A wildling stood behind a desk, and he was the only fairy present. A clock ticked on the wall behind him. It was the wee hours of the morning, so I wasn’t surprised that he blinked sleepily.
I dropped five rulibs on the counter, and my heart began to pound at what I was about to do. “One room, please.”
The wildling took the coin with automatic movements and nodded toward the crystal sphere at the end of his counter. “Hand there, if you would.”
I placed my hand on it, and my details scrawled across the ledger before him. He took his time checking me in, even though I was so anxious to get moving that my aura was practically crackling. It wasn’t lost on me that there could be a warrant out for my arrest. I needed to hurry in case the kingsfae were summoned.
It felt as though it took ages before the wildling dangled a key in front of me. I snatched it from his hand, murmuring my thanks, then hurried to my chambers on the second floor.
Once inside, I closed and locked the door behind me, then whispered a spell to hold the lock in place. If the kingsfae came, that would delay them for a while.
A lone bed with a cream coverlet and dainty pillows strewn across it greeted me. A latrine also waited in the chambers’ corner, and a thick rug covered the clean wood floor. It was a huge step up from the hovel I’d slept in weeks ago near the wharf.
My heart began to pound as I stood there.
This was it.
This was the moment I’d spent the past six weeks working toward.
Never mind that I’d never attempted such a thing before, and perhaps I was a fool to do it, considering what would happen if the courts found out, but if it meant my mate would be free, our friends would be saved, and King Paevin would be stopped, then I’d spend the rest of my life dealing with the consequences if it came to that.
I dropped my bag at my feet, and the heavy weight of it sank like a stone. Another anxious breath lifted my chest, but I climbed onto the bed, lay down, and closed my eyes.
The mattress dipped, soft and comfortable, but I would have lain on a hard rock in the freezing cold if needed.
Forcing my breaths to slow, I took one last moment to steady my fear, then dove myself inward, downward to my bottomless depth of power.
Take me away.
The silent command was all that was needed to call upon my lorafin magic. It rose up inside me, the power of a goddess, so quickly and easily. Without my collar and with the new skills I’d learned, it was as simple as breathing.
Cold shadows coasted through me, and then I was blazing across the galaxy, shooting through the stars until I arrived at the Veiled Between.
My ghostlike essence parted the Veil as immense power hummed inside me. I’d never felt magic like this before. It burned and soared, extending all of the way to my toes, lighting up my fingers, beating through my soul. Without my collar, I was trulyfree.
And for the first time in my life, I understood my potential.
The second my being fully drifted through the Veil, several semelees rushed forward.
Queen of Darkness, Commander of Fate, you’ve come. What do you seek?They all bowed to me, their potent magic swirling around me like billowing stars.
I took another deep breath, knowing Jax’s survival depended on me and this moment, and I hung onto the knowledge of what my gargoyle scholar had taught me.Engulfthe semelees. You and they become one. It is the only way for a lorafin to command the fates.
I ran a hand along the semelee nearest me, my fingers trailing across its cold scales. Stepping closer to it, I did as Master Fistideeous instructed. I imagined my magic opening like a well inside me, a bottomless hole that allowed the semelees to join with me.
The semelee’s energy rose, its silent understanding like an approving teacher.You’ve learned much since the last time we saw you, Lorafin.It slithered inside me, and the feel of its power connecting with mine made me gasp.
I took a moment to steady myself as my magic grew. Already, the single semelee’s power was combining with mine. Energy radiated from me. Blazing, potent power. The power of a goddess.
Billowing beyond the Veil, I anchored myself to this new feeling, and once the strangeness of it began to pass, I moved to the next semelee.
You as well, I commanded it, my voice echoing with the strength of the cosmos.
It surged forward, its power rushing into me. Again, the strangeness of it took my breath away, but I didn’t stop.
I turned to the next semelee, then the next, sucking each one inside me as their power joined with mine.
Moments passed as my power grew, brimming with energy, crackling with sheer force. It wasso muchpower—a galaxy of might.
