Page 17 of Hallowed Games

Those around me were shouting about the boy I’d been holding close, that he could be “a familiar.”

“Someone, find the boy!”

Panic choked me. I needed complete anarchy to distract everyone from Leo. Chaos would be my best weapon right now.

I pulled off my gloves, my heart pounding like a war drum. It was so rare that I slipped the leather off my hands, so rare that my scarred skin saw the light. I flexed my fingers.

Armored Luminari walked toward me, metal creaking. But they weren’t the ones I wanted to touch.

Right about now, Leo might be reaching the edges of the square, and Luminari would be blocking him in. Only total panic would give him the chance to flee.

“She’s right,” I bellowed. “I can kill with my touch. I’m a witch, as Serpent-touched as they come. Who wants to see?”

The Baron was screaming at me, but I tuned it out. In this moment, I needed anarchy to reign in Briarvale. The Serpent inside me commanded me to touch someone, and my addiction called to me. My power thrummed and crackled through me, raising goosebumps on my skin. Darkness welled in me, the tempting allure of death.

Lydia stepped back, raising her hands. Anticipation surged in my veins. I wanted to caress her delicate, milky skin, to watch her gasp.

“See?” she screamed. Her face had completely drained of color, and she was visibly shaking. “The witch comes for me. Soldiers! Luminari!”

I lunged, reaching for her face. When I touched her cheek, my dreadful power pooled in my chest. It slid down my shoulders, my arms—a shadowy ecstasy. Death spilled through me, rushing down the length of my arm and coursing from my fingertips right onto her pretty face. Her eyelids fluttered. My breath quickened, and the air grew cold around me. Evil breathed in me like a living thing.

Lydia’s back arched, and her eyes opened wide. As her body convulsed, she looked terrified, like a frightened animal. Veins of midnight blue slid through her skin, and shadows lashed the air around me.

When I pulled my hand away from her, I discovered that my plan had worked. Pandemonium ruled Briarvale.

Anselm held Lydia in his arms, and her body glowed with the pearly, shimmering light of her own magic. Just as I’d known would happen, she was healing herself.

Because, of course, I wasn’t the only Serpent-touched person here.

I turned to run, hoping to get to Leo in the chaos. But it was too late, and a crowd of Luminari surrounded me, blocking my way. They drew their swords.

“Elowen.” A deep voice I recognized rang out from behind me.

I whipped around to see the Raven Lord stalking closer. The wind whipped at his dark cloak, and the corner of his mouth curled slightly. “It seems we keep running into each other.”

The Serpent’s voice croaked in the hollows of my skull, More chaos. Use his dead body as a shield. Make your escape.

Dark magic still crackled through my bones. I darted closer to him. Hunger danced at my fingertips, and I reached up for Maelor’s high cheekbones. As I cupped his cheek, magic spilled from my body into his. A thrumming pulse of shadow slid into him, a charge of lethal power.

He tilted back his head, breathed in deeply. His dark eyelashes stood out starkly against his pale skin. The morning light cast shadows beneath his cheekbones, his sharp jawline. My breath caught.

How strange that only as I was killing him did I realize exactly how beautiful he was.

Shadows writhed around me, and a chill spread through the air. My breath clouded.

To my shock, his eyes opened.

The expression in his blue eyes was almost euphoric. A lazy smile curled his lips—satisfied, like I’d just kissed his throat and he liked it.

Confusion whirled in my thoughts. Why in the Archon’s name was he still alive?

“You have true Serpent-power.” He sighed, looking rapturous. He slid his hand down to the small of my back. “And the Pater demands you come with us.”

Then, abruptly, he twisted my arms behind my back. I felt the rough rope tighten over my wrists.

With a hammering pulse, I faced a line of armed Luminari, each with their swords pointed at me.

Maelor’s bare skin still touched mine, fingers warm against my flesh as he finished tying my wrists together. From behind us, he barked an order: “Lydia Throckmore comes, too. Pull that witch off the ground. The Purification continues throughout Mistwood Shire all day.”

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