Page 98 of Inflamed By an Incubus

She realised that too late to move.

Could only watch as the spell shot past her.

And hit Fenix.

Chapter 29

Rage burned through Evelyn’s blood, sending her temperature soaring, but before she could unleash it on Archer, Fenix grabbed her and pulled her into the darkness of a teleport. She turned on him as they landed on the moonlit grass of the mansion, the urge to lash out at him verbally falling away in an instant as he sank to his knees and curled over, breathing hard.

“Fenix.” She dropped to her knees beside him and pressed her left hand to his shoulder as she leaned forwards, trying to see his face.

“You’re back. Did the mission go well?” Rosalind’s bright voice swept around her, but the light in it faded as she came to a halt a short distance away. “It didn’t go well.”

The witch hurried to Fenix and eased to her knees on the other side of him to Evelyn, her blue eyes bright with silver stars that swirled as she looked from him to Evelyn, silently demanding an explanation.

“We found her… but Archer found us. Something is wrong with him. I tried reaching out to him, but he grew… agitated doesn’t seem like a strong enough word. He cast a spell. I thought it was for me, but—” Evelyn looked back at Fenix as he struggled for air and his shoulder trembled beneath her palm, and then looked at Rosalind as rage became fear. “The spell hit him.”

Rosalind moved around in front of Fenix, nudging her aside. “Let me take a look.”

Evelyn tried to convince herself to release Fenix, but her hand wouldn’t move from his back. The need to be close to him had her remaining where she was, her focus locked on him. Rosalind gently cupped his face and lifted his head, and stared deep into his eyes.

“Hmm. Doesn’t look too bad. Let’s take a closer look.” The witch closed her eyes and her shoulders relaxed as her spine straightened.

Tense seconds ticked past and Evelyn kept her eyes fixed on Fenix, even as Vail approached them. He stopped at a distance and Evelyn swore she could sense the conflict in him. Because Rosalind was using magic? It hadn’t taken Evelyn long to figure out that Vail didn’t like being around magic.

Rosalind finally opened her eyes, shifting them to Evelyn. “A draining spell.”

That didn’t sound so bad.

“Can you undo it… or reverse it… or whatever it is you do?” She cast Rosalind a hopeful look.

“Maybe. You say Archer aimed this at him?” Rosalind frowned at Fenix and continued before Evelyn could answer. “Odd that the Crow hit you with such a weak and silly spell.”

Fenix’s eyes swirled gold and cerulean and his jaw tensed as he gripped his knees, his fingers digging into them through his jeans. Sweat dotted his brow and his arms shook as they flexed.

Rosalind shrugged. “Or maybe not.”

Evelyn didn’t like the sound of that.

“What do you mean by that?” she snapped, fear getting the better of her, driving her to grab the blonde witch and shake the answer out of her even when she knew it would be a mistake.

Worry emerged in Rosalind’s blue eyes. “A double-edged sword. The Crow knew what he was doing. If Fenix had remained, the spell would have drained him enough that he couldn’t fight to protect you. You would have been open to whatever assault Archer wanted to launch on you, or plan he had for you. Did he give any indication why he attacked?”

She shook her head. “No, not really. He apologised and said something about… if it could be any other way. I had the feeling—”

“He wants to kill you,” Fenix gritted and grunted as he pushed himself up, causing his skin to pale further, until he looked as white as a ghost. “Phoenix fire. Aryanna… in a sphere. Magic.”

Evelyn stroked his shoulder, worry lancing her heart, cleaving a great hole in it as her brow furrowed and she willed him to be all right. “I’ll tell her. Conserve your strength.”

She looked at Rosalind again.

“The sorceress we found. She was in a glass ball of Archangel’s construction, but within it was another sphere. It rippled, reflected light, and the surface grew unstable at times…” She paused as something hit her. “When Archer was coming. The air hummed and the sphere trembled, as if the witch inside it was restless or excited maybe?”

“Aryanna knew he was close.” Fenix wheezed in a breath.

She cast him another worried look. “He said he’s been searching for her for years. Called the sphere she was in a prison of her own construction. If she cursed the dragons… those scars on her back looked like dragon wings. You were right about that.”

“Might be the dragon magic she stole with the curse she cast. Sometimes curses backfire. Sometimes even a sorceress can take on too much and can’t handle it. She would have been the conduit for the magic she was taking from them.” Rosalind rubbed her lower lip with her thumb and looked over her shoulder at Vail. “What do you think?”

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