Stones Dimitri had failed to notice thus far, thankfully. Icouldn’timagine howhe’dreact if he noticed all ten of them.
With the connectionsolidified, andfueled only by my anger for what Ezra hadlikely gonethrough, I let loose.
And Iexploded.
The crystal bundle shot from the earth to my hands, shattering outward. Shards flew in every direction except mine, and I watched as Dimitri reacted purely based on instinct. He pulled a chunk of stone from below us and used it to cover his head and torso just before the crystals made contact, the gems shattering into splinters on impact.
When he dropped the earth a fraction to reveal his face, he was grinning wildly.
And that only further fueled my rage.
Did he think this was funny? Or a game?
Letting my connection with my variousziriliumguideme, I dropped to the ground and placed my hand on the stone. Within heartbeats, thick vineswrappedaround my twin’s ankles, holding him in place. Then, focusing on the water the plants held, I froze the vines,furthersolidifying their hold.
Dimitri, who was still smiling like a madman, looked down, unphased.Hecalled tohis fire and melted the frozen vines with more control than I thoughthe’dhad.
But that little trick had just been a distraction.
When he looked back to where I had been standing, he found I was no longer there.
I reappeared to his right and slightly behind him, using the water still on the ground from before and quickly shifting it into ice, coating his right wing in it. The sudden weight imbalance caused him to stumble, and I took the opportunity to throw a strong, focused air current at the backs of his knees, making his legs collapse in on themselves.
He ended up kneeling before me, all in a matter of wingbeats, and I quickly drew the dagger Matea had given me, holding it to his throat as I stood closely behind him.
The anger dying out of me with the energyI’dexpelled using my abilities, I said quickly, “I’msorry about Father. I live withthat weight on my soul every day, Dimitri. But Itruly believedyou’dbe a fair and just ruler that would help me put an end to this war.”
With tears threatening to well in my eyes, I spoke quieter this time. “I just want my brother back.”
I watched as his hands curled into fists at his sides—the onlyindicationof his rising anger.
“You’reright, twin. Iwillbea fairand justruler. But I will ruleall ofInphis, not just the North. Even if you are rightfully the heir, this was Father’s dying wish, and although that obviously means nothing to you, it means everything to me.”Helifted his chin. “And Iwillsucceed, ordie trying.”
With those final words, Dimitri dissipated intoshadows forjust long enough to escape my grasp. He reappeared facing me, and with no hesitation, I watched as he pulled a small throwing knife from his sleeve and tossed it with such force at me, I barely have time to react.
I dropped as quickly as I could, but not fast enough.
A screamwas rippedfrom my throat as the blade embedded itself in my left wing.
Gasping, I stumbled a step as deep red blood dripped onto my shoulder and down my arm. Dimitri pulled another one of those knives out, and it was at that point I realized just how exhaustedI’dbecome.
Yet, a wingbeat before he could throw it towards my other wing, Matea’s shadow speared out of the darkness of the nearest corridor, wrapping around the blade and throwing it down, straight into Dimitri’s foot,pinning him there.
“Matea, wait!” I yelled out before she could cause further damage.
Iwatched asher shadow form paused, and while she was hesitating, I grasped a small vial I had hidden in my pocket.
I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, but it appeared that was not an option anymore.
I observedDimitri reachdown and yankthe blade out of his foot, grunting in pain.But when he straightened, I was there, and so were the contents of the vial.
I blew the powder the vial had been holding directly into mytwin’sface, and though he sputtered and backed away, the effects werenearly instantaneous.
He backed away so much that his wings hit the wall, and he slowly slid to the ground, his eyesglossingover.
As it turned out, Chess knew more than how to heal people. He knew how to incapacitate them, too. And thattrokavbaghe’dpacked wasfilled to the brimwith not just things to fixfae, but things to break them, too.
“What—” Dimitri said, trying to form a sentence and failing.
