Page 87 of Joined By Magic

No. No. No.

Not Damien. He couldn’t be dead. A chair crashed over as Hex hit the floor, the bang shattering my shock. I flung myself toward Damien, but a soldier blocked my way. He forced my hands behind my back and cuffed them with magical restraints. I kicked at his shins, but he laughed, the sound raw in my ear.

Another soldier waved his hand and a glowing dome appeared, trapping us in. He scanned the group and locked onto Helen. With no hesitation, he pointed his weapon and fired. Talia’s shriek split the air as Helen dropped to the floor, half her head gone. Talia crumpled, clutching her. My throat burned, and I realized I was screaming too.

Blackness crept in at the edge of my vision as I tried to gulp in air even though my chest felt like it might explode. Two people. People I loved. Gone.

A soldier pulled Talia from Helen’s body. She fought like a trapped cat, kicking and clawing at the man who held her. He smacked her twice across the face, then wrenched her hands behind her back, securing her. He clamped a beefy arm around her thrashing body and crushed her against him.

The rest of my friends were backed into the shield, guns pointed at them. “Don’t hurt them,” I managed. “Please.”

The soldiers ignored me. The man who held me looked to Talia’s captor. “Now?”

“Yes.”

The world went dark.

Chapter Forty-Three

Talia

Theroaringinmyhead wouldn’t stop. My heart pumped wildly, and blood rushed with every pulse, drowning out rational thought. Burning through everything.

Dead.

Mum was dead.

I tasted the words and understood them, but didn’t feel them. I’d already grieved. Already done this. It almost killed me the first time; I couldn’t do it again. It couldn’t be true.

The instant we materialized, the bastard guard dragged me along like a dead body. I should fight, but I couldn’t. Icy fingers held me immobile. I could barely stumble on as the big man propelled me forward. Was this how shock felt?

I made myself lift my head. We approached a strange device, shaped like a large doorway but surrounded by cold blue light. Before I got the chance to take it in, the soldier dragged me to it. Primal terror gripped me as he forced me into the eerie glow.

“No—” It was hopeless. The blue light caressed me, soft and shockingly warm. It drew me and my captor in. The light seemed to seep into my eyes. I screwed them shut. The soldier pulled me through. Moments later, the warmth faded, sliding off my skin like water after a shower. Cold replaced it, biting through my thin clothing.

The sounds of battle hit me right away. Bangs, shouts, the occasional pained scream. Was the prince in the middle of that noise? Thinking of him pierced the ice around my heart a little. I opened my eyes.

We were in a forest, darker and thicker than my mountain home in Alaria. The trees stretched so high and the canopy so wide the sun struggled to make it through. The other man emerged from the portal, holding Liv. Her gaze shot to the sound of battle, though we couldn’t see anything through the tree line. Worried about her man. We shared a look of mute horror until the soldiers forced us toward the fighting.

It replayed again behind my eyes. Mum’s body falling. I blinked back hot tears. Not now. I had to fight. I didn’t struggle against the soldier, because we were going the right direction, straight into the action. Close to the king. He’d pay.

He’d fucking pay.

Beside me, Liv struggled in her soldier’s grip, but he didn’t even blink. He hoisted her up and carried her, lengthening his stride.

We reached the trees. I gasped as we pushed through them. Disbelief stopped my feet long enough for my guard to wrench my arm painfully. I staggered on. The forest looked as though a giant paw had swiped it, uprooting some trees and burning others. The ground was a scorched mess, charcoal black.

I tried to make sense of the chaotic scene. A huge red streak of power tore out from our side of the clearing, ripping toward the far end. An enormous blue shield flared into being, blocking the strike as several smaller blasts shot out from either side of it, back toward us. The groups didn’t look evenly matched. The closer side—the king’s side—had much more soldiers. I squinted at the chaos but couldn’t make out individuals. Was the prince still alive?

We halted before a wall of red. A shimmering shield, forming a tight dome. The soldier pulled out a device and spoke into it. “At the perimeter.”

The shield disappeared. The soldiers yanked Liv and me through, and it reformed. Trapped. The soldier kicked my feet out from under me. A yell tore from my throat as I landed on my knees with a jarring crack. “Fuck!”

“Watch your mouth, bitch.” The soldier loomed over me. Liv landed beside me with a cry of her own. I raised myself up as high as I could on my knees and glared at the soldier.

“About time.” The voice chilled me. Smooth and rich with the confidence of absolute authority. The king. I gasped at his appearance. He stood tall and strong, and his face, though still lined, glowed with vitality. His long gray hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, and in his rich golden royal clothing, he looked no older than sixty. Where had the sick old man gone?

His lips curled into a smirk as he noticed my shock. “Talia. Welcome.” His gaze crawled down my body. “My son has good taste. Maybe once he’s dead and I shed this old man’s skin, you can be my Favorite instead. What do you think?”

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