A faint light caught my eye. My lips were glowing.
Calista noticed it, too. She abruptly stood and said, “Wait!”
Ignoring her, I pressed a kiss to Eira’s cold lips, pushing my magic into her as I exhaled what I hoped was the breath of life into her mouth. I poured it into her, every ounce of myself, every drop of power and energy. I gave it all to her.
My frame sagged as my life force bled out of me and funneled into Eira’s mouth. Darkness clouded my vision, and a harsh ringing sound blared in my ears, drowning out Calista’s scream.
The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was the sound of Eira’s loud, rattling gasp of air.
Sudden clarity piercedthrough the dark haze of my mind, and an intense array of sensations assaulted me all at once. My skin felt hot and cold, the light shining through the windows was far too bright, and an animalistic screech of fury made my ears throb.
Slowly, my eyes opened. An invisible force seemed to tug directly from the center of my chest, like I was a marionette on strings. I jerked upright violently. Some innate instinct had me on my feet, my skin prickling with awareness. Adrenaline flooded my body, fear and energy bursting within me, alerting me that something was wrong, that I needed tomove.
Another roar of rage split the air. Claws swiped for me, and I ducked and rolled away, righting myself with my dagger in hand.
I faced Calista, whose long, red claws extended from each hand, fury boiling in her eyes.
“How?” she roared, advancing toward me.
I backed up a step, heart pounding. A flood of confusing and disorienting emotions swelled inside me,overwhelming my senses. The room smelled of the sharp, cool cleanliness I associated with the palace I grew up in.
It smelled like despair.
Calista advanced, and my spine stiffened. I was the prey, and she was very much a predator homing in on its target.
“Howwhat?” I asked, panting.
“How did he heal you?”
I faltered, unsure of what she was talking about. But she gestured to the throne room floor, and my heart stuttered in my chest.
Theron lay dead at my feet.
No.No.
“He… what?” Theron was no healer; he was a necromancer.
In a flash, the memory came back to me: Calista, glamoured as Theron, giving me a sparkwood apple that was infused with her poison. Darkness overcame me, and I was certain I had died.
Theron had power over life and death. But he couldn’t heal a fatal wound. He’d only stopped my wound from bleeding out in Tolston, and it had merely been temporary.
Something shimmered in the sunlight, and I gasped. A glowing blue thread was suspended between Theron and myself, as translucent as a spider’s web.
It was the same shade of blue as Theron’s magic.
Blood and ice.
Theron hadgivenme his necromancy. But how?
Warmth tingled on my lips, an echo of what I’d felt just before waking up. I brushed my fingertips along my mouth, my hand shaking. Theron had kissed me. But it had been more than just an ordinary kiss…
Calista lunged for me, and on instinct, I draped my invisibility over myself, narrowly dodging her attack.
“That trick worked once on me, foul brat,” she spat. “But it won’t work again.”
I danced out of her reach, my footsteps feather-light. She snarled, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed me out. She was right; I couldn’t avoid her strikes forever. As an unseelie fae, her senses were heightened.
And with the juices from a sparkwood apple still in my system, my invisibility wouldn’t last long. It certainly wasn’t as effective. If she looked closely enough, she would be able to see me.
