The Enchantress laughed.“Just because I can’t take it from you and kill you myself doesn’t mean she can’t.”
Her attention shifted to me, and my heart beat faster, the terms of her deal coming back to me.She would claim me as her own personal assassin, as a puppet to direct.
I shook my head.“I won’t help you.”
She arched an eyebrow.“Are you sure about that?”
Her hand shot out, beams of magic taking hold of Desmond and Valeris.They clutched at their throats, their chests, unimaginable pain etched across their faces as they tried to breathe but couldn’t, their feet lifting off the ground.
“No, stop it,” I gasped.
The Enchantress’s face furrowed with concentration, both men fighting for air.“Either Wylan Athello gives the ring to you willingly, or you kill him and take it.Fail, and these two will die at your hands.They’re dying now as you stand there and gape.”
I faced Athello, blocking out the strangled sounds of my brother and Valeris as I held my dagger out to the side.
“Give me the ring,” I ordered.
He shook his head.“I can’t.You don’t understand the power it holds.”
“I don’t want to kill you,” I said.
“You can’t kill me.”
I schooled my features.“Then I will watch my brother and Valeris die while trying.”I transitioned into a fighting stance, mapping my way past his defenses.“Don’t tell me you’re going to stand there and watch your nephew die.”
Athello’s attention flicked to Valeris, pain overcoming him.“I can’t.”
I lowered my dagger, stepping forward.“Then let me take it.”
The last time I had tried to take the ring an invisible force had shoved me away, but something told me I could take it if he allowed me to.I inched closer, keeping a close eye on the warring emotions scrawled across his face.His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
He watched me as I reached for his rough hand and uncurled his scarred fingers.With every movement, I expected to be attacked, but Athello remained still.I slipped the elaborate ring off, and his arm fell back to his side in defeat.
My heart skittered in my chest as the ring rested in the palm of my hand.Whatever resided inside the opal stone was dangerous, the ring seeming to pulse against my skin, humming with power.I had an overwhelming urge to slip it on my finger, but I ignored it.
“Bring me the ring,” the Enchantress commanded.
I turned back to her, enclosing it in my fist.
“Release them first,” I ordered.
“Not until you give me the ring.”Her green eyes glittered with greed, the golden specks in them brightening.
“No,” I said.“Release them.”
She lifted her chin in annoyance, but the swell of magic in the room slackened.Valeris and Desmond both gasped for air, dropping to their hands and knees as they clutched at their chests.
I tossed the ring to the Enchantress and she snatched it from the air, admiring it for a second before slipping it over her ring finger.It fused with another band of gold she wore, becoming one.The ethereal light enveloping her exploded into power, magic shooting around the room as she transformed, her appearance growing younger, more beautiful, more powerful.More deadly.
She rolled her neck, eyes coming to rest on me.“Such a shame you’re so willing to save the one who betrayed you and sealed your family’s fate.”
I glanced at the lifeless bodies of the king and queen.I hadn’t saved them.They were dead.
“Oh.”Her mouth formed an O.“Your brother never told you, then?Never told you how he was the one who betrayed the secret gate, allowing Paravellia’s soldiers to infiltrate the castle in the dead of night and murder your family?”
I stared at Desmond, looking for the same confusion amplifying within me, but all I found was his pale face held hostage by fear.
“Desmond—” I couldn’t find the words.
