Now, even if my parents figured out what I had done, they couldn’t stop me and so I took a deep breath and pulled for the emotions and feelings I had left with them: contentment, amiableness, gratitude and pride. I sighed in relief when I felt them snap back into me like a rope breaking over a long distance.
I didn’t want my father being taken advantage of while I was gone and I had no idea how long my powers lasted when used in this way.
Next, I closed my eyes and envisioned the black heart of an Ethereum lord, pumping not only black blood but its evil magic throughout its host as well.
Holding the image in my mind just as Master Duncan taught me, I opened my eyes and walked forward. Fear threatened to overtake me, but I pushed back against it. I was determined to enter Ethereum with open eyes and my head held high.
Right before stepping into the portal I paused and pulled my faestone dagger from its sheath, clutching it tightly in my fist.
Master Duncan’s command flitted through my mind.Strike before the villain has a chance to even utter a word.
With the image of the black heart still firmly in my mind’s eye, I took a final step forward and into the mirror.
Chapter 5
Walking into the portal was not as simple as I thought it would be. No sooner had I passed through the mirror when I felt a sharp tug at my middle. Then with a jerk I was yanked forward.
I didn’t have time to get used to the sensation before I found myself standing on a candlelit table and looking down into the shocked gray-blue eyes of an Ethereum lord.
I had purposefully chosen to go through the portal late at night, expecting the Ethereum lord to be fast asleep or at the very worst well into a pint if he was a drinker. But instead I was standing atop his dinner table, my foot planted on his plate. What looked like mashed potatoes squished out on either side of my boot.
Who eats a meal this late at night?
Maybe it wasn’t late here, but there was no time to dwell on that.
I quickly pulled my wits about me. It didn’t matter why he was eating so late. All that mattered was that if I didn’t act now, I’d lose the only advantage I had against the beast of a man in front of me: surprise.
Dropping low, I slashed out with my dagger, aiming for the dark lord’s heart.I was swift with my movements, but the lord was faster and shoved away from the table, stumbling to his feet.
Disappointment hit me like a slap in the face when I saw that I had torn his shirt, but missed his flesh.
We both froze for an instant, sizing each other up. It was only for a few heartbeats, but it was long enough for me to catalogue the lord’s features.
He was a large man, easily a foot taller than me and almost twice as wide. His black hair was shorn close on the sides and the middle braided back to the crown of his head and then up into a messy knot, showcasing his long pointed ears. His gray-blue eyes were almost piercing enough to detract from the vein of scars that cut through one eyebrow and down to his cheek.
Despite the circumstances, I felt a twinge of attraction and immediately chastised myself. He was undeniably handsome, and the scar that should have been grotesque or scary somehow only added to his allure.
Taken aback by my body’s reaction, I gave the lord precious time I shouldn’t have, affording him a moment to look down at his chest and see the rip I’d made. Immediately he became enraged.
“You dare attack me?” he yelled and then with an animalistic growl he rushed me.
I slid off the table with speed I wasn’t aware I was capable of, twisting out of the giant lord’s grasp. Rather than running away from him like he probably expected, I adjusted my grip on the dagger and spun back toward him, swiping out again.
This time I managed to make a shallow cut at the base of his throat before he reared away.But the nick didn’t faze him and he dodged my next strike, grabbing hold of my wrist with an iron grip.
The blade was only inches from his chest, right over my intended target. I tried to push the dagger forward and into his heart, but the lord was just too strong. I could see a few drops of black blood coming from the wound I’d made on his neck and it was the motivation I needed to know I was in front of the right person.
His eyes dropped to my dagger and flared as if he recognized it. When his gaze bounced back to me, the hatred in their depths burned so strongly I almost felt singed.
“It’s you,” he practically spat before twisting my arm so that I was forced to let go of the dagger as he took it into his own fist, and my stomach sank.
I brought my knee up to hit him between the legs, but he shifted out of the way. The distraction gave me the opportunity to twist out of his grasp and put a few feet of space between us.
My wrist throbbed where he’d held me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d broken it. But the pain hardly registered as I stared at the beastly fae who stomped toward me with murder in his eyes.
Use your magic, Queen Liliana’s words from training rang in my head.It is your greatest weapon.
I had no excuse for not using my magic yet. It was a disastrous mistake that very well might cost me my life.
