Page 14 of Magic Forsaken
Was he that certain of his invulnerability? As far as I knew, dragons had no particular advantages in their human form. Oh, they were stronger and faster, and healed quickly even from devastating injuries, but they could be sliced and diced just like anyone else.
“Talia.” Callum’s voice was deep and resonant. “None of us have any desire to be at war, but make no mistake—if you start this, we will finish it.”
Talia’s fingers curled into claws. “Taking the rebel’s side publicly now, are you?” She let out a burst of cynical laughter. “Well, you don’t scare me, littlelizard. I’ve been queen for longer than you’ve been alive, and I know you won’t shift here. Your precious principles prevent it, so there is nothing you can do to stop me.”
Well, that was just ducky. Of course she would turn out to be the freakingelemental queen.
Somehow, even in the midst of my shock, I found a moment to reflect on the irony of having come this far to escape the power of the courts, only to wind up here—embroiled in a violent confrontation with not one, buttwoof the most powerful Idrian leaders in the country.
Clearly, the only disaster my day now lacked was an invasion of inebriated gremlins. Or possibly fae lawyers. Hard to tell which would be worse.
I was overtaken by a helpless, panicky impulse to laugh, but that impulse died when Callumactuallylaughed, and the sound shot a chill down my spine.
“Nothing I can do?” He sounded genuinely amused. “Do you honestly believe I spent fifteen years as my mother’s last line of defense and never once trained outside of dragon form?”
Nope. No one believed that, and definitely not as we watched him staring down the elemental queen—all of that carefully leashed power focused on a single target.
The shards of ice began to shiver in response, but it was a shiver of anticipation rather than fear.
And in the doorway behind Talia, a dark shape materialized in the shadows.
It took a moment for me to recognize Draven, because he’d changed a great deal in the last few minutes. Now, dark-feathered wings sprang from his shoulders, and the pair of daggers in his hands sparked with lightning that danced over the muscles of his forearms. I had no idea what he was, but he appeared ready and willing to kill, and Talia seemed unaware of his lurking presence.
Over the next few moments, time slowed to a crawl as the confrontation played out in my mind. Even with the crowd gone, someone was likely to die. The Portal would be reduced to splinters. No one would be able to keep the humans from findingout, and with the local government already on edge because of this mysterious Symposium, tensions would rise.
The tug of magic in my mind grew stronger. Bolder. Screaming at me to release it. I shoved it back again.
I would not be ruled by a power that did not belong to me. Would not give in to its whispers. My mind and my body were my own. After everything they’d tried to do to me, I’d won, and I would not surrender now.
As I fought that silent battle, the floor beneath my feet seemed to tremble and the shards of ice shivered in the air. The tension in the room thickened, squeezing the breath from my body, until suddenly everything went dark.
But in the midst of that darkness… a sparkling cloud of fractured color and light filled my mind. Beautiful. Scintillating. Trembling with power and fury. It called to me, hovering just out of reach but begging me to touch.
But that cloud was death. I dared not touch it while it still quivered with rage. If only I could calm it. Take away the danger. I reached out and tugged it towards me, gently, slowly, coaxing it like a feral kitten.
At first it resisted, but I tugged harder, and then suddenly, it was mine. The cloud surged towards me, flowed around me, all of its sharp and dangerous edges gone as it capered like an eager puppy, brushing against my mind and soothing my anxiety.
It was so calm… so beautiful… I could have stayed in that place forever, but a single familiar voice split the silence.
“Raine, stop!”
Wait, what?
It took a few moments to realize that everything had gone dark because I’d squeezed my eyes shut. Another second or two to pry them open, only to discover that literally everyone in the room was staring at me in shock. And yet another handful of seconds to fully grasp what I was seeing.
The quivering cloud of ice shards was gone. Instead, a swirl of water wreathed my body, flowing in a never-ending spiral of crystalline clarity and joyous exuberance.
It was mine, and it was beautiful, and my jaw dropped in dismay as I looked up and met the stares around me.
Callum, Kira, and Seamus… but they were not the only ones wearing shocked expressions.
Faris stood just in front of the bar—a towering thundercloud of outrage as he surveyed the room, looking for a target.
His glowing green eyes met mine for only a moment before they settled on the elemental queen, but she seemed oblivious to his arrival.
She was too busy gaping at me, her fingers twitching furiously as water dripped from her hair and her eyes promised murder.
More specifically,mymurder.