Page 115 of Taken By the Fae King

“You remember, don’t you?” Torien taunts, his eyes locked on mine.

Edmynd’s face contorts with rage. “You killed our mother, you monster!”

“And I will kill your sister too if you take one step closer,” he threatens, pressing the blade into my skin.

A bead of warm liquid rolls down my neck as the sharp dagger slices my throat.

“Let her go,” Kyven growls. “Now!”

“No.”

“You have the necklace,” Kyven says. “Now, let her go.”

“I still need her,” he says darkly. “The Mages need her and so do the Wraith.”

“For what?” Edmynd snaps.

“She is a Sanishon,” he grinds out. “I cannot have her interfering when we bring down the Wall.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, Torien.” I seethe. “If you use that necklace to bring down the wall, you’ll unleash the Wraith.”

He tightens his arm around my waist. “I know.”

Without warning, he leaps off the fortress balcony, taking me with him. I bite back a scream as we plummet toward the ground. At the last moment, he snaps open his wings, and we soar toward the Great Wall that has held back the Wraith for centuries.

The power of the amplifier necklace glows brightly as we approach the wall. I stare down in horror at the dark mass of Wraith below. “Don’t do this, Torien!”

“It’s too late,” he says as we spiral to the ground. He lands beside the Wall and dread coils tightly within as I think of what lies on the opposite side.

“What did the Mages promise you?” I ask, trying to make him stop. “Why are you doing this?”

“They promised me the crown of Anlora. I will rule by their side once the war is done.”

“No, you won’t,” I counter. “They’ll make you their slave. Just like everyone else.”

Ignoring me, he raises the necklace in one hand and begins speaking in the ancient tongue of his people. The blue light of the gemstone swirls brightly as it begins to work, Cracks spread like spiderwebs across the stone beneath us.

I have to act quickly.

“Torien,” I plead, “you don’t understand what you’re doing. The Wraith will destroy everything if you bring down this wall.”

He laughs, a cruel and bitter sound. “Not everything, Your Majesty,” he says mockingly. “Only my enemies.”

I grit my teeth, my mind racing for a way to stop him. For the sake of my people, my family, and the memory of my mother, I cannot allow him to succeed.

A piercing cry fills the air, and I look up to find Greywind heading straight for Torien, his massive wings beating furiously. His claws are fully extended as he barrels toward my attacker, slamming into him and knocking the necklace from his grasp.

A bolt of magic spirals toward Torien, hitting him square in the chest as Kyven flies toward us, taking advantage of the chaos, and sending another arc of magic toward my attacker.

I sprint toward the falling necklace, my heart pounding in my ears. It’s within my grasp, but so is the crumbling wall. The magic holding back the Wraith is on the verge of collapse. I lunge, fingers outstretched, and snatch the necklace from the ground just as the first stones of the wall begin to fall.

Torien casts a barrier spell, holding Kyven at bay as he turns his wrath toward me. “Give me the necklace!”

“No!”

I rush toward him. He only has a moment to be shocked as I grip the dagger from his belt and plunge it deep into his heart. I watch in cold satisfaction as the light leaves his eyes and he drops to the ground in a pool of dark blood.

“Grayce!” Kyven rushes toward me as a section of the wall cracks and crumbles inward. He gathers me in his arms and beats his wings furiously as we take off, flying back toward the balcony and to safety as the Wraith begin pouring through.

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