Page 155 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

With a snap of Caryan’s fingers, the whole, huge wall of magic pulls back into him. It’s a terrifying sight, but everyone suddenly comes back into view. The fae who tried to hide in the shadows step closer, drawn to the violence the same way a moth is drawn to a flame.

This is going to be an execution.

A statement. Exactly what Caryan promised them.

“We will end this tonight,” Caryan says, his voice echoing through the ancient town.

I glimpse something in my peripheral vision. Sarynx. Her aura is a thread of panic laced with the ugly, gaudy green of betrayal, gleaming bright like a beacon, catching my eye even within the sea of fear and fury.

Her.It was her, all the time. How could I not have felt it? Seen it? She wanted to get rid of me so badly. Badly enough to have me dead. I even said it to her face, that Caryan never drank her blood. So he wouldn’t have known.

Caryan follows my gaze. Sarynx’s eyes widen as she finds both of us looking at her. Then she turns on her heels and runs. Only to be caught by vines of black magic, ensnaring her ankles and dragging her back on her stomach over the ground.

She thrashes and screams as Caryan’s shadows pull her through the sand, tearing her gown and her skin, until she ends up in a bloody bundle to his feet.

Her green eyes briefly find mine before they look up to Caryan, pure pain shimmering in her utterly beautiful face. “I just wanted her gone. I wanted her to escape. It would have been for the better. For all of us,” she says, her voice a heartbreaking plea.

And no matter how much I dislike her, no matter that she tried to kill me, I can’t bring myself to hate her enough to want her dead.

She’s speaking the truth, of course she is. She did want me gone… notnecessarilydead. I see her love for Caryan, her bottomless desperation that drove her to do the things she did.

“Please, Caryan,” she starts again.

There is no warning as he leans forward and lifts her by her slender neck like he once held Lyrian. A chill rakes down my spine.

His teeth sink into her flesh. Rude. Careless. He spits her blood out, as if it was poisonous, and I wonder whether he can, indeed, taste it in her blood—the betrayal, her envy. Whether the emotions of its owner tinge the flavor.

By the way his face contorts, it must.

“You were behind it. Only you,” he says.

Sarynx still dangles limp from his hand, her face a mask of pain. “I did it forus, but for her too. I never really wanted her dead,” she whispers to him. Truth, blue and resonating in her aura. “But most of all—I did it for you.”

“Please, let her live,” I say.

Again, her eyes flit back to me, surprised, before Caryan’s darkness engulfs her like a swarm. It’s over in less than a second.

All that is left of Sarynx sifts down between his fingers.

My heart can’t comprehend what I just saw. It beats so violently like it has a chance to escape my chest, to abandon my body.

Without sparing another glance at her leftovers, Caryan walks towards the Nefarians, stopping in front of the woman. Their leader.

“Caryan,” she hisses, flashing her row of sharp teeth up at him. Wanton, feral pride in her face, in her whole posture, even kneeling on the ground with her hands tied. I admire her courage.

“Shiera. What a surprise to see you,” Caryan drawls, his power pressing against my skin, prowling through the city in a wave as he looks down at her. “I must say, I thought you dead and gone.”

Shiera just laughs, haughty and breathless. “I have a gift for you, Caryan. It’s fastened to my belt.”

Caryan glances at Ronin, who steps forward and unties something big and dark dangling from a holster around her hip. It’s a metal object—the point of a massive, oversized arrow.

“I brought something for you as a reminder thatwe’renot.”

Ronin presents it to Caryan.

Caryan looks down at the arrowhead in Ronin’s palm, a vicious, deep snarl escaping his throat. Another prickling rumble of power follows in its wake, a thundering sound like two boulders colliding. Everyone in the crowd takes a step back, gasping for air as Caryan’s power comes crushing down like a wave. I too, briefly struggle to breathe before it eases.

“Remember this? Gatilla’s arrow. This is how you were brought down in the first place, angel,” Shiera snarls, obviously satisfied with his reaction, the slant of a smile tearing her full lips. I wonderwhether she’s just gone mad or whether the knowledge that she’s going to die anyway makes her that bold.

---