Page 94 of Degradation

I felt her reach for their energy and quickly added to my intent.Let no spell touch you without your consent.Her cast never touched them.

Eadric, seeing her distraction, barreled into her with his shoulder as if he were sparring with Edmund. The pair went down together, only Eadric was quick enough to roll to his feet again. Rather than dart away to make his escape, the fool grabbed the crown from her head and tossed it into the crowd.

One of the casters who’d vowed to help us caught it. “Your reign of terror and death is at an end!”

The queen laughed. The crazed sound echoed off the walls as she floated to her feet.

“An end, you say? I think not.”

The old woman rose into the air, her mouth opening and closing in shock. Her face began to turn red.

“You have something that does not belong to you,” the queen said.

I looked from the crown, laden with casting stones, to the queen. The remaining casting stones on her person pulsed with immense power. She’d wove spells of protection around them. Layers of energy preventing anything magic or otherwise from touching them.

But energy was energy. I connected with it easily, felt her intent, and whispered one word.

“No.”

The protection fell aside. With a thought, I removed the stones from the queen’s person. The chains holding them in place snapped as they floated away from her, shredding her gown and leaving her covered in rags that did little to conceal her body.

At the same time, I reshaped the ropes around Brandle and Edmund’s necks, creating grand clothing fit for royal heirs.

The queen screamed her rage and grabbed for the knives she’d strapped to herself.

Darian punched the woman straight in the face before she could reach them. She barely staggered. Her gaze swung to him, and she hissed.

“You cannot best me!”

Without her stones, she had very little power. Yet, she still had some, which was something I could not allow.

I touched my energy to her well and delved into her thoughts, regardless of the pain it caused her. The horrors she’d unleashed onto Adele filled my mind. The children she’d birthed and sacrificed along with the fathers. Her fear of losing the power she’d gained. Cursing the heirs instead of killing them—she’d planned to have their children all along. The deaths of the King and Queen. The people she’d corrupted and persuaded to gain trust in the court. The innocent lives she’d taken to gain the energy she’d needed to start her coup.

Further and further back I went, learning who the queen was as tears tracked down my face.

I saw her childhood, raised by a caster obsessed with power. The queen’s name was Spyra. She and four other girls—one named Maverene, also known as Meave—had been taken from their families and stolen in the middle of the night. They’d been trained, punished in the most brutal of ways, and pushed to claim the highest powers possible. They’d fought each other viciously for their foster mother’s approval.

She was still alive, communicating with Spyra through a mirror. And Spyra feared her as much as she loved her. Memories of Spyra's real parents were buried so deeply that she no longer recalled them. But I found them and brought them forward. I showed her what real love was.

She screamed within her mind, unable to stop me, just as the other casters had been unable to stop me.

“Remember, Spyra. Remember who you were, and see the crimes you’ve committed through the loving eyes of your true parents,” I said.

She fell to her knees, shaking and drooling as the memories took hold, and she saw her actions in a different light. She clawed at her face and screamed.

“Eadric, bind her hands,” Brandle said.

I dove further into her well, leaving nothing untouched by my presence, then withdrew with a final thought.You will never cast again. All magic is lost to you as if it had never been. You know nothing but the pain you brought.

A hand settled on my shoulder.

“Come back, Kellen. Please.”

I withdrew and found myself on my knees. My face hurt, and I realized I’d mirrored all of Spyra’s actions.

Garron’s tormented gaze swept over my face.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “A bit of tea will fix me.”

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