Page 72 of Joined By Magic

Talia

Weaponclutchedtighttomy side, I inched through the panicked crowd looking for anyone who showed signs of attacking. As the prince had predicted, only the soldiers had stepped in to defend his brother. The nobles seemed content to stay back, out of danger, and see how things played out. I couldn’t blame them. What loyalty did they have to a foreigner they’d only known for a few months?

Some streamed toward the exits, but others watched the frozen tableau. A thick purple shield covered the prince, obscuring him. Three soldiers pointed weapons at the prince from behind their own shield. The prince’s brother—Leopold—stared at his hands in mute horror, and his brand-new wife kept shifting her gaze between him and the prince. She had to be terrified.

Sympathy twisted my guts. She looked so pretty in her wedding dress. Her big day was ruined. Her whole life destroyed. I took a deep breath and squashed the thought down. The prince wouldn’t kill her. She’d cope, like everyone always did.

The prince addressed the soldiers. “Your new prince is useless. I stripped his magic. I’m now the only heir to the throne. Loyalty to him is a death sentence. Lay down your weapons, and keep your positions and your lives. Your weapons won’t penetrate this shield. I can destroy yours and leave you as helpless as him.”

Movement caught my eye. A black-clad man with curly hair at the edge of the room, shuffling closer to the prince. Garron! I raised the device and centered him in the viewscreen. My heart hammered, and my fingers felt wooden, but I pressed the button anyway.

Silence.

Then mayhem.

A beam shot out of the weapon and it jerked back, thudding into my sternum. The beam caught Garron right in the chest, and he stared down, confused. Then his knees gave way, and he collapsed.

The crowd screamed. Some dropped to the floor, others scurried toward the exit. My hands shook. He shouldn’t be dead. The prince hadn’t given me a lethal weapon, but still . . .

The three remaining soldiers held their position. Through his shield, the prince stared down at Garron before speaking.

“Garron is down.” His voice was calm. Reasonable. “You have nothing to lose by surrendering my brother to me.”

I clutched my weapon in white-knuckled hands. All the people left in the room stayed down, still except for tiny shifting movements to get a better view. Some stared at me in dumb shock. Did they know who I was?

The soldier on the left broke first. With exaggerated slowness, he bent and set his weapon on the floor. He placed his hands behind his head. “Your Highness, I surrender.”

A long, charged moment later, his colleagues copied him.

“Good. Smart move. Now the shield.” Excitement laced the prince’s voice. An answering thrill sang in my veins, even as my body trembled.

The green shield dissolved.

Leopold moved in a swift burst, stepping between the prince and his woman. “Don’t go near her. Don’t you touch her!”

The fury and choked rage in his voice chilled me. If he had his magic, the prince would be ashes, no doubt.

The prince laughed. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with her, but it’s you I’m interested in at the moment. On the floor. Hands behind your head.”

“Fuck you.” Leopold’s face had paled, his fists clenched, body taut. His eyes were black pools filled with hate. I didn’t pity him. He’d almost destroyed us.

The prince made a lazy gesture. Power swirled around his brother, bound him, and forced him to the floor with absolutely no effort. Savage satisfaction coiled through me. I knew what that felt like. I’d been the recipient of that casual control—the absolute helplessness—more times than I could count. What would that feel like for a man such as Leopold, the strongest mage ever? It had to hurt.

His expression gave it away. Impotent fury overtook his features as he struggled. His wife stepped forward, blue eyes wide, tear-streaked face fearful. “Please.” Her voice was soft but steady. “Please don’t hurt him. We never wanted—”

“Be quiet,” the prince snapped, excitement replaced with irritation. More magic surged, and she joined her husband on the floor, bound. “The next time one of you speaks, I knock the other one unconscious. I won’t be gentle.”

Leopold’s lips pressed together in a tight line. His body jerked, but he kept silent. The prince laughed. “Learning to obey already. Good boy.”

His wife bit her lip, more tears falling at the prince’s humiliating words. It must be hard to see her man brought so low. She looked like her heart was breaking.

The prince addressed the remaining crowd. “As you can see, this palace is mine now. Those who pledge to serve me will be well rewarded. Anyone who stands against me shall have their magic stripped.”

A few nobles crept forward and made their bows to the prince. The rest followed. I strode to stand beside him. Confusion flashed over a couple of faces, but I stared them down. Fuck them. This was my moment as much as the prince’s. Temporary and fleeting, but I’d take it. The prince turned to me and smiled with genuine warmth.

“Talia, there you are. Excellent work.” He snapped his fingers at the soldiers. “Get up. We need these prisoners situated.”

The soldiers stood and bowed.

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