I hid the last part from him, because I didn’t want him to know of my doubts. But it was a nagging fear I couldn’t erase. Kade was already focused on his target, the staff raised above his head as he ran, its dark energy seeming to increase the closer we got to the Dark Fae Lord and the other dark weapon.
Isalinda stepped out of the shadows then, gliding across the snow to stand at the side of her dark ally. The stunning white horse, which she had been riding last time I saw her, was there in the background.Her familiar?I’d never seen a horse as a familiar before; it was quite spectacular as it pawed the ground near the queen. I couldn’t hurt a magnificent beast like that, one who had no choice in the sort of fae it was bonded with. But if I killed the queen, and fae familiar bonds were the same as shifters’, the horse was going to die.Dammit.Why were there no easy choices in these situations? I had to savemy people, but in doing so, some would be sacrificed.
The longer I was a queen, the more I was starting to understand the Red Queen and her actions. One thing was becoming very clear, the time for softness had passed. I needed to embrace my inner Red Queen if I was going to defeat Isalinda. There would be no polite conversation, no point in dragging out the inevitable. I wanted her dead and burning along with the entire lake as soon as possible.
Without a word, I gathered my magic, both fae and mecca, and sent a swirl of frosty ice right at her face. I wanted to throw her off by attacking first, but as I expected, she simply held up a hand and stopped my magic midair, using her own version of frozen magic. As our two spells collided, there was a shattering blast, and a long spiraling ice sculpture formed in that exact spot, before spreading across a ten foot radius.
The winter queen grinned, her lips still a creepy corpse-blue. “Good girl, you’ve been studying. This should be fun.”
Before I could even pivot my weight or think of a counter-spell, she threw magic at me that traveled faster than I could see. The energy slammed into my legs, wrapping around them, bringing the chill of ice with it as it crawled up my body, immobilizing me.
She frowned, tapping one long finger nail against her chin. “That was far too easy. I take back what I said. You’re actually quite pathetic. This is going to be over in a second.”
I didn’t struggle, sure in my ability to break her magic. But I wouldn’t until she moved closer, because no doubt she thought she had won and was going to come over and gloat before she killed me. The ice had reached my pelvis now and was still rising. And sure enough, she was striding toward me. I continued feigning defeat, letting her come closer and closer.
When she was inches from me, she peered down. “Your lineage failed you, child. You’re nothing but a—”
Blocking out her hatred, I reached for the energy that made me unique in this world. Fae and shifter. Dark and light. I let it surge from me in a strong, uninterrupted stream. Dark purple sparkles filled the air and the ice spell around me dissolved in an instant. I lunged forward, my wolf howling in my chest before my voice lifted and I added my own howls to the wolf’s.
I wrapped my hands around her throat, the magic pouring from me so strong that it pushed us forward. The winter queen’s head cracked hard against a nearby dried-out tree stump. She let out a low groan, but I didn’t remove my hands from her throat. Instead I squeezed harder.
Her face was turning a shade of purple; she struggled and clawed at me. But I had shifter and fae strength. I would not be defeated again.
I felt the weakness sliding through my center, my body starting to run out of reserves of energy. Adrenalin had hidden most of my pain and injuries, the strength of my power helping me focus, but suddenly the dull ache in my leg from the ercho gash was no longer just a mild throb. The pain began stabbing at me, and my arms trembled.
Something snapped in my leg and I keeled over, losing my grip on the queen. White hot agony ripped through my leg, and I realized my shin bone had just broken … on its own. I let out a blood-curdling scream as more pain took me over. Was this the ercho venom?
Was it actually eating my bones?
“Die!” The winter queen interrupted my anguish by unleashing a flurry of wind magic that picked me up like a tornado and whipped me into the air.
I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t fight back.
I’d felt a lot of pain in my life as an heir, and then a queen, butnothingcompared to having my bones splinter and shatter inside of me. As the wind swirled me higher into the air, I reached down and ran a hand along my shin, assessing the damage. Bile rose in my throat atthe pain as I could feel at least two inches missing from my tibia bone, and that gap appeared to be growing. Just as I feared, the venom was eating my skeleton.
Finn…I couldn’t think properly with the pain and nausea from being inside of a spinning, frozen tornado.
Ari!
Dark Injury. Ercho. Eating my bones. Need … Violet.I was losing my grip on reality, seconds from unconsciousness.
The tornado stopped then, and I was falling. I used the last of my consciousness and energy to cushion my fall, landing in a thick bed of snow in a remote part of the woods. From this vantage point, flat on my back, snow and cold seeping into my clothes and body, I couldn’t see Isalinda anymore.
I must have blacked out for a few seconds, only coming to when Finn’s voice blasted in my head.Ari! Violet says the mecca powder can do almost anything.
I didn’t waste energy on a reply. Gathering together every ounce of discipline and strength, I forced my hand to move, forced it to retrieve the vial. I popped the cap off just as I caught sight of the winter queen stalking towards me, ready to finish me off.
What had Rowan said? The mecca powder needed only direction and it could do anything?
Heal me, please,I begged of the small powerful glass of purple dust as my magic wrapped around the vial. I tipped my head back, taking a mouthful of the powder onto my tongue.
I had no idea if I should have made a paste of it and put it right on the wound, but from my current position I really couldn’t do much except swallow it.
A low chuckle caught my attention, cold and hard, and filled with a malicious kind of enjoyment. The winter queen was looking down on me, her delight clear in her turned-up lips and shiny eyes. I chucked the empty vial to the side, hoping the stuff worked quickly. Otherwise, I could see my death on Isalinda’s face, and I wasn’t ready to go out yet. I still had too much to do.
A warm tingle spread out through my tongue. I let the powder sit there for a few moments, not swallowing or spitting it out for fear of something going wrong. A little energy filtered into my veins, just enough so that I could roll over to get away from the queen.
Another few moments and the sharp stabbing pains decreased enough that I could struggle to stand, using my one good leg and a shriveled treefor balance. Isalinda watched me, not attacking, enjoying my pain.
