Page 137 of Black Sea

“Blessed Spirits . . .” Mother gasped, pressing one hand to her heart. “Erech!” she then shouted in anger.

He, too, seemed almost ready to explode with anger. “I’m starting to believe my daughter is right to call you crazy, Queen Aloiv.”

My brother, instead, didn’t bother to stay calm at all. “If that happens, nothing will stop that monster from kidnapping her and performing experiments on her unconscious body to find a way to lift the spell Nauriel cast on the Crystal. Because, in case you’ve forgotten, even if the bond between them is broken, my sister remains the keeper of the Crystal and the only means for the enemy to take it back.”

“That’s why I said there are only two things we can do, Prince,” the Queen of the Witches retorted.

“What’s the second one?” I asked through my teeth, the darkness roaring at me to prove to that woman that nothing could remove it from inside me.

Aloiv watched us one by one with a stern expression, as if she knew we would not like what she was about to say. “We will force Lady Calien to choose a new keeper for the Crystal,” she announced.

Then she snapped her fingers, and the Crystal appeared at the center of the semicircle formed by the elven druids and the elderly witches.

Father leaped up from the throne, shouting, “ How dare you!”

He yelled something else, but his voice didn’t make it to my ears. My entire focus was on the Crystal floating above the wooden support, on its many points, on the white glow emanating from inside it . . .

“Take it.”

I gasped, my gaze darting past the Crystal.

Mornon was standing opposite me, across the support.

Scared, I glanced around to check if others could see him, too. But no one appeared to be aware of his presence: The druids were disputing among themselves and with the elders, my father and the Queen of the Witches were shouting at each other, while Araton attempted to soothe our mother.

“Nauriel,” Mornon called me, his voice so deep it seemed to come from the bowels of the earth, so dark it made me shudder. It excited me. “Take the Crystal.”

Against my will, I resumed staring at the Crystal like a jaguar sighting its prey. An unbearable tingling washed over me, spurring my arm muscles to stretch toward the starry gem. I clenched my jaw until I heard my molars creak, my fingers shaking from the effort of resisting Mornon’s command.

“ Take it,” he ordered again, so hotly that he took my breath away. “And come to me.”

The pine green of his irises was so vivid that it captivated me, his stature so majestic that it made me feel overwhelmed.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him, even though I was trying so hard. For in truth, I wanted to look at him. And I wanted to obey him.

I wanted to take the Crystal.

I wanted to go to him, wherever he was.

Until the Queen of the Witches’ rough voice crept through the mist of shadows that had enveloped me, Mornon, and the Crystal. “. . . and you, Prince Araton, should become the new keeper of Calien’s Crystal.”

I blinked rapidly, pulling myself free from the power of Mornon’s eyes. His hold on me slackened just enough for me to whisper, “No.”

His expression turned lethal, furious.

I held his gaze with all the determination I could muster, then turned to my family and Queen Aloiv, who had fallen silent and were watching me cautiously.

“ I am the keeper of Calien’s Crystal,” I said menacingly.

“The enemy bears your blood, Princess,” the witch replied in an openly accusatory tone. “And you his.” She turned to my parents and Araton. “Any magic aimed at protecting the Crystal will be useless as long as it remains linked to her.” She glanced back at me. “The more time passes, the more opportunity the Abomination will have to persuade you to undo the spell you cast on the Crystal to keep him from having it.”

“I will resist him,” I said, fists tight at my sides. I looked at my family with a resolved expression. “Even now, I am resisting him.”

Behind me, Mornon gently rubbed his nose against my hair. “Are you sure?” he whispered in my ear.

It took a monumental effort to stay impassive after feeling his warm breath puffing against my cheekbone.

“Sister.” Araton descended the steps with the evident intention of approaching me, but at the last second, he halted just over two feet away.