A duty she could mimic now.
As Queen of Magic, themorasaw her as someone it could obey.
Whether itwouldwas the question.
Like an unruly child, the magic surged again, as if testing her resolve, her strength. It seared her palms, sent chills down her spine.
She focused on the coolness of the stone beneath her hands, the air in her lungs, the dew drops dotting the field, the moonlight streaming overhead. The elements were hers, reflecting the similar-yet-different ones that made up faemora. The magic surged once more, battering her body inside and out. She focused on Teryn’s steady touch, Valorre’s comforting presence.
Her loved ones.
Her anchors.
She sent her intention back to themora. It funneled from her heart, down her arms, into her palms, flooding the rock beneath her. It spoke to the pulsingmorain a silent demand.
Reverse.
Reverse.
Reverse.
Themorastilled. Its flow grew calm. And it opened itself to her will.
Possibilities spread before her as she felt the weight ofmorasettle over her. Its strength was somehow crushing and uplifting at the same time. A blanket of lead and light. A blazing, deadly inferno and a gentle ray of sunshine.
It was both. It offered everything. Nothing.
It was unyielding. It was pliant.
She could shape it in her hands even as it burned her.
Yes…she could shape it.
Visions flooded her mind, of all themoraoffered. The power it could give her. The enemies it could vanquish. The wars it could end. The curses it could break…
Curses.
She was still cursed to die childless, wasn’t she? She never had found a way to rid herself of Morkai’s most wretched punishment.
Darkness filled her heart, a companion she no longer tried to hide. Yet now that it was here…
It would be a shame not to use themora. At least a little. She could use it without harnessing it. She could keep some for herself, couldn’t she? Why shouldn’t she be rewarded for all her hard work? Why shouldn’t she wield what was freely offered? Why should she send themoraback at all? She could be Queen of Lela, Queen of Magic, and doanythingin this world. She could stitch the tear from here and keep the flow of magic exactly as it was, keep siphoning all of El’Ara’s power, lock the fae away and let the Blight take them while she used the magic as she saw fit. She could end Darius in a single flick of her wrist and ensure none of her people ever had to suffer. She could obliterate enemy forces without risking any of her soldiers. She could fortify her body, her soul, and—
“Cora!”
The voice tore through her raging, swirling thoughts.
Then another.Cora!
The two voices called her name, one inside her mind, the other ringing through her ears.
She was aware of Teryn’s touch then, the hands that framed her shoulders, bracing her like she might drift away. Then she noticed the soft muzzle that bumped her cheek, the breath that blew across her face.
She forced her attention to narrow on that warm breath, those warm hands.
Only then did she realize her palms were no longer pressed to the rock. Instead, she’d risen to her knees, her spine rigid, her head tipped back. Themoraradiated through her, howling in her veins like a vicious storm.
“You don’t need it, my love,” Teryn said, his hand moving to her cheek.
