Page 22 of Hallowed Games

I turned. Maelor, mounted on a horse, prowled from the shadows.

When the Order comes for you, there is no escape.

CHAPTER 11

I held out my arms, shielding Leo behind me. “Leo. Get on my horse,” I shouted. “It’s just to the left of here. Go where I told you. I will find you when I can. Now.”

Never before had Leo done exactly what I’d asked without a discussion. But I’d never spoken to him in quite that tone before, and the sharp edge in my voice had him frantically scrambling onto the horse.

I heard the snapping of twigs as he rode away, and I loosed a breath. I hoped to the Archon that he’d find the Tyrenian road.

Shadows darkened the forest, bleeding into the air around Maelor.

My gaze swept over him, looking for points where I could make contact with his skin. With his long cloak on, only his hands and face were exposed. A cold breeze whistled through the trees as he dismounted.

I reached into my cloak and slowly pulled out a dagger.

“I do admire your commitment,” he said. “But there is no escape from the Order, Elowen. If I didn’t capture you, the Magister would. And honestly, he’s really not as nice as I am.”

My gaze flicked to his throat, and I found my target. I hurled the dagger. To my shock, his hand whipped up, and he caught it in midair by the hilt. How did he do that?

“Elowen,” he said softly, “I told you there is no escape.”

The air left my lungs. That rapid movement had seemed so fast, so precise, so…inhuman.

Somewhere in the depths of my skull, a voice whispered that I’d found the Serpent incarnate. What if he’d been hiding among the Order all along, delighting in the blood and the death and the agony…and I recognized him so easily because his darkness lived in the worst parts of my soul. The Serpent was part of me.

Maelor prowled closer to me, and a lethal surety imbued his every movement, sending alarm bells clanging in my mind.

At least he didn’t seem to have any interest in chasing after Leo.

I reached into my cloak for another dagger.

He arched an eyebrow. “The Archon protects me, Elowen. You’re wasting your efforts.”

I lunged for him, but he flitted out of the way, dodging back with alarming speed. It was almost as if he disappeared into the shadows. I pivoted.

As the blood roared in my ears, I hurled my last dagger at him. He snatched it from the air, then twirled it between his fingers. “I feel as if you’re not listening to me.”

“What are you?”

His eyebrows rose. “Untouchable.”

He shifted through the air too quickly for me to react.

He pinned me against the tree trunk, and my back slammed into the bark. One of his arms pressed against me. With otherworldly power, his strength and speed sent a shock through my system.

What the hell am I dealing with here?

“Elowen, if I don’t capture you, you will be killed by someone far worse. With me, at least you’ll get a chance to live. Trust me.”

Absolutely not. I could never trust him.

His blue eyes shone with a mournful innocence. Cloaked in shadows, he towered over me.

My fingers twitched, hungry to kill again. I wondered if he was still immune to my power, or would he fold if I hit him with all the magic I had?

I reached up and pressed my palm over the beautiful planes of his face. Shadows churned in me, desperate to devour him, to suck the life from him. A shiver rushed over my skin, making the air cold around me. I could grow addicted to this dark pleasure. It rippled through me, cool and electric, and shadows darkened the air around him.

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