Page 102 of The Court of Truth

This time, it’s to find him hovering over his father, but he stutters.

He was about to murder him but hesitates. Then his father pulls a blade from his hip, twirling the handle as his irises darken, and once again I react on instinct.

Slamming my hand down on his father’s head beside me, I close my eyes and let my magic explode.

There’s no noise, no pain, no struggle, no blood.

Nothing.

It starts to hurt, and I feel a tear slip down my cheek, but I can’t pull my hand away.

“Nora? Nora!”

I blink my eyes open to find Brody staring down at me, concern rich in his eyes as he strokes a hand over my forehead.

“Nora, it’s okay. You can stop now. You can stop.”

I pry my hand away, feeling the first breath vibrate in my lungs before I exhale slowly.

“I’m sorry, I?—”

Brody shakes his head, cutting off my apology as he offers me his hand. He pulls me to my feet, a soft smile on his lips. “Don’t apologize. I should be thanking you.”

“No, you can’t. I just killed?—”

“You just protected the kingdom when I hesitated,” he insists, and I nod along with him. Before I can protest any further, my father appears at his side.

“Nora, we’re outnumbered. We have no idea where our soldiers are. We need you to use your magic.”

I glance around the field, instantly overwhelmed by the bloodshed around us. Fire burns in the distance as Kryll flies overhead while Arlo commands water in the distance and Flora uses her mind magic to bring a soldier down just as I did Brody’s father. Gulping, I keep searching. Cassian is in wolf form, barreling toward soldier after soldier with his teeth stained crimson.

Then I see him.

“I need Raiden to help me. Flora too,” I state, and my father shakes his head.

“Raiden’s busy right now. You can do this, Nora,” Brody insists, squeezing my arm, but I shake my head.

“I don’t think I can. I don’t know how to only target the enemy right now,” I rasp, shaking my hands out nervously, and my father cups my cheek, pressing a loving kiss to the top of my head as Brody remains right at my side.

“Close your eyes, Nora. Focus. It’s going to be okay.”

I rub my lips together nervously, casting my gaze over the field once more, but panic continues to get the better of me. Defeated, I shake my head, the words on the tip of my tongue, when a bright light blasts through the air, knocking me off my feet. It somehow catches me before I hit the ground, engulfing me in a familiar warmth.

“Addi,” I gasp, searching wildly for her and spotting a beacon shining brightly in the distance, projecting a protective orb in every direction, shielding those she loves and cares for. “She’s here. She’s here!” I cry, turning to my father to find him not covered by the same light that drapes over me and Brody.

“Why doesn’t it cover you? She would protect you,” I rattle, panic getting the better of me as I try to pull my father inside the orb with me, but nothing happens.

“It’s okay, Nora.”

“It’s not. Why isn’t it working?”

He shakes his head, eyes drenched in sadness. “Clementine was the first in our family for over a century to receive the protective magic. She could have been something special with it, but she didn’t see the joy in such a thing. She wanted more. She focused more on her other abilities, and when we eventually tore her magic from her and bound it, we found we were unable to bind the light as well and it vanished. It’s said to seek out those who are worthy, the ones who care more than most, and it seems to have found a new home in Adrianna.”

“But why doesn’t it protect you?” I snap, frustrated as the soldiers try to slam into the protective glow, only to burn against the magic and fall to their knees.

“She cursed me to never be protected because she felt I never protected her.”

The pain in his eyes is soul-destroying as the devastation ripples through him, but he shakes it off, turning his attention back to me. “Addi’s magic is giving you the opportunity you need, Nora. Focus on taking out those not protected by her magic.”

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