Page 144 of Fate and Flame
And then she showed me Nadra standing before him. He enchanted her to need him, to want him so badly it caused her physical pain. But when she reached for him, he slapped her face, and the rage that thundered through me was unbridled. The magic followed.
“Eyes open, focus.”
A shadow changed forms. Autus now stood before me.
“Touch nothing with your magic but your enemy,” she ordered. “You’ve done this before, do it again.”
I moved into a fighting stance and narrowed my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to destroy that sick bastard. I released the magic as if it were a weapon, an extension of me. I forced it into my own control, lashing out until it struck the king and obliterated him . . . and half the building.
“Better,” Aibell said.
I felt the rage, the magic pushing me down as I dropped to a knee.
She stood before me and stared me down. Half my size, frail and furious. “That is always a price you will pay for such magic. You will never use it without losing a part of your soul. You either learn to control it, or it will shred you to pieces and control you instead. Understand?”
I bared my teeth. “Yes.”
“Let’s go, then.” She shoved her staff into the floor and tilted it toward me.
I grabbed the top of it and the world fell away. We landed outside of Nealla’s cabin, me still on a knee.
“Get up, child. There’s no time for weakness.”
“What are you?” I asked, shaking my head.
“What indeed.” She climbed the hill to the cottage. “I am ready.”
She rapped her staff against Nealla’s door until I was sure it would shatter. When she didn’t answer, Aibell pressed her hand against the wood and blew it to pieces.
“Why must you always do that?” Nealla asked, swiping her hand through the air to remove the fallen debris with her magic.
“I knocked this time,” Aibell answered, letting herself in.
Nealla sat, her face hidden behind a beautiful cloth wrapped around her mouth and a hood over her head. Only her eyes, barely visible in the shadow, showed through.“Who will care for the humans left in Alewyn when the Hunt is destroyed?”
“My king and me. I vow it.”
“Such honor,” she balked. “Where’s the mouthy little fae girl who stormed into my cottage before?
“She’s still in there,” Aibell assured her.
“Seventy thousand soldiers march south for war. Will you help us?” I wasn’t proud. I knew we needed all the help we could get.
“We cannot,” Nealla said. “We’ve moved all the pieces into motion to help as much as we are able.”
“How can you play with us like puppets for my entire lifetime and then step away now? Why would you lead us to failure? The king has three times the army we do.”
Her words were daggers propelled by anger. “The gods will not allow us onto the battlefield.”
I threw my hands into the air and huffed. “What fucking gods? I haven’t seen a god or heard from one. No one worships the gods anymore.”
“You are wrong, girl. You know nothing.” She leaned forward and narrowed her deadly eyes at me.
“I know all of this will be for nothing if you refuse to help.”
“That power living in your veins? That’s your help,” Nealla said, her voice short.
“We have to stop the Hunt. If you will help with nothing else, please help with that.” I sat down across from her and Aibell took the final seat.
