Page 122 of Cursed Heirs

Somehow, against all rhyme and reason, adrenaline and my terror for Orpheus had me lunging out of the chair and throwing myself into Constantine.

It was just enough to rip him from Orpheus and make him stagger back.

But then he whipped back around, firing theHellborn.

I reacted off instinct, pushing Orpheus behind me, then throwing out my hand, my golden magic coming to life and barring theHellbornfrom making contact, forcing it to still mid-strike.

Constantine snarled and pushed harder, trying to break through my magic.

Normally, that wouldn’t be possible, but I was so weak, I could barely hold it at all. My hand was shaking and I could feel my nose bleeding too.

“Alena, stop. You’re damaging yourself,” Orpheus urged me.

“I do and you burn.”

“Rather that than you suffering. It’s already been far too much.”

“No,” I ground out, resolutely, even as my hand shook more violently.

“You’re powering the Orb as you do this,” Constantine warned me, grinning with partial victory. “I can feel it. Can’t you?”

In my peripheral vision, I did see it glimmering through his cloak.

Shit.It was either this or Orpheus would burn.

I couldn’t allow it.

To make matters worse, the shadow came at Orpheus.

“Stay down!” he roared, enraged by the entire situation.

He thrust his power at them and I started as a female shriek sounded as, this time, when it struck, it hit them in the face, breaking through their concealment, including the voice aspect.

A woman came into view.

A shock of shoulder-length spiky white hair could be seen beneath the hood of her robe and purple eyes just like Orpheus’ shone out at us.

“Fuck… Mom?” Orpheus uttered, shocking me.

I couldn’t believe it.

All this time it had been Lenora Hart. The Dark Fae King’s former wife, and Orpheus’ estranged mother.

“You’re making all the wrong choices,” she hissed at him.

“Me? You’re working with this madman!”

“You have the potential to rule far more than the Dark Fae Realm. Yet you squander it in the name of morality. You disappoint me, son.”

A flash of cobalt-blue magic slammed into her, blowing her right through the hole in the wall that Constantine had taken a couple of trips through.

And then smoke snaked around Orpheus and me, a moment before it swept us up.

“Sabre! No!” I heard Constantine screaming a moment before teleportation consumed us.

26

~Elliot Sabre~

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