Page 19 of Midnight Kingdom

Moments later, he snaps his fingers as he mouths a silent command to me and points to the open space in front of him, clearly expecting me to obey his command to come to him. I can feel the intent pull of his compulsion magic, but I resist. I remember the days before we left the Veil, and more specifically, the lessons Pyre taught me about how to push back against compulsion spells. And I use those lessons now.

Shock registers on the false king’s face and he stands up from his seat, walking down the short set of stairs to the flat stretch of marble flooring below him. His wall of soldiers reacts by moving in time with his own steps, maintaining their line around him. He snaps his fingers again, and his focus on me is unwavering. I can feel his compulsion as it surrounds me, barreling down on me, forcing me to my knees.

“Eilish,” Dragan says as he realizes what’s happening.

I can’t answer him. I have to focus on fighting Variant, on forcing his magic away.

I push against it. And him.

Using all the strength in my body, I stand up.

“You will kneel!” he yells.

But, I don’t kneel. I continue to stand against him, forcing his magic back.

Baron and Cambion, meanwhile, fight to push back the orcs who have freed themselves from Cambion’s magic. The Midnight Queen simply leans against the wall on the sidelines, out of the way of the fighting. She bends over and I can see she’s still in pain and the magic of the wards still works against her.

Still, Variant never pulls his gaze from me. Even as I stare at him, I make my way to Baron, carving my blade through an orc who gets in my way.

“Revenant!” I yell to the vampire. “Get the portal open!”

Baron attempts to break away from our group, but more orcs come through the doors, caging us in. Flumph tries his best to help, but I can tell he’s winded and owing to the fact that he’s out of ammunition, he now just uses his crossbow to hit as many soldiers over the head as he can, which only adds fuel to their irritation.

I glance back at Morrigan and find she’s barely standing as the palace wards leech the strength from her body. Glancing back at Variant, he continues to stare at me. His lips move as his magic continues to attack me, but I manage to fend it off.

That’s when I notice Cambion cutting through the wall of soldiers that guard Variant. I don’t know if it’s simply coincidence that Cambion is so close to Variant or if he’s actually going after the false king.

Variant apparently notices Cambion coming closer as well because he raises his hands before him and creates embers of fire in the air.

“Cambion, your audacity truly knows no bounds!” Variant yells at him.

“I could say the same of you, fucking bastard,” Cambion responds.

Variant hold his sword up high and runs it through the embers that still burn in the air before him. As soon as the blade hits them, they ignite into roaring flames and Variant hurls them towards Cambion. The elf dodges the attack, but the flames singe his hair and clothing.

Variant swoops down low with his sword at the same time I jump forward and reach out, grabbing Cambion’s arm as I yank him backwards. Cambion loses his balance and goes careening into me as Variant’s blade grazes his stomach instead of mortally wounding him.

Variant roars and before I know what’s happening, he’s on top of me. I don’t know how I’ve made it through his wall of soldiers but it doesn’t matter. Now, I’m fighting for my life. Variant grips my arms and throws me to the floor. I hit the ground so hard, the fall steals the breath from me and I see stars momentarily as my head bashes against the marble. It takes me a moment or two to fill my lungs with air again and in doing so, my chest feels as though it’s on fire.

I feel Variant’s hand as he encircles my throat and squeezes. He forces me back, pushing me until I feel the back of my head against the wall. All the while, he glares down at me.

“I did not expect this from you,” he says in a low voice.

“I don’t know why,” I manage to spit out as he tightens his hold around my neck.

Even though he pins me, he doesn’t seem overtly angry which makes little sense. “I thought us better friends, angel.”

“We aren’t friends,” I spit back at him.

He laughs and then releases me, pulling back as he stands up and towers over me. He doesn’t make any motion to go for the sword at his side. His actions make little sense to me.

“You will come back to me, Eilish,” he says with a confidence that surprises me.

“No, I won’t.”

He shakes his head. “You won’t be able to resist.”

“I will always resist you,” I say.

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