“Noemi?” I call to her.“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she answers to my relief.“I got away before they ambushed Valstark. I’m trying to find a way to help him.”
I share the update with Stark and then open my eyes, realizing they fluttered closed.
The magic encasing us makes the world look eerily like the shadow realm of my dreams, and for a half second I’m disoriented. I gulp. I don’t know how long my attention has been off Killian.
My heart is beating wildly. This is all going fucking sideways.
I blink again, and Killian comes into focus.
He’s looking at me knowingly. When he sees my attention has returned, he begins to laugh.
The sound makes my blood run cold, a chill that reaches down to my bones.
“Talking to your pet Alpha?” he croons, then laughs harder. “Don’t worry; we’ll keep him alive. Tormun has plans for him.”
I growl, gathering my rage to me like a blanket, readying my shadow powers for a strike.
“The game is up,” Anassa says to me, her muscles coiled for action.
“I think you’re right,” I reply. My own muscles tighten as I pull more and more power in.
“You think Alistair and I couldn’t see through your little Kryptos tricks, Meryn? Please.” His eyes get a manic glint. “As soon as I saw my father’s little whore skulking around my camp, I knew you’d come here to betray me.”
He cocks his head. “I’m disappointed you saw it fit to feed me lie after lie.But don’t worry, kitten. I know just what to do with a smart mouth like yours,” he says, his voice laced with a perverted affection.
My stomach roils. Foul fucking asshole.
“Now hand over those Tears before I tell my people to execute that pathetic excuse for a Sovereign Alpha.”
My fury pools in my body, deep and potent like a lake of black flame. I’m ready to burn this fucker to the ground.
“Don’t you dare touch him, you piece of shit!”
The words are barely out of my mouth when my power rears up like a massive stallion, coiling and then crashing down on Killian’s head.
His shadows have also returned to his hands, though, and he easily swats my blow away, creating a shield for himself with my stolen power.
Shadows collide and rebound, shooting outward until the wall we’ve formed around us disperses. Killian’s people yell and run as the shadows flatten tents and knock over structures.
Enraged, I draw more and more power. I tighten my fist over the Astreonan crown, and the two crowns, both such powerful amplifiers, double and rebound the magic.
I’ve never used my shadebending with both crowns at my disposal. I’m drunk on the power, its heady rush filling me so completely my vision goes black.
With a savage thrust of my hand, I throw the power toward Killian like a deadly thunderbolt.
But he stretches out his arms, welcoming the shadow spear like a lover. The massive black spear pulls itself apart as it reaches him, flowing around his arms, down his torso. The excess power pours into the ground at his feet.
“Shit. No matter how much I pull, it’s just making his own power greater.”Anassa’s ears are back, her paws firmly planted. She holds me steady while the wild ropes of shadow buffet us both, the clashing magic creating a strange wind.
“So do something different!” she orders, and I do.
The Tears for creation and destruction. They frighten me, their power so large and unknowable. But if ever there was a time to use them both, it’s now.
Killian is tossing daggers of shadow at us, and Anassa deftly avoids two of them before I manage to get a Phylax shield across us. The shield affords me a precious minute to figure out my next move.
I thrust my free hand into my pack and grasp the two final Tears tightly. The sharp points of each dig into my palm, and I let the pain ground me.
