’ in the middle of battle!” Vesper snapped, then launched himself onto a Tempest’s shoulder. The man howled as the feline shredded his ear.
A sudden gale-force wind slammed into Mav. A Tempest wrenched his lute away, smashing it to splinters. A Tremor charged straight for him. With a snarl, Mav drew a sword, catching a descending fist mid-arc. Steel met stone with a teeth-jarring crack. His blade danced between Tremor strikes, slicing exposed joints, forcing them back step by grudging step. A Tempest tried to blindside him, but Mav spun, catching the incoming gust on his shoulder and driving his pommel into the attacker’s jaw.
The largest Tremor bellowed and slammed both fists down. The crack in the center of the ballroom widened to a canyon. Thistle screamed as she staggered near the edge. Thistle’s handsshot forward, sending thick roots wrapping around the Tremor’s throat. Sweat lined her brow, and her hands were trembling as her Hedge magic strangled him until the Tremor collapsed in a heap of stone.
The ballroom descended into a melee of fists, steel, and magic. Mav’s voice rang hoarse as he sang and fought. Branrir bellowed, swinging his sword in great, furious arcs. Thistle sprouted every plant imaginable as Vesper clawed and bit. But for every higher order they felled, two more surged in their place.
We were losing.
A final violent gust slammed them all to the floor. Tremors gripped their arms, dragging them across the fractured floor to the altar. Two tremors threw Mav at Edric’s feet. His body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
“No!” My voice tore through the air. I lunged forward, but Edric held fast.
“Well,” Edric drawled, his voice silk stitched over rot. “Merits for style. Truly. I would even call it impressive, if it weren’t so…pointless.” His gaze landed on me, lips curling in a derisive grin. “Now you’ll see what happens to people who touch what’s mine.”
Edric’s hand flicked. A Tremor stepped forward, his forearm transforming into a massive boulder. He pinned Mav to the floor by his chest, preparing to crush him.
“Mav!” I screamed, thrashing against the king’s grip. “Edric, I beg of you?—”
A silver shimmer skittered over my skin, my Twilight responding as panic jolted through me.
Mav coughed, spitting blood, but when his eyes saw the telltale sign of me summoning my magic, they filled with distress. “Quinn, don’t!” he rasped. “They’ll kill you!”
“I care not!” I screamed, my throat shredding. “I will not watch you die!”
“It’s all right, princess.” A sad, breathtaking smile curved his mouth. “Let me do this for you.”
“No,” I sobbed. “No!”
I ripped my gloves off, flinging the engagement ring and wedding band to the floor along with them. I reached for my magic, envisioning the night sky pouring down through me. My skin began to glow, polished starlight spreading over every inch of me.
Fear claimed Mav’s features, not for himself but for me. “Quinn, no!” he shouted, pressing futilely against the Tremor’s bouldered fist.
It was too late.
I drew from every reachable star in the heavens, the sensation akin to filling your lungs to the brim and holding your breath. Magic sluiced through me until my bones sang with it. My hands lifted of their own accord. From my palms, veils of light stretched skyward—green and violet and rose-gold in a flowing aurora.
Edric’s eyes went wide, his composure fracturing. “Quinnie…”
The grand vizier’s voice cracked. “She’s a Twilight!”
The Tremors and Tempests surged back with gasps and screams.
I let go.
Magic erupted from me in a shockwave of color and light. The aurora slammed outward, filling the ballroom with unbridled power. I wove my intentions through every ray of light. For an instant, I turned the Tremors and Tempests against one another. With a shuddering breath, I pulled back. I would show them mercy where their king had shown none. The Tremor pinning Mav collapsed, releasing him. He pushed himself upright, staring at me—his expression caught somewhere between wonder and disbelief. My chest heaved as the magicdrained from me. The world tilted, my knees threatening to give way.
Edric’s shout was ragged and desperate. “You dare defy me in front of my court?” He grabbed my upper arms with bruising force, shaking me as though he could rattle obedience into my bones. “Youwillwalk back to that altar. Youwillspeak the vows, Quinnève.”
Terror spiked white-hot beneath my skin. My body revolted, jerking against his hold. My slippers slid on the marble, skirts tangling, my efforts foiled.
“I. will. not.” I called forth the last drops of Twilight and placed my glowing silver hands on his torso. “You will release me and not move from this spot,” I commanded.
Edric’s arms wrenched backward. His fingers sprang open. I staggered back as Edric froze. His legs locked straight. Panic flared in his eyes as he strained.
“What—what have you done to me?” he shrieked.
I cared not what he had to say.
