Page 122 of The Cursed Fae

“What about me?” I asked. “Did you hope to feed off me indefinitely? I mean, that’s why I get so tired after using magic, isn’t it? Why the ghost summoning nearly depleted me? You’ve been stealing my power since I fucking got here.”

The fury blinded me, tinging the corners of my vision red. I had never wanted to cause physical harm to someone until that moment. I lunged for Laz.

“Winter, watch out!” Missy shouted.

Blue energy coils shot from Laz’s hands and wound around my arms. I looked down as the ribbons of magic burnt through my sweater and singed my skin.

“Open a portal,” he snapped. “To the cove. Now.”

“Don’t do it,” Missy begged.

A bang echoed from the door, like someone kicked it. “Hey. It’s me. My hands are full,” Astrid called.

Laz’s fingers clenched into fists, and the magical bands dug deeper into my flesh. “Your fate is sealed, Winter,” he said. “Hers doesn’t need to be the same. Your choice.”

Unlike Laz, I liked my friends. We both knew I would open the passage, and I didn’t pretend otherwise. He released me, and my rage funneled through my magic as I made the portal with little effort.

“The decision is actually yours, asshole,” I said as I stepped through. “If my fate is decided, so is yours. I’m not the only Sable fae who talks to ghosts.”

Chapter forty-one

Seashore of Broken Dreams

The waves beat violently against the frozen shore. Laz hadn’t let me grab a jacket before leaving the warmth of my dorm room, and the icy wind slammed into my side. At least my anger kept me heated from the inside.

“Call the elements,” he demanded.

It was just the two of us on the beach—no one and nothing for Laz to hold over my head. So I refused. He flung the magical coils again, winding them around me with a serpent’s vice-like grip.

“Call the fucking elements, Winter!” he screamed against the wind.

Despite my stoic facade, I wanted to cry. That shit was agonizing, and I didn’t tolerate pain well. I gritted my teeth and fought the dizziness.

“Are you trying to fatten me up before you devour your last magical meal from me?” I demanded. “Rather gluttonous of you, isn’t it?”

His laugh was almost maniacal. “There’s that sharp Sable tongue.” He sobered in an instant. “Stop being stubborn and do it.”

My arms bled freely where the magic seared through my skin. “Or what?” I snapped. “What are you going to do if I refuse?”

“Come on. We’re both certain who would win in a fight. You’re a magical novice.”

The point should’ve been valid. Except… Nicasia was a warrior. The fae council chose those who became eternal because they’d proven to be skilled and cunning fighters. If I really was the reincarnated version of Nicasia, somewhere deep down, I had those same abilities... right?

If this plan backfired, at least I’d die with dignity.

I’ll call the elements, asshole, I thought, steeling myself.

My fury-driven desperation overtook me with a vengeance. Raw, elemental strength funneled into my pores, filling me with a chaotic energy. I didn’t intend to wrangle the magic, so it didn't matter. I might not have known fancy spells, but I knew how to fling my power out and let it run rampant.

Laz’s peal of delight morphed into a scream when his bindings around me snapped. His jaw dropped, mouth gaping in disbelief. All the times he’d stolen my force, the dumbass had never considered why I had so much? He’d been so obsessed with siphoning from me, he had never questioned what I was beyond a magical battery to charge his failing engine.

What did I ever see in you?

Every fiber of my being vibrated. The magic seemed too great to contain inside a single person, and I wondered if I might burst at the seams.

Would I care?

Laz started backing away slowly, maybe because of my expression. The neon lightning swirling around me finally made him turn and flee.

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