Page 132 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion
Magic had a price and I was fearful of what it would make Emrys pay.
‘Kat!’ Gideon grabbed my arm, turning me towards him as we both panted wildly on the stairs, holding onto the banister for dear life.
‘He’s dangerous like this, Kat,’ he warned, a wild panic in those words that made dread claw at my insides.
‘I’m not leaving him like that.’ Not as something he didn’t wish to be.
I’m wrong, Kat.The gutting desperation in his voice as I remembered those words from Emrys’s lips.
He’d done this to protect us and I hated that most of all. Gideon grabbed my hand, hesitation flashing in his features, his jaw set as if he was going to protest again as another crash came from above. ‘I don’t think—’
‘Help me, Gideon.’ I begged. To find something. I knew Emrys would listen to me. No matter what consumed him. He’d told me that.
‘Why is William vomiting?!’ Alma half shrieked from the study. Only to go quiet as another boom followed, the house practically whining.
‘Fuck’s sake,’ Gideon snapped, grabbing my arm and half dragging me up the stairs after him, following the ominous noises and the distress of the house. The clatter of doors and the rattle of the windows.
The hallway above was plunged into darkness, our breath misting before us.
‘Emrys?’ Gideon called into the abyss. Moving forwards with no hesitation. Towards the faintest glow of light coming from the end of the hall.
The doorway creaking as we entered Emrys’s bedroom. He stood by the fireplace, illuminated by the dying embers. His hands were braced against the wall, head bowed, his fingers digging into the plaster. A hole gaped in the brick as if he’d struck it. Over and over.
His leathers were gone, dark summoning rippling from his skin, leeching free to tangle around his legs and waist as if he was half consumed by shadow. His muscles twitched, tensing as shudders rolled through him. There was a slight shake to his head again. Something was in there. Speaking to him.
Some nights I can hear them.He’d told me that. I’d seen it with my own eyes.
I stepped towards him only for Gideon to pull me back, words sharp and instant.
‘Get the remains of that fiend off you. It’ll make him worse.’
I looked down, realising I had strange grey dust all over my leathers – I’d been the closest to that fiend. He pushed me towards the bathroom. I went numbly.
I undressed quickly. Grabbing a towel, I scrubbed at my face and shook out my hair. Another bang and horrid creaks echoed from the room beyond. The calm tones of Gideon’s voice.
I took my nightgown from the back of the door and pulled it on. I should have been worried about the indecency. The thin cotton did nothing to combat the icy chill consuming the space, breath clouding before me as gooseflesh covered my legs.
‘Emrys?’ Gideon called, aether glowing between his fingers to illuminate the space. Emrys didn’t respond, continued to shake and convulse in agony. Gideon let out a frustrated sound before he moved to the desk, ransacking the drawers. ‘Where did you put it, you hoarding little bastard?’
I ignored Gideon’s rummaging, my focus solely on Emrys as I let my magic flare, warming me ever so slightly. Taking the barest step closer to him.
His dark form stilled, his head turning predatorily, considering me over the bulk of his shoulder. He felt it. Felt the barest flare of my flame.
I heard you too.He’d given me that. Reminded me of the power I’d given him. To call to me just as I called to him. Then I saw the gold glinting on the darkness of his hand.
Where my father’s hilt remained wrapped around his finger.
To wield a Kysillian blade was to be bound to its master, to be trusted the same. My blade trusted him. My magic trusted him – and so did my heart. Even in this strange form.
I didn’t hesitate in my approach, calm and gentle as I pressed my lips to his shoulder blade. Right over those dark marks. Let my hands rest on his ribs. Felt him shudder. Heard the unsteady nature to his breath. That darkness curling beneath his skin. His magic sharper than I’d ever felt it. Almost feral as it streaked across his pale scarred flesh towards my touch.
‘Emrys,’ I breathed against his skin.
His dark-tipped fingers grasped my hand desperately. Painfully, as if it was a tether. Pressing more harshly against his skin. I let my nails bite, and my magic too. Anything for him to focus on me. To focus on my voice.
The house trembled as that darkness seeped like smoke from his skin. His breath was laboured, the darkness becoming morelethal in its dance. Another tremor took him as a strange, pained noise rumbled up his throat.
Did you think you could keep him, Tauria?The darkness in my mind seemed to mock.
