Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I had trained all that time that it should have been the first thing I did, yet I’d been too preoccupied with the physical fight. I should have been ready considering all the preparation Queen Liliana had put me through, yet when the moment of truth came, I’d choked.
I was disappointed in myself, but there was no time to wallow.
Before the dark-haired lord had a chance to use my own dagger against me, I summoned my power and pushed fear into him, blanketing him entirely in the strong emotion.
I expected him to drop to the floor immediately, a blubbering mess of hysterics with wide eyes, tears, and clamoring for an exit. Any other fae I unleashed this much fear on certainly would have been incapacitated immediately, but not this Ethereum lord. The only indication that he felt the effects of my magic was in the widening of his eyes and the slight tremor that now wracked his body. But he was still able to take another step forward, forcing me to take one back.
My own fear rose in my chest as I staggered away. After a few steps my back bumped into the stone wall behind me, halting my retreat.
Almost out of options, I dug deep and threw more at my adversary, just as Queen Liliana taught me. To show him no mercy, for he would show me none as well.
In a split second, I piled hopelessness and panic on top of the fear.
The lord’s steps faltered, eyes going wide, but his grip on the faestone dagger didn’t waver. His gaze clouded over and he shook his head like he was trying to fling off the imposed emotions, but he couldn’t.
“What are you doing to me, little witch?” he bellowed, his voice full of the distress his body refused to show.
Shadows began to move along the walls and a wave of fresh fear rolled over me. With his free hand he reached up and gripped the side of his head, and then his eyes slid closed.
Now was my chance.
With his eyes closed I darted around him and toward the table. I grabbed the serrated steak knife, intending to slit his throat with the blade, but when I twisted back toward the lord, it was just in time to see dark shadows shoot out of his palms.
The dark snake-like ropes flew through the air and wrapped around my body, forcing my arms to my sides, immobilizing me.
I gasped, trying to flee then, reasoning that if I escaped I could come back and attack him another time, but more rope-like shadows attached to my legs, causing me to crash to the ground.
My shoulder took the brunt of the impact, but then my head snapped to the side, hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud.
My heartbeat skipped, causing blackness to invade my vision.
No. Not now. If I pass out now I’m dead.
The reality of the situation fell on me like a cascade of stones.
I’d already failed.
I was without the faestone dagger and incapacitated in every way. My magic didn’t have enough of an effect on the Ethereum lord to overcome his brutish strength.
Rather than bringing home the black heart of an Ethereum lord, I would die in a foreign world, which was exactly what everyone expected of me.
Greif and sadness swamped me, hurrying along the effects of my weak heart, and my vision went hazy as my breathing shallowed.
Through the haze, I watched as the lord stomped toward me, his footfalls rattling in my brain.
He nudged me onto my back with nothing more than the toe of his boot.When I looked up into his blue-gray eyes I saw my powers still affecting him, but yet he was functioning normally.
How powerful was this fae that he could stand up against my magic?
After he killed me, my magic would most likely eventually fade, just like they would if I went unconscious, but it would take time. At least I’d die with the satisfaction that the Ethereum lord would mentally suffer, even if just for a little while, because of me.
It wasn’t much, but it was something.
As the lord watched me, the binds he cast around me tightened, stealing what was left of my breath. My vision continued to darken as my heartbeats ratcheted faster, and it wasn’t long before I fell into familiar blackness.
Chapter 6
