Page 64 of The Powers of Nyx

Not for the first time since I returned to my prison of a life, I prayed to Nyx for forgiveness. And to Ivy, for mercy.

The storm of anger swirling inside of me needed to be refocused. And in all the years since leaving her side, I had found only one solution.

Taking away somethingheneeded.

And one of thosethingslived in the city.

Another piece to take off his board. Remove another player in his army.

The shadows answered to me, a cloak of protection as I stalked the dark streets of the city. My own target lived in the oldest district of the city, where modern human technology had yet to invade or corrupt the magic of old. Those who dwelled there were arrogant and set in their ways, refusing to see the world around them was changing. They had no intention of changing with it, either.

It simply made them easy to pick off the chessboard.

The pawns ofhisplans were discardable.

But these were his rooks and knights.

And they would damage the game.

The river cutting through the Briar district shimmered, catching the reflection of the stars. I crept to the edge of thewater, keeping low and to the shadows, until I made it to the rock wall blocking either side of the water. There, algae from the Abyss Court grew; the plant was a deep red that resembled flesh, hanging on to the stone, barely covered by the rushing water. I scooped a handful of it up and tucked it into a pouch at my side before slipping back into the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

It didn’t take long to reach the rook’s home. It was one of many; large, grand, and built with so many protections, anyone else might have struggled to break through them. There were three on this particular street, all looking over a small park, each as impenetrable as the other. They were much the same in design, their facades the same grey stone, built with power and luxury in mind.

I only wanted the centre house, though.

The one hiding Lady Theros of the Summer Court and her small army of pawns.

After years of learning from the best, it wasn’t hard breaking into her home. Arrogance would get these traitors killed. And they’d been warned.

The algae fell from my hands and formed a ring around the house. The properties of the plant were so easy to forget, unless you studied them dutifully. Not many realised the Abyss Court had many such plants hidden beneath the waves. Plants that could nullify basic charms and protections.

Eat the weed, and you could undo any charm placed upon you.

Place it in a ring around an enchantment, and it may even destroy it.

So simple, yet so powerful.

Of course, only if you understood the actual magic and gave back to the plant.

There was a reason it was red.

A few drops of blood, and the algae lengthened, joining with the other strands to form a circle around the building. I only had to wait a few heartbeats for it to dissolve the basic charms around the house.

Only a breath for the first pawn to escape.

The Fae male didn’t notice the moving shadows. Had barely a moment to alert his fellow pawns to my presence. I slit his throat and dragged him back into the house, using his blood as my key to enter. It was all I needed to finish the job.

The gloves did more than hide my flesh.

Death befell everyone in the house, save the few staff living in the basement. They lived, left behind as warning tohim. But I knew my flower wouldn’t agree with their deaths. They were not at fault for the betrayal of their mistress.

The wooden floors creaked as I made my way up to the first floor. Lady Theros surely knew I was here. Hunting her. As I had done to the others like her.

The Shadow Knight of Nyx, they whispered in the meeting rooms. I was transitioning from legend to real threat.

And they had no idea I listened to every word. Their dutiful little pawn, they thought.

But I did not belong to them.

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