Page 73 of Cursed Heirs

He cursed.

“Wait,” X said, coming to me. “I’ll call Abigail to briefly drop her ward around the property like she did earlier for Professor Marlowe to enter,” Xavier said.

“And how long will it take to get a hold of her this time?” I popped the vial and drank down Alena’s blood.

“Orpheus—” Marlowe started.

I shook my head.

“Waiting isn’t an option. The time is now.”

With that, I teleported out.

I pulledup short as I soared through the DFR gates, hovering at the start of the bridge that led up to the palace.

No.

Dozens of bodies littered the first few feet.

Dismembered, some with their hearts ripped out, others decapitated, their blood pooling all over and even dripping down into the dark, jagged rocks of the canyon either side.

Bile rose in my throat at the sight of the fallen—my people—and how brutally they’d been massacred by that monster.

Beyond them, the picture didn’t get any better.

There were another several fucking hundred frozen there mid-fight, their weapons brandished, a sea of the silver and black body armor of the Dark Fae Army with its special shimmeringDuariammetal safeguarding them, bands crisscrossing their chests with an image of my father’s crown etched into the center of a large silver oval clasp.

A telltale crimson red film enveloped them all.

His power was immense to be able to hold back our army and to continue to at that.

It shouldn’t be possible, and as I looked closer, I realized that it actually wasn’t.

Not entirely.

There were flecks of black there in the film, indicating his use of black magic, not merely his own dark power set.

It was his black magic usage that was biting us all in the ass, that was running roughshod over us all.

It had to end.

We needed a strategy centered around it, not avoidance of said dangerous subject.

It wasn’t working.

More than that, it was costing us so much.

No more.

I took in the turrets high on top of the palace ahead and he’d also managed to immobilize the gargoyles too.Fuck.

They were supreme assets in battle.

I rapidly formulated my strategy, considering working on breaking Constantine’s hold on the Dark Fae Army. I looked out at Cassius there, frozen mid-strike with his broadsword, his expression set in hard determination.

No, if I freed them, for one, it would take time, and the untold damage that Constantine could do here in that time was too great. Secondly, he’d be able to feel it, which would alert him to the presence of another enemy target. And, thirdly, a good portion of the army still lived. They were safe now in this state, not currently a threat to Constantine and his agenda. If I released them, that would all change and many more would fall.

I needed to go this alone, to approach covertly and carefully.

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