With a smug smile, Merrick turned his attention back to Esmeray. She was pacing, clacking her staff against the white tiles on the floor, keeping Adara’s focus away from the Oracle’s actions and the now fully dazed and unfocused court. The memory was continuing to play. Merrick glanced at Lenna. Her face was ghostly pale, eyes screwed closed, brows scrunched in concentration, as she shoved the memory from the Prism into the minds of the assembled court and held the connection open. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her brow, but she pressed on.
“I’m offended. Really sister…I never received my invite to this party,” Esmeray pouted, the clicks of the staff in her hands a rhythmic beat as she continued to pace.
Adara shot Esmeray an acidic smile. “You were always too little, too late, dear sister. The full moon is already at its apex, and Carra has blessed me with the power to reverse this abominable soul tie.”
“You mean that littlespellyou had slithering around here?” Esmeray finally stopped pacing, and began inspecting her sharp black nails, completely unruffled. Adara stiffened. Esmeray slid her eyes up, a wicked grin flashing across her face. “Did you fail to notice your little silvery snake disappeared? Thatwasthe first step of your spell–right?”
Merrick and Laurent exchanged a look of confusion.
“How did Esmeray know about any of the spells Adara cast tonight?”Merrick touched his ring, throwing the question through all of the gemstones.
And a deep, rich, baritone–one he hadn’t heard for a year, but that he knew as well as his own–answered,“Because I told her.”
“Keerian?” Laurent’s voice barreled down the connection, jolting Merrick out of his initial shock.
Merrick’s gaze darted back towards Keerian. And there, sitting on his best friend’s left hand, sat a thin, gold ring with six stones embedded in the band.
Chapter fifty-three
Esmeray
Keerianhadnottakenhis eyes off me since my abrupt arrival to this fucked up little party Adara had thrown. It emboldened me. It centered me. I could feel our soul tie strengthen and bloom bright and fast now that we were finally reunited. Or at least close enough to being reunited.
“Hello, finally, my love,” I purred to Keerian, directly through that black onyx embedded in our rings. The direct link to my mate’s mind. Sparrow had waned the second we stepped through the portal, slipping the ring onto Keerian’s finger without Adara noticing, since I was busy blinding the room with golden magic, hiding her own burst of green to appear back at my side. Then I activated wards to restrict the court from waning. Keerian’s voice had immediately filled my mind, roaring at me to kill the spell that was weaving around the throne room, and my second burst of magic stifled it completely.
Adara had muted our connection with thosealmostimpervious wards. After we slipped past the barricade using Laurent’s brilliant portal, I felt our soul tie clear and sing out to me.
My mate,my mate, he was here.
My heart had felt heavy, foggy, until I took that first step out of the portal and into this throne room. Now, my heart felt light, beating in rhythm with Keerian’s own.
I had never felt more powerful, as if myacatgrew stronger within me. As if it had also been leaden and slumbering in Keerian’s absence.
Nothing would stop me from being reunited with him. I just needed to deal with my twin first. Changing the succession to myself so publically had been a gamble, and I'd hidden my surprise when I felt Irridessen's own magic swell around me, marking me so quickly as the one True Queen Absolute. Now, I needed to tear this traitor off my throne.
Sparrow’s body was half-hidden behind my wings, and I noticed the sheer shimmer of her own gifts projecting translucent shields of protection around the assembled court to keep them safe in case Adara realized they were all under Lenna’s influence. And to keep them contained in the throne room until the memory finished.
No magic in, no magic out.
I kept pacing, diverting Adara’s full attention to me as my own illusions pushed, unseen, against the spell she used to hold Keerian to that throne. Sparrow’s and my magic searched for any kinks in the cast spell. Thinking of what Hale told us about Adara mirroring my power, I reversed my methods, using my own illusions to mimic the essence of the spell, aiming to release the hold she had on Keerian.
“What’s the plan here, my love?”Keerian’s husky voice filled my mind, eliciting a thrill down my spine. I fought the urge to look at him, my eyes only on Adara, luring her into a false sense of security. So far, Adara hadn’t noticed the Oracle, or Sparrow’s shields around the assembled court.
“I’m working on it.”I shot back down our connection.“You just hang tight until you feel that hold on you loosen.”
“So, sister, what exactly were you trying to accomplish with this theatric?” I asked my twin. “Because we both know the outcome. You aren’t strong enough to kill me. Evenwith your spells.”
The baiting worked. Maybe a tad too well. The air in the room began to hollow out and thin, rallying into Adara’s spell enhanced battle magic. Feeding her power. Silver tendrils slipped from underneath her lace dress, rearing their eyeless heads, readying to attack.
Adara bared her teeth in a snarl. Her nails began growing long and jagged, glowing that unearthly silver. I braced myself, rallying myacataround me, golden light flaring from Goldriel. Ready to block and dissipate the impending attack. Sparrow’s green battle magic formed out of the corner of my eye, snaking out of her hands like vines. I crouched–
“Murderer,” the faint voice whispered behind me. I blinked, losing my focus. My power winked out at the same moment Adara’s did.
“Murderer!” Another voice shouted, as the court assembled began coming out of the Prism’s thrall, their renewed anger centered on Adara. Hate filled their eyes, hate that I had become so accustomed to, now rightfully focused onto their False Queen.
Adara flicked her eyes from me to Merrick, finally noticing Lenna, hidden behind him. Her eyes dropped to the Prism, still faintly glowing in Lenna’s white-knuckled grasp.
“Oracle,” she breathed, her eyes glowing silver, “youare an unexpected nuisance.”
