Suddenly, the area around us turned crimson. The grass, the path, every inch a darker shade as if the world bled. Lifting a boot off the ground, blood dripped off the side. While my runes allowed me to see the illusion for what it was, the humans were not as fortunate.
The witches huddled together as if they could save each other from the queen’s wrath.
“Your majesty,” I said, hoping she would hear me and steady her hand. She turned to me, her eyes pitch black and cold.
This is not good.
I had seen the queen’s rage more than once, felt the heat from her illusions as she destroyed someone’s mind, tearing their brain apart with her elemental ability.
Moon fae were masters of deception and creators of both nightmares and dreams. It was one of the reasons I had these runes specially tattooed on by Lord Demious in Farrow’s Gate. As the head of the royal guard, I needed to protect the queen, even from herself.
I glanced behind me to see where the king and other court members were. The funeral was still in procession and no one else had caught up to us yet. Moira’s magic had only affected the area we were in and only the people she wanted to see this image could.
The dark-haired triplets moved toward the queen, the one in the middle breaking free and stepping forward. “Your majesty,” Stephani said. “We only came to pay our respects.”
Like a viper, the queen snapped forward, gripping Stephani’s neck with her hand. “How dare you,” she said, her voice deep and raspy.
I had to act carefully. With the full moon out, the queen’s elemental ability was at maximum power. Even if I could not be impaired by the visions, others could if she lost control.
Snakes slithered along the ground and the witches screamed as the visions came to life, slinking around their legs and crawling up their bodies. The humans frantically stomped and kicked at the creatures, screaming at the deadly apparitions.
I flicked my hand and created a slight ruffle of wind to move around the queen’s neck, hoping she would notice me, but her rage would not yield. She threw Stephani to the ground.
The witch snarled, and a dagger appeared in her hand.
Within seconds, I was over the witch, stepping on her wrist until she cried, and bone snapped. “Leave now while you still have your head.”
Someone screamed from behind me, and Bianca lunged for the queen. I unsheathed my sword and turned my body, hand held out as my power funneled within my palm,ready to send the witch flying over the mountains if she dared touch my queen.
Moira side stepped Bianca, twisting her body and stabbing her moon blade into the witch’s chest. Bianca gasped.
The queen yanked out her blade and shoved Bianca to the ground, her eyes wide with fury and bloodlust.
The two remaining sisters screamed. The cries morphed into high-pitched wails, the sound like a banshee, causing my head to throb with pain.
And that was when the queen gaped at me, holding her head, crying and shaking. The screeching would call the guards, no matter how far they were, but it was the king I feared would come. If he saw that Moira killed one of the witches, his wrath would be unyielding.
Chapter Nine
Moira
Tallis grabbed my fallenmoon blade and scooped me up into his arms and ran into the castle, moving so quickly I had to shut my eyes for a moment to stop the world from spinning.
I killed her.
I killed one of his mistresses.
What have I done?
No, she deserved it. They all did.
We arrived in the royal wing. The guards had attended the funeral and thankfully none were by my quarters when we returned.
“Stay here,” Tallis said, his breath ragged, once we were inside.
He untangled my arms from around his neck, placing me on the bed. “I’ll say it was me.”
“They’ll tell him I did it.” I placed a hand to my heart, attempting to slow the intense pounding. “He’ll kill me for it.”
