Page 106 of Fae Reckoning

I blinked, and Talisa was extending her hand toward Rush. Dragon-Xeno, fully transformed now, batted at her with his tail.

Talisa jumped Xeno’s tail and threw both hands wide—knocking Dragon-Xeno and Rush off their feet to opposite sides, where they landed hard. Rush bowled into West and Ivar, who went down too.

Some creatures I’d last seen in the gardens emerged from the seamless door in the wall that led from the tunnels. Two black bears, a wolf with silver fur, a hog with tusks as large as its head, and a tall, bloodied man barreled through, skidding to avoid slamming into the goblins.

The mirrors that lined practically every vertical surface began to undulate—as if they were …fuck—as if they were coming to life.

Einar roared through my mind. His thunderous roar vibrated in my ears.

said the she-dragon, who now towered behind Talisa, into my speeding thoughts.

I shouted to the dragon.

Thanks be to a healthy clan of dragons, her answercame quickly.

Talisa was several feet away from me. I blinked, and she was in my face, nose to nose—beast to fucking beast. Her eyes swirled with silver just as the mirrors did. Whatever was about to come out of those mirrors, the many hundreds of fae stuffed into this room would have to battle it out without me. The raw, untapped power that lived within me was shaking the foundations of my being—showing the fuck up, answering the challenge that was staring me in the face.

The red glow pulsed along her skin as if in time to her heart. I was going to stop that. Her heart would never beat again when I was through with her.

I could have used some instructions from the she-dragon, but the time for deliberation and caution was over. My magic surged, shaking my body. My teeth vibrated down to their roots. If it was just my own power, or also the land’s, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter. I’d use all of it—even if it killed me.

As long as I took her with me.

Talisa’s glow intensified then darkened, until it appeared viscous, as if real blood coated her eyes, her hair, her skin … seeming to drip with it.

“Blood magic,” I grunted, my voice suddenly rough and blunt, beyond words.

Teeth still bared, she smiled some. But she, too, seemed beyond words. She growled like an animal and reached for me with both hands. Vaguely, I heard Rush screaming for me. Xeno bellowed.

Her hands didn’t alight on me, however. The instant before she would have touched me, my body pulsed with a light as shockingly bright as the sun itself, as intense as a dragon’s flame.

When it receded enough for me to see past it, I found myself hovering several feet off the floor.

Talisa was rising to her feet—she must have fallen with my blast—her eyes wide even as they swirled with blood, making me wonder if she really saw me. The blood magic that circulated along her flesh moved faster, growing thicker, darker, stronger.

Soon, her shapely physique was swallowed up by an amorphous, ever-flowing fountain of blood that still didn’t leave a trace on her surroundings.

Braque said something. I didn’t register what, only his wheedling tone.

People and creatures screamed, growled, and grunted as they traded blades and magic. Flashes of light burst here and there around the room. Some fae flew, some fell. Some didn’t get back up.

“Gyuuuu,” Talisa said in a thick gurgle behind all that blood.

It took me a few moments to realize she was sayingyou.

Words—useless, fleeting, trivial trinkets used by people who would come and go from this world whilewewould remain.

It was then that I first understood: the magic of the land was composed of all the elements and of all aspects of existence—both the light and the dark—everworking toward a balance of both, of every beating pulse of this realm. Life and death here merged as one, each an inconsequential passing from one stage to the next and back again.

“Gnoooo,” Talisa burbled.

I glowed so brightly I struggled to make out the far reaches of the hall.

Einar said.

My light seemed infinite, like it would never cease, like nothing could overpower it.

A flash of red, nearly as bright, possiblyasbright, slammed into me. I toppled, smacking against the uneven floor, and as I fell a shard of glass pierced my calf.

---