“Marina, let go!” she cried. “You cannot hold it back!”
I tried to answer, to tell her I was trying, but my words came out as a gasp. I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t move. The Arden was holding me in place as a shield, siphoning my magyk to protect itself. It pulled the threads of power from inside me, unraveling them far too quickly, not caring if it took from my healing gift or my Shadowspinning. It would consume me if I did not do something, if I did not break the connection. Titania shuffled closer and pressed a glowing hand to my chest, then placed her other hand on my back. Her magyk surged through my body, but it began to run out just as quickly as my own, and soon she was gasping with the effort too.
As the Rot began to fence us in, choking off both our streams of magyk, a shadow appeared in the sky. At first, I thought someone was standing over us, and just barely managed to tilt my chin back. But I saw only a glowing, winged figure, hovering just above the thick tree canopy. A voice screamed my name, but nothing else registered until the figure put a fiery arrow onto a bow and took aim.
The earth in front of me exploded, shattering into a million shards of glassy light. Thrown backwards by the force of it, I collided hard with Hippolyta and she wrapped her arms around me, turning and flaring out her enormous wings to block the force of the explosion. My own arms felt like they’d been snapped in half, and I held them to my chest as I ducked into her shoulder. The sound was deafening, but it could not drown out Hippolyta screaming Titania’s name. Assoon as my body was prone on the forest floor, she released me. I heard her boots hitting the ground and her panicked voice.
“Are you insane?” she cried. “You nearly killed them!”
“They were about to be eaten alive!” someone—a man—replied angrily. “What would you have me do?”
“Titania? Titania! Open your eyes, love, please!”
“May…” Warm hands ran along my back and sides. “May, can you hear me?”
I managed to nod, but kept my eyes closed. My ears were ringing. My whole body was ringing. It felt like I’d be standing too close to the Abbey’s giant, iron bell when it sounded at midday. Every inch of me was on fire too, but then I began to cool. Like a wintery breeze moving over my bare skin, the heat was pulled away, and I began to shiver.
“C-cold,” I mumbled.
“Alright, too much,” said the voice. “Here…” The hands moved over me again, replacing some of the heat they’d pulled away. Even though they still ached, my muscles began to relax one at a time, until I felt strong enough to open my eyes.
“Devil…”
He was kneeling over me, worry and anger twisting his face as his wings closed around us, creating a dark, quiet cocoon.
“Oh, thank the gods,” he breathed, slipping a hand up to hold the nape of my neck. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine. I could hear his ragged breathing and taste the metallic presence of his magyk. His Lightweaving. He had saved us with that arrow, somehow keeping the Rot from pulling every drop of power from Titania and I both.
So, naturally, there was only one thing I could think of to say. “Your aim is…fucking terrible…”
He laughed softly and pulled away, holding my face between his hands. “Oh, how I’ve missed your clever aspersions.”
“Just like youmissedhitting the Rot?”
“I wasn’t aiming for the damn Rot, May. I was trying to break the connection.”
“Everything was under control!” I tried to sit up, but my head spun and I turned to press my face into the cold grass.
“Is that the story you’re telling yourself?” Devil asked, sitting back on his heels.
I rolled, pulling my knees under me, trying to decide if I needed to vomit while also trying to ignore his warm hand running gently up and down my spine.
“What have you done?!” The air exploded again, this time in a fury of shadows, and I looked behind me to see Oberon. His ire appeared to be directed at Titania, who was crouched in the grass nearby, Hippolyta’s arm around her shoulders.When she heard his voice, however, her head snapped up and her eyes blazed orange again.
“I did nothing!” she shrieked. “Yousent her here! As if you do not have enough eyes on me already!”
“She only wanted to speak to you!” Oberon barked. “Since you refuse to extend a welcoming hand to your own granddaughter.”
“You have no right,” Titania breathed. “You have no right to make this any worse than it already is! When will you learn to leave well enough alone? Your sick little game has doomed this kingdom!” She threw her arm out, indicating the Rot, which had stopped its advance at the spot where Devil’s arrow struck the ground.
“My ‘sick little game’ is the only thing that might still save the Arden from your neglect and indifference,” said the faerie king, his voice dripping with scorn. “Our daughter would be ashamed of you, Titania.”
His words were met with a cold, deafening silence.
“She would feel no differently about you,” Titania finally spat back. Her voice was weak, without the venom of true conviction, and I saw the defeat on her face, plain as day.
“Both of you, stop!” Shaking badly, I pushed myself up, allowing Devil to keep his arm around my back. “Your bile does nothing to help anyone! If you cannot be in each other’s presence without spewing hatefulness, then stay away.”
“Do not speak of what you do not understand, girl,” muttered Titania. “I have earned every wretched drop of this hatefulness, and I will not let it go to waste.” She pinned her fiery gaze on her husband. “Keep yourself and your spies away from me, Oberon, including the girl—lest you finally break the dam of my hatefulness and call forth the flood.” In a flash of amber light, she and Hippolyta were both gone. Unable to stand much longer, I slumped against Devil, but Oberon’s eyes flickered over us and his frown only deepened.
