“What necklace?” Aras demanded.
“Oh, that's cute. You know what necklace. The diamond. I was wearing it when I was taken. Now, I'm not. Give it back or I'm not going back.”
Vax growled, “You stole from my mate?! That jewel belonged to my mother!”
“Did you?” King Lyrandir demanded of Aras.
“I did not.” Aras looked over at his men. “Hand it over! Now!”
The two men who had abducted me winced, then looked at each other.
“Now!” Aras growled again. “Don't make this any worse for yourselves.”
“We didn't think he'd miss one necklace,” one of them muttered as he came over and pulled my diamond necklace out of his pocket.
Aras snatched it away from him. “We are not thieves!”
All that drama was just what I was hoping for. I jerked out of Aras's grip and dove for Vax. Vax reached for me. But I wasn't going for him, not really. It was the stone I wanted.
I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't. The plan had popped into my mind, and I acted on it. It didn't occur to me that I could have simply run to Vax, and he could have fought our way out of there. Or maybe it had. Maybe I didn't want him to have to fight. I don't know. Honestly. I just felt as if the best choice, the safest route, would be for me to grab the Eye. Again.
But this time, I was going to use it.
I snatched Ensarena's Eye and shouted, “Everyone stay where you are!”
Vax gaped at me. Then he said, “Zix, give me the Eye.”
“No, babe,” I said. “You can't use it.”
“I can if necessary.”
“Let me rephrase: you won't use it. And I don't want you to risk yourself. I, however, am not a Dragon of any kind.”
“And that only means that using the Eye will destroy you,” King Lyrandir said.
“Will it?” I lifted a brow at him as the Eye began to glow. “Or will it destroy you?”
King Lyrandir, who was now standing, went still.
“Leave,” Aras said to me. “Just go now.”
“No!” Lyrandir roared. “The Eye belongs to me!” He looked at Aras. “Get me what you promised, Captain!”
“Fuck you,” Captain Aras said.
The room went silent.
“What did you say to me?” Lyrandir hissed.
“You heard me, Your Majesty,” Aras said. “Fuck you. I'm done with this. As far as I'm concerned, I've fulfilled my end of the bargain.Thereis the Eye.” He pointed at it. “If you're not strong enough to take it, that's not my problem.”
Lyrandir shrieked with fury, then dove for me.
Everything slowed down. I don't know if it was that way for everyone, but I suspected not. Because in my hand, Ensarena's Eye was pulsing. Responding to my desire. Heat ran up my arm, then down it, gathering in the stone. In my hand. I could direct that power. I knew I could. The stone wasn't a slave to Dragons. It was a mercenary. A fucking assassin for hire. Assassins demanded payment, but I couldn't worry about that now.
I felt Fire rush through me and gasped. If this was the payment, it was worth it. I barely felt the burn. And if I did this right, Lyrandir would never come after us or the Eye again. But what to do? How exactly should I direct the Eye?
That's where the slowness helped. Everything moved at a snail's pace except for me. In fact, my mind seemed to speed up. I saw Lyrandir's eyes widen on my hand, heard Vax call out to me, and then watched Aras leap between his lover and me. Lyrandir's shock turned into fear. For Aras. I saw the love in his eyes and my plans changed.
