Page 48 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

My magic whispered at me, singing through my blood. With one gesture, I could ignite him like the fire in Lilah’s room. I could drink his sorry life force in one gulp?—

“She comes for you. When the last of your fair friends are dead, she will arrive. And you will have nothing left to keep her out.”

My mouth went dry, but I did my best to keep my fear hidden. Heliconia knew I was alive.

“You tell that bitch to bring it,” I snarled. The flame in myhand flared brightly.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced from it back to me, but he didn’t move. “You would speak of the queen in that way?”

“She’s not a queen,” I nearly spat. “Besides, I survived one of her curses already. I’m not afraid of another.”

His eyes glimmered with something I didn’t understand. “That is your mistake. You should be afraid. You should be very afraid of what comes.”

Despite the magic roiling inside me, I suppressed a shudder.

Something brushed against my leg.

I looked down and found dark, thick shadows winding up my legs. I could feel them running over my skin like fingers. These were not a life force to drink. This was Heliconia’s twisted darkness—looking for a new host.

Urgency speared through me.

I lashed out with my flames, burning through the thick tendrils until I could wrench myself free. My eyes narrowed again on the Obsidian watching it all with smug satisfaction.

Screw interrogation.

This bastard was going down.

With a sharp cry, I conjured a ball of furyfire and prepared to burn him to ash. Before I could ignite him, a cloud of smoke erupted where the Obsidian stood. I doubled over, coughing as the smoke enveloped me and snaked down my throat.

From somewhere inside the dark cloud, the Obsidian laughed.

Bitter residue coated my tongue. I spat it out. More laughter echoed around me, and I jerked my head up, straightening and whirling toward the sound that came from everywhere and nowhere at once.

I hurled my furyfire.

It burned a narrow tunnel through the smog and landed in the grass, charring it to ash.

“Show yourself, asshole,” I demanded, but there was no answer.

I blinked, my eyes burning from the gray vapor that was finally beginning to clear. When it did, I could only turn in quick circles, searching for where the creature had gone.

The clearing was empty.

The rabbit trap was empty too.

I was alone.

The relief was quickly overshadowed by alarm.

The dark magic that flowed in the Obsidian’s veins was nothing more than a life force, a way to animate them from corpse to monster. In all my years hunting them or being hunted by them, not one of them had ever shown any sign they knew how to use that magic. But this one had done just that—and somehow disappeared in the process. Gone to tell his mistress he’d found a way in.

She’d waste no time sending more of them. Or coming here herself. Which only proved one thing: Even after seven years of a bleaker life than I could’ve ever imagined, things could absolutely get worse. In fact, they just had.

Chapter Sixteen

Aurelia

The rain began as I emerged from the forest, a sprinkle that became a downpour almost immediately. Halfway across the lawn, I spotted Sonoma striding toward me. Her gait was uneven, and her left arm was bleeding.

---