The soil splits open, and dozens of roots tunnel through the cracks, twisting, reaching, groping—
—for Mayah.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Thickbranchestwistaroundher wrists and ankles, hurtling upwards until she’s suspended in the air. I lunge, sword aimed at the roots, but a large mound of packed earth erupts from the ground and slams into my chest, sending me staggering backward.
And then I sense him.
FuckingFaramir. His infuriating electric currents mock me as he draws closer within the range of my powers.
“Easy now, brother. Don’t piss me off.” A brittle chuckle slices through the night. “I’ll cut her clean in two. Then we can both have a piece.”
Burning rage, incessant and violent, crackles through my veins. He’s a dead man.
“Let. Her. Go.”
Faramir pretends to consider it. “No.”
The sky rumbles with my storm.
He grins at the evidence of my anger, slowly circling me, eyes manic in the moonlight. “Father would’ve done anything to save you, brother. He thought the Tundrayni pigscapturedyou. Itwould’ve crushed him to learn his favorite son was actually a traitor.” He stills, a gruesome slash of a smile splitting his face. “Luckily, he’ll never know.”
My blood freezes.
“What do you mean?” My knuckles blanch around the pommel of my sword.
“I killed him, of course. You should’ve believed me that night, brother. Did you know he was planning to crown you? He wanted you and your bitch to rule.”
Truth.
I can’t begin to parse the storm of emotions crackling through me. My father is dead. For years, it’s all I wanted.
And yet…
I lunge toward him, teeth bared in a snarl, sword aimed for his heart. He doesn’t move. Just stands there, smirking, like this is another fucking joke.
Mayah’s pained gasp halts me in my tracks. I whirl—her face is twisted in pain, the roots stretching her in opposite directions. Fury licks at my ribs, the air crackling around me.
“Want to know how I did it?” Faramir gloats. “You two made it so easy. Mayah. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Thank you for all the toxinnia. And brother, you left with your bitch so quickly. Didn’t even make sure it was all disposed properly.”
I summon a bolt of lightning, but he expects it. Mounds of dirt erupt from the earth and form an arch over his head. His smirking face morphs into a vicious snarl. Behind me, the roots groan, and another muffled gasp escapes Mayah.
Another crack of lightning.
The packed earth warps through the air, absorbing the electricity.
Faramir’s hate-filled gaze is fixed over my head. “You’ve been such a wonderful addition to our family, Mayah,” he croons. “Finally. My brother has a weakness.”
The thunder rumbles louder. I take a half step forward. Then, another. I need to end this. Endhim.
“I am not a weakness,” Mayah grits out from behind me, voice dripping with pain. “Or a bitch. I am afuckingforce of nature.”
Water rises from the earth, glittering drops glowing in the moonlight.
Faramir’s mouth gapes, and I’d find it comical if Mayah’s life weren’t in danger. “Wh—that’s not possible!”
Another half step.
