I stiffened, unable to move as I processed this reality, one that I never thought possible. I’d been told my birth mother was dead. Which technically she was…and then obviously became undead.
A Nightling.
She slowed, cocking her head to the side as she appraised me. She was arrestingly beautiful, long, dark hair flowing out behind her, flawless porcelain skin. Ariyon was right, her lips were thinner than mine but otherwise we could be sisters. But her beauty was all marred by the haunting black eyes, an endless void that held no humanity. And there, wound around her neck, was a yellow and white spotted snake. Her familiar. Even in death they had remained together. I noticed my birth mother was the only Nightling here with a familiar and I found myself wondering why.
“Daughter.” Her voice was even more unnerving than her eyes, human but not, and when she reached out to touch me, I flinched.
Help me,I prayed to anyone listening. The Light. Yanric. Anyone.
My familiar flew from my shoulder then, turning into black smoke as he arced through the air and then solidified right in front of Marissa’s face, crashing into her nose and pecking wildly at her face.
Holy Fae!
Marissa hissed, reaching up to grasp Yanric by the neck, and that’s when I felt the heat build in my core.
Pulling on my magic, I thrust my hands out and shot the purple-orange flames that Master Knight had taught me to conjure, right at Marissa’s stomach. As they arced through the air, I tensed my body, praying to the Light they would make a direct hit. Marissa’s snake hissed in warning, and she recoiled, immediately turning away from the fire. I readied my power for another blast but then my birth mother flicked her hand in my direction and an unseen force knocked into me, causing me to fall backward and land on my butt.
“You belong with me!” Marissa sneered and the very trees behind her shook with her rage. Unease crept through me like a shadow, and my palms began to sweat as I braced for her to kill me. Marissa stalked forward, fingers outstretched, little lightning bolts dancing at the tips.
What the fae?
I was frozen in shock, cemented to the ground, unable to work out what to do next. Would she really kill me?
Then a blur of black feathers zoomed between us and my familiar opened his wings and elicited the same shockwave of power that Marissa had used to knock me on my butt. She blew backward, her heels dragging marks into the dirt, and I used the moment to stand, readying my undying fire or whatever these purple flames were.
I wasn’t going down without a fight and as annoying as Yanric could be at times, I wasn’t going to let a feather on his little body be harmed on my account.
Eden stepped up next to me, her own hands alight. Yanric flew out of the way and together Eden and I blasted so much heat at Marissa and her familiar that the grass caught fire.
There was a shriek, then in a mere matter of seconds, Marissa transformed into black smoke and zipped off through the trees as if riding on the wind.
“You okay?” Eden’s breathless voice called beside me.
I turned to face her, and pure relief rushed through me to see my friend unharmed. Yanric perched on Eden’s shoulder, and I knew without asking that he would protect her.
“I’m okay,” I told her. “Thanks for your help.”
Shouts and clanging swords pulled our attention in the direction of Ariyon and Ayden. The brothers were fighting back-to-back in the courtyard, shadows zipped around them like black clouds driven by a strong wind, solidifying into a person and then back into shadow in seconds. It was terrifying. My legs shook slightly as my heart attempted to ratchet down after my run-in with Marissa. But there was no time, Ayden and Ariyon needed our help.
Eden and I sprinted to them. Holding the undying fire in my palms, I couldn’t help but think that Master Knight had done right by forcing me to learn to use my magic.
Eden was right beside me and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: help the boys.
There were still four Nightlings attacking the twins in a circle formation and every other partygoer from school had left. There was not a guard to be seen. We were on our own.
Aiming my hands, I released the burning pressure that had built in my chest just a little bit and a six-foot arc of fire shot from my palms and ignited the back of the Nightling nearest me. He let out a terrifying shriek and then the fire grew, encompassing his entire body. As the Nightling fell away from the attack circle, it opened up a gap. Ariyon had a streak of blood across his cheek, and he was slashing left and right at the creatures before him.
Ayden sent a blast of invisible energy at one of the male Nightlings and he staggered backward. Then the prince slashed at him with his sword, only for the creature to turn to shadow and avoid being harmed.
The Nightlings suddenly diverted their attention from a circular attack of both brothers and zeroed in on Ayden.
No.
Panic caused the flames on my palms to flicker, but I pulled for that well deep inside of me and then magic surged through me. An electric crackle hit the air as I held out my palms and aimed the undying fire at the three men slashing into Ayden. It coated their backs and they disengaged from Ayden, transforming into black shadows to avoid being burned.
Then they zoomed through the trees and retreated as if they had all been called home at that moment. I spun and stared in horror as the Nightling I’d lit on fire moments ago burned alive before my eyes. He fell to his knees screaming and Ariyon raised his sword, slashing it sideways and taking the creature’s head clean off.
A headache throbbed at my temple as the flames on my palms sputtered out.
