Page 95 of Tortured Royals

“We have to get to Reselle, daughter. It’s the only way,” Dad tells me.

Reselle’s laughter crackles through the sky, and I look up as she floats down, landing on the roof of the castle with us. “Are you all still alive? Serafine is putting up quite the fight in my head, but I’m not sure why.” She opens her arms, taking a few steps on the shaking roof. “Look around you, Seral is ours. It belongs to the witches now, as do all of your friends.”

Dad coughs and wipes at the black ooze which drips from his nose. He moves closer to me, and I know he’s after the enchanted blade.

“We have to get her back,” I tell him. “There must be a way.”

Dad gives me a hard look. “Who Serafine was, who yourmotherwas, no longer exists. This is the only way.”

“Blake!”Shade’s fearful cry sounds in my head, and I turn as Reselle sends a blast of power toward her. The dark magic slams into Shade, colliding with her small form. I go to run to her, but Nate grabs me, holding me back. I’m about to break free from his hold when Shade’s body changes. My crow grows in size, her feathers shedding, replaced with smooth skin. Where she had wings, arms form, and I gape as my crow turns into a woman. Ahuman.

Reselle pulls her power back, still cackling as the strange human lifts her head, and blinks at me. “Blake?” She says the words aloud, and her voice is soft. Startled, the girl lifts her hand, her fingertips brushing against her lips. “What? I-I, I’m not a crow.” She peers down at her naked body, all smooth skin without a feather in sight. Her wide eyes are round with fright, and she stares at me.

“See, I told you this one was a deceiver as well,” Reselle says to me. “Now you can see for yourself, child. I’ve managed to manipulate the curse so you can see her with your own eyes. The world may not be as you perceived it, but in time, I trust you will adjust to your new reality.”

“W-what is she talking about?” the human girl says, unsteady on her feet. “Where are my wings?”

I open my mouth. I’m not sure what I plan to say, but Reselle speaks first. “But now that you’ve seen her, there’s no point letting her live.” Reselle sends out a burst of power and it slams into Shade, throwing her from the roof.

A scream tears from her throat, and I rush after her, my wings snapping out. Before I can move, Reselle smiles gleefully, sending power out that blocks my path.

“Don’t worry,”Prince Callan says in my head, and I notice his hand is out, power flowing from his palm.“I caught her. She’s on a balcony.”

“Thank you,”I send to him, and I finally realize I don’t have a choice. Spinning, I pull out the enchanted blade in one smooth motion and dart toward Reselle, but before I can drive the blade into her chest, Reselle smashes into me, and we fly through the air crashing into one of the castle towers. Stone rains around us, streams of magic flying past my head as we fight. I dodge and duck Reselle’s power, lashing out with the jeweled blade, but I can’t get close enough. Her power smacks into my chest, and I’m thrown back. My body skids as I crash back to the roof where Dad is. Prince Callan and Mason are in the air, their blades out as they go for Reselle, but she easily deflects their blows, cackling the entire time.

Reselle sets back on the roof, and she smiles. “I knew being Serafine’s daughter that you would be lively, but I hadn’t quite expected this much excitement,” she says, her dark eyes sparkling.

The blade! Where’s the blade?I stare around me as Reselle advances, and Alaric attacks, lunging at her. A roar leaves Nate’s mouth as he shifts, his armor growing and shifting to accommodate his large form. The roof shudders at his weight, and when Alaric gets thrown back, Nate is there, his fanged mouth aiming for her head.

Reselle flicks her hand, and power blows Nate back. The giant cat slips over the side of the roof and my heart catches in my throat, but Nate’s roar comes from not far away. He bounds back onto the roof, his claws digging in to the black tiles.

Around us, the chanting is so loud the voices pound in my ears.

“Ah, it’s such a shame child,” Reselle says, cracking her neck. “I had thought that I could teach you, and we would rule this land together. But if you’re this insistent, I guess I’ll just have to kill you.”

Before I can dodge it, her power slams into me again, only this time, she’s hit me with something different. Her power reaches into me, clawed talons tearing at my mind. A guttural scream rips from my throat as pain lances into me, my own power trying to fight against her. Trying, and failing… My mates shout out as well, the five of them frozen in place as her power keeps them from me.

Reselle gives me a wicked grin. “I guess I should have known. There’s only space for one witch anchor now.”

“No, Mom!” I wheeze.

There’s a flash of gold in Reselle’s eyes, and she snarls, clawing at her own head with her fingers. “Not now, witch!” Reselle growls, and the gold disappears, turning to black again.

My energy drains, and those claws scrabble more furiously against the barrier in my mind. Flapping sounds in my ears, and I look up, only to see the sky fill with birds. There are thousands of them, and they dive as they come toward us. I never sent out a call, but the birds race to my aid, filling my mind with all different images. Images of the sunset, of demons, of the city, of the dark clouds, of the birds perched on the roof with their friends. Their images are like a barrage of strength fortifying my mind against Reselle’s influence.

When they near the roof, I yell,“Don’t!”Screaming the command to them, desperate to make sure they stay away from Reselle. They reluctantly listen, but they circle the roof, forming a large blur of color as they fly around and around, creating a windy circle that tugs at my braid. The black of my crows mixing with the colors of the other birds in Seral.

Reselle’s laughter grows louder. “Oh, can’t you see child? Controlling birds is nothing. Not when you can control the minds of everyone else.”

“Princess,” Dante calls out, and I turn my head as the tinge of blue starts to disappear from his midnight blue eyes, Reselle’s power burrowing into his mind.

No. No. Dammit!

I grit my teeth, trying to walk forward and break free from Reselle’s power that’s still blasting into me. But I’m too weak. She might not have my mind, but my body hardly moves an inch, and I feel drained.

“I see now,” Dad’s voice sounds across the rooftop, and my gaze slides to where he stands, hidden from Reselle behind a thick stone chimney. The demon king holds the jeweled enchanted blade in his grip, but instead of staring at Reselle, he has the blade poised at his heart.

“What are you doing?” I shout at him, panic flooding me.

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