Niall’s body jerked. He coughed, the sound wet and rattling. He wiped the blood from his mouth and his eyes went wide. “What did you do to me?”
Eimear met his gaze again, looking down on him. “Not nearly enough, but unfortunately, there isn’t time to make you properly pay for your atrocities.”
Niall’s body jerked again, a strange movement that had his head tilting to the side and back. He fell onto his backside, scooting away, holding one arm out as if he might protect himself from some unseen force.
“So much potential wasted,” Eimear said, shaking her head.
“Stop,” Niall shrieked.
Eimear prowled closer, watching him as one observed an experiment. “I might not have Pádraigín’s abilities, but some types of venom go a long way toward bringing your own nightmares to life. Judging from your reaction, it’s already working.”
“I—impossible. Please.”
Saoirse stalked along the outskirts, moving until she could see her mother’s impassive face.
Niall winced again and tore off his boot. His face twisted with horror when he saw the tiny hole in his heel and the plant that had already crawled halfway up his ankle. The skin was already red and swollen.
Niall’s gaze snapped up, a mixture of hatred and fear. “Take it out. Stop this.”
Eimear only smiled. “Tell me, Niall, fallen son of Pádraigín. What nightmares haunt you in the dark?”
Niall turned to his right, his eyes widening and face paling further. Sweat trickled down his temple. He tried to stand only to stumble again. Small trees rose up to block his path, fencing him in. He clawed at them feebly, eyes wide with horror.
Eimear knelt, clasping her hands before her. “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Take them away,” Niall’s voice broke. “Please.” He tried to crawl away, but Eimear blocked his path with her magic again, caging him just as he’d caged her. He looked like a child now, curled in on himself and weeping.
Saoirse approached her mother, pausing at her side.
“He’ll die too quickly,” Eimear said, a tinge of regret in her voice.
Saoirse’s jaw worked. “Will he suffer?”
“Immensely, though unfortunately only within the confines of his own mind.”
Saoirse listened to Niall’s rapid heartbeat and though his body had fallen still, his fear permeated the air in a way that told her those nightmares were far worse than anything they might have been able to conjure in the waking world. “Good.” Eimear’s gaze lifted toward the horizon and Saoirse’s followed. “Should we go to them?” Saoirse asked.
“Find Alec. Everything will come to an end soon.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Arianna
“I never thought I’d get to witness you in your full form,” Vairik said, watching the two with a cautious gaze.
Rion stood protectively before her, the world beneath their feet bathed in flame. Arianna was fairly certain Rion had intended to eliminate Vairik with that last blow, but the male remained standing in a single patch of uncharred grass. Perhaps that was the extent of his power.
Vairik cocked his head with feigned confidence. “Will you not even grace me with a final conversation? Perhaps you’ve been too consumed by your animalistic desires that you’re no longer capable of such things.” He shook his head. “A shame. And here I was expecting some earth-shattering revelation.”
Vairik’s magic rose in a mighty wave, surging forward, attempting to consume her mind. It had once been a mighty force, something they all feared. Now it had been reduced to nothing. Like a youngling attempting to retrieve a treat from an adult’s closed fist.
Vairik’s face scrunched. He nervously licked his lips. “Tell me,” his magic kept attempting to prod at her mind. “Where is our dear Evelyn? Did the shattering bond finally break her?”
Rion roared and Vairik winced from the sound, then molten rock exploded from Rion’s mouth, slamming against Vairik’s invisible wall, momentarily blocking him from Arianna’s view.
The fire faded and Arianna noted the way the fringes of Vairik’s robes smoked with tiny red lines all along the edges. His palms had burned too, the skin blistered and oozing.
The male looked at his hands in disbelief. He staggered back and stared up at the pair with wide eyes. The male fell back again, clearly ready to flee.
