Page 365 of Kingdoms of Night

But, it was too late, he’d taken the top off the vial.

I began to shield myself, but he threw it at me.

Siddhe called out for me, but before I knew it, I was falling backward.

I coughed, but the contents of the potion bottle came out like a poisonous cloud. The dragon’s fire burned my throat. The crocodile teeth bit at my chest. The vervain made me immobile. The wolfsbane poisoned him. The moon elixir increased the spell’s power. And…the mermaid scales made the spell irreversible.

Blackthorn’s laugh was the last thing I heard.

And, now there was one word that repeated in his head.

Siddhe.

Siddhe.

Siddhe.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

NO MORE BARGAINS

Siddhe

“It’s a dangerous game you’re playing here, sea-maiden,” Blackthorn said, breaking me from my shock. “Consider this your second chance. Leave this place now, and never come back, and I’ll let you live.”

I stared at Elian, eyes wide with shock and wild with fear.

“No,” I said. It was more of a plea than a statement. “I can’t lose him.”

He lay on the ground, not breathing.

“Oh spare me, is it love?”

I shook my head. “No, not yet. But, it can be. But, for now, its something more—something you won’t understand.”

Blackthorn stared at me, and his voice changed into something that was almost paternal. The edge was gone, and he now seemed calm—at peace.

“Whatever it is you had with him, its not worth it. I got what I came here for. I’ve killed the bloody pirate king. I don’t need you or your kin anymore.”

I tensed. Something he said struck me as odd.

Why was the murderous pirate speaking to me this way? I’d just knocked out some of his men, and killed two others.

Curious, I slowly lifted my eyes to meet his. Realization dawned upon me.

He was bargaining with me, but he had no power. In his eyes, I saw fear. And, he saw something within me.

Dear goddess.

Elian wasn’t dead.

And, Blackthorn knew that I was the only one able to reverse the spell he’d just used.

“Oh, Blackthorn,” I said. Then, I took two steps back, into the shadows. “I’m very sorry to disappoint you. But, I have no loyalty to you. And, never will.”

He looked alarmed. “You can’t kill me, Siren. I have an enchantment.”

His enchantment may protect him from death, but not what I prepared to do.

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