Chapter Forty-Five
Analleia
Light blazed aroundthe Enchantress like a burning inferno, blinding me.Power and magic and rage overcame her being, magnified her essence by a thousand.
“One task,” she hissed at me.“Bring me the ring.You can’t bring it to me with him alive?Then kill him.One task, that was all I asked of you, and you had him by the throat.You held the power of life and death.Held the power to kill him, but you didn’t.You let him go, left him.Just like you left your mother.Left her to die.”
I shielded my eyes from the light, but I couldn’t turn away from her.Her power held me prisoner and left me at her mercy.Gold flecks danced across my skin, burning like ice wherever they touched.
“My deal was to bring you the ring.”My voice strained to rise above the roar.“It never included murder, and I will not kill an innocent man.I vowed to kill one and only one person.My hands will not take the life of another.Not for anyone.”
Her face contorted with rage, magic twisting around her arms in weaves of golden light.“You have broken our bargain, Analleia de Ellen Mercais Kallistar.I will take the gift I bestowed upon you and withdraw it like poison.”
She reached her right hand toward me, the weaves of magic around her arms growing larger before extending out to me like tiny hands, brushing across my face like a feather.I screamed, my face heating as if it were being burned from the inside out.Tendrils of magic seeped through my pores, too big to fit through but forcing their way in.The pain only intensified, making me want to black out.Making me want to die.No compassion hid within the Enchantress’s eyes.No drop of mercy fell before her.The tendrils of magic returned to her as they left me, silver specks mixed in with the gold, and twisted around her until diffusing and becoming one with her being.
I gasped for air, wishing to crawl out of my skin, to escape from the never-ending pain.
But there was no mercy here.
With a jerk, the last of the magic left my body, and I stumbled forward, looking up as the Enchantress spun, disappearing in a flash of light.My hands shook as I gingerly touched my face, sure the skin had decayed or melted off, but it felt smooth.No different.I turned to the looking glass on the wall, staring at my reflection and wondering what others would now see.
Boots thudded down the corridor like a herd of thundering horses.I drew a dagger, unsteady on my feet, my vision blurring as I tried to focus on the approaching guards.I needed to hide, but my ears were ringing.The colors in the world weren’t right.They distorted, marring my vision.I blinked, unable to gather my bearings.
A group of soldiers surrounded me, trapping me in a circle of spears.
Two men broke through the ranks, staggering to a stop at the inner ring, staring at me as if I were a ghost.
“Kallistar.”Disbelief coated Athello’s pale face, his shirt drenched with blood.
I watched as recognition spread across their faces in horror.
“The enchantment around your face...”Athello trailed off.“You’re one of them.”
The soldiers broke conduct, muttering among themselves.“She’s one of the criminals from that accursed kingdom.”
My wide eyes sought Valeris, pleading with him for help, but all I found was betrayal burning in them.He took me in.My identity.The assassin’s garb.
“Valeris.”My voice wobbled.“I can explain.”
I watched his defenses rise.
He would never believe another word I said.
“Seize her,” Athello ordered.
The guards closed in, and my mind grasped for a plan.My hand dipped into the gray powder secured at my waist, flinging it out in a circle.The line of men jumped back, several falling to their knees.It wasn’t powerful enough to knock them out, but it was strong enough to disorient.I held my breath, squinting and charging through a break in the guards.A soldier on the outer edge accosted me, yanking me against him.Two dark shapes flew in through the window, one ripping the soldier off me, the other attacking the guards.
