My legs buckled as the ghost pain of the dagger seared my own side. I threw my magic toward him, shoving against Nolan’s restraints, trying to staunch the flow of Dom’s blood. I knew his own magic would be stifled by the poison infiltrating his system.
A sharp sob hurled from the depths of my heart at the sight of this man who had become more meaningful to me than anyone in this world. I thrashed beneath Nolan’s shadow-restraints. My soul bleated. The urge to protect Dom overpowered me, but I was restrained, impotent, no matter how hard I fought.
The telltale sign of Glint’s effects illumined outward. A gold-flecked mist arose from Dom, curling out of his nose, mouth, and out of the hole Maelic had carved in his abdomen. A red-cloaked servant appeared with a container of vials. He raised thin, pale fingers, releasing a putrid magic that funneled Dom’s power into the glass, sealing them as each became filled.
“Can’t have the Rebel General’s magic go to waste now can we?” Nolan taunted. He whistled as he waltzed around the room, hands in his pockets.
“Let them go,” I pleaded. My hands gripped the stone floor, sticky with sweat, water, Glint, and blood.
“Unfortunately, that won’t be happening, Ruin. While I do enjoy a carefully planned deception, I get cranky when secrets are kept from me. And you, my dear, have kept a very big secret.” Nolan circled me slowly, a vulture ready to devour. His eyes shifted to vertical pupils, then flicked back with a blink.
Nolan turned to Maelic who had come to stand by his side. “Can you break down whatever illusion she has?”
Maelic’s eyes turned milky. I had seen him use his magic, but it had never been focused on me. It felt like my insides were being boiled. I screamed in agony at his acidic power. My vision slashed white, my breath sucked from my lungs. All at once it ceased, and I gripped the wall, reclaiming air into my chest.
Maelic’s face lit in cruel excitement. “You were right.”
Nolan paled as he mumbled to himself, cursing. His composure slipped at Maelic’s revelation. Forcefully, he beckoned the man hovering over Dom capturing his stolen magic. “Let’s get to the real party here.” He rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation.
There was too much for me to follow. My body shook from the recovering shock of Maelic’s intrusive magic. My mind couldn’t grasp the reality that Dom lay bleeding out so close to me, yet too far to aid, renting my soul in two. The hollow in my chest widened. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Another servant stepped forward to resume harnessing Dom’s escaping magic. I stared helplessly, willing him to wake up. I was still compelled under Nolan’s magic, prevented from rushing toward my general.
Hold on, Dom. You have to hold on, Ispoke into his mind. I hadn’t realized until this very moment that I didn’t want to do it all alone anymore. I didn’t want to keep forcing penance on myself. I didn’t want to sacrifice myself. I wanted a future. Withhim.You have my heart. I will fight for you. Hold on.
He lifted his head a fraction. Blood sluiced down every plane of his beautiful face, marred by the hate of the demons surrounding us.This isn’t my end, Liora,he pushed into my mind.
I choked back a sob. My rage coiled and grew like an insidious viper at my helplessness to save him. I could do nothing but watch and cling to hope.
Nolan’s shadows jerked my chin toward the cloaked man who had sidestepped around Dom in response to Nolan’s signal. “Meet our guest, Ruin.” He flipped his hand toward the servant. “Remove your hood.”
The man obeyed, sliding it down, revealing a face that I knew hauntingly well.
Delah gripped me as dread, like a brick of iron, dropped into my gut.
The man before me was my father.
Chapter Forty-Five
THE SPY
Grey, the man who appeared in my worst nightmares, blinked at me. His flat expression communicated nothing as he assessed me. He appeared older, and smaller, then I remembered. He was no longer a towering figure of torment and hate that my childhood-self cowered under. I returned his scrutiny with squared shoulders and an unflinching glare. Ice crept along the floor, emanating from my feet in response to him, despite Nolan’s power seeking to suppress my own.
I thought he had died in the fire. Did that mean my mother was still alive? I remembered finding charred bits of her clothing, though. I did not find evidence of my father’s demise, only the assumption they had both perished.
I swallowed thickly, trying to reconcile the truth standing mere feet away from me. Where had he been these last many years?
My thoughts were interrupted as the ground beneath us began to gently sway. The tools lining the tabletops vibrated and the bed frames groaned. We crouched, recognizing an earthquake might very well bring this entire tower down. Istared at Dom, willing him to open his eyes. His body slumped against the stone floor, his chest rising with shallow breaths.
Grey kept his gaze trained on me. For a moment, I thought he would reach out to hug me. I recoiled at the thought of it. The Supreme Vestal held up his hand and Grey’s mouth shut. His eyes fell blank, entranced.
“What are you doing here?” It’s all I could muster. My throat felt tight amidst the irrepressible waves of my emotions. Grey imperceptibly shook his head before his body fell slack, unconscious.
A sound echoed up the stairwell, spilling into the chamber. Glass shattered and a destabilizing boom resounded. I clutched at my ears as blood trickled out of them, trailing a path down my jaw. A high-pitched ring drowned out the sound of the chaos around me.
Nolan’s shadows receded at the assault.
Finn and Bowen burst through the entryway. Bowen grabbed Delah who had collapsed somewhere behind me. As he pulled her out of the room, her feet slipped on the mixture of blood and ice that coated the stone floor.
