Page 109 of Royal Lies

Everything I threw at it didn’t even seem to deter the creature but it did catch its attention. The monster swerved its head to catch its invisible assailant only to be met with a wall. The distraction might also have been what was needed to lessen the hold on Lucarious’ body. I guess the thing wasn’t so smart that it couldn’t multitask, which was really just shifting your attention from one thing to another super quickly. In honest to magics truth, there is no such thing as focusing on two things at once.

Lucarious seemed to have finally noticed the “invisible” attack. Clicking things together.

Finally.

Lucarious channeled his magic into himself to gain more strength. He removed the paw anchoring him to the floor. Once freed it seemed he noticed the other slight detail. The beast was no longer fifteen feet tall but seventeen and growing more

His face went pale at the realization that he and I might have quite literally and figuratively fed the thing with his flames.

Again, let me reiterate the reason why I’m able to use elemental magic. Just like with dark magic, I could use my ability to create a spell that would grant me access to wind, water, and earth. I could use fire as well but since I already knew, thanks to Lucarious’ stupidity, that the thing could also consume fire I didn’t bother. The thing was the moment I stopped my invisible attack the thing would turn its enraged eye back onLulu. So, I had no choice but to feed it more of my magic as I watched it grow. I made sure to only give it a sliver of my magic so it didn’t just make it grow like ten feet tall in an instant.

Lucarious’ pale face turned even more crimson than before as his rage came back in full force. “What the fuck.” He seethed as he launched his fists into the thing’s stomach. For a moment I thought Lucarious might have been swallowed up into the thing like his magic but a second later the beast was sailing away. Lucarious landed back on his feet looking over at me, a brow cocked. I grinned, mouthing a “What?” But before I could utter a word or Lucarious could roll his eyes as I was sure he would want, a howling cry of agony pierced the air. It wasn’t from a monster or shadow. I’ve only heard it once before, a long long time ago.

“Eli.” I gasped out before I flashed myself across the yard.

Games over, no one hurts my prey.

I was still pissed at the man.

No one was killing him before I did.

As I flashed into existence the sight before me froze me to the ground. I couldn’t breathe, and not just because I walked into a trap but because of the man before me, and ok, maybe a little because of the trap. Seriously, I felt like my life was being sucked away. I didn’t need to look down to know what was embedded in my gut as blood choked out my mouth.

Standing across from me holding a similar sword that was poking through my chest, was my son, or well our son, Eli, and mine. His bright blond waves wore my strands. His chilly ice-blue eyes harbored the same cold venom just like his father, Eli.

How?

How did he get here? I mean Iwasplanning to find him and his siblings soon but-

Another scream, or bellow was more like it. A body dropped before me as a third identical sword made of obsidian and ironplunged through Lucarious’ chest. It was iron? How did they get iron, and how didtheyknow? The only other being who truly knew of a fae’s weakness was…

Mab. She did this, of course, she did. I knew she had betrayed me but I never would have thought she would use iron. She promised me if she or I would ever attack one another she would never use iron and I wolfsbane. It was cowardly. I watched the glimmering rainbow reflected by the light on the iron sword as I watched three strands float and meet in the sky.

Okay, so maybe Fletcher was right. I should have rushed here sooner, but I thought they could hold their own. I mean, they were, in the shadows' name, two of threeROYALShere. So how the fuck did I catch Lucarious under a fucking werebear claw and now stabbed through a sword, one in which I and Eli had plunged through our bodies as well?!

ROYALSare supposed to be the strongest of all fae in the realm. Yet the number of shadows wasn't decreasing. If anything, the soldiers of the Wolf Court were dwindling as armored bodies upon bodies fell. Screams from the front gates of the castle could be heard. But what’s more strange was why wasn't the capital destroyed. As I crumpled to my knees I took all of this in, because things were just fishy as shadows.

If anything, shouldn't these creatures—who supposedly have no intellect behind those cold, glazed white eyes—attack anything and everything they see? Yet, the capital city, which was only a mile or two from here, was left unscathed. No billowing smoke seemed to rise in flames and my enhanced hearing couldn’t pick up any screams there either. The landscape of the castle grounds was pretty vast, yet...

I frowned, looking beyond the heads of shadows as I felt the crippling sucking of the sword against my skin, drinking me dry of my magic. I let more rage fuel me as I tried to understand what the hell was going on. There was no smoke, no screamscarried on the winds from the direction of the capital city. Could they all be dead already? No, that can't be. The capital contained far more civilians than the couple hundred shadows here.

"Everetta! This is no time to be petty!" I heard Lucarious grunt in the background just as Eli moaned as if on the precipice of death.

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" I screeched back wincing as I felt even more of my magic leave me. Soon I would be dead along with Eli.

"Everetta!" I heard Eli gasp like he was drawing in air.

Huh, I thought the guy wasn't going to speak to me. I guess he would if it meant his life would be saved. Funny how he never thought of my life when he decided to take my memories.But never mind that right now—I need to get a better grasp of the situation.

The damn capital didn't seem to be under any attack. So then, was it only the castle being attacked? This made no sense... unless they weren't here to cause havoc, to create destruction. What's more, I looked at the guards as they battled with the shadows—or more like as the guards got slaughtered by them. The magic was getting eaten up, and with each dead soldier, two more shadows emerged from his remains. This makes no sense. Have the shadows evolved since I fought them mere hours ago?

No, they couldn't have. It was far too close together in time. So then what?

“It’s quite amazing seeing you struggle so much, almost as fun as watching my sister suffer.” A lyrical voice chirped in my ears. It was like the call of songbirds, not ravens. I paused in my analysis as a small bit of glee ran through me at the sound of her voice.

"Ahh!" Eli cried as the draining of my magic intensified and from his screams Eli’s too. Then Lucarious roared as well. I would have, too, if I weren't already used to the pain—the agonyof having one's magic completely ripped from them. Or in the process of it. No, that can't happen—if it was, then I wouldn't be able to perform my spells. I can't stay in this state forever. A million thoughts were running through my mind but first things was first I needed to know who our attacker was because that voice there was no way it was Mab. I lived under her roof for ten whole sun cycles. I would know her laughter anywhere, it certainly wasn’t like the chimes of bells. It was more like a cacophony of crows feasting on their dead.

The roars of both Lucarious and Eli were like the eruption of volcanoes but it was all just background music to me as I forced my head to turn against the agony if only to get a glimpse of the black tendrils and magic above me. There it was, that bright glamour magic. That confirmed it, this wasn’t Mab, she hadn’t betrayed me.So then, who the fuck was she?

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