Page 56 of The Coveted
I shook my head. “Why would that change anything?” I tried to pull my hand away, but he had it in a death grip. “And why would you evenwantme to?”
“Because I want you to have a taste of true power,” Lucius growled, glaring at me. “Stop questioning your King and just do it. Take from me.”
No. No way. Where thefuckwas Daelon? His power was ugly, and I wanted nothing to do with it.
“If you don’t cooperate, I will send you to the dungeons. Or kill you. Probably both.”
I glared. Was I powerful enough to prevent either of those outcomes? No. Not yet. And I still needed Amos to lead me to the Akashic Records. I didn’t have a choice.
“Which would be a shame, because I think you’re actually going to enjoy the vision I’ve laid out for us.”
Us?I really, truly, doubted that.
“Focus on what you felt in the throne room when everyone bowed to us. How you felt when you exerted control over Harry. Of actually being able touseyour pitiful heretic magick. Channel your hatred for me, for all I care. Just take it.” Lucius’s eyes were fierce like spitting flames, his sharp jaw tense. He was never going to let me go until I tried this, and I couldn’t think clearly. Visions of euphoria, lust, power, and control weighed heavy in my mind’s eye, urging me to continue chasing the sublime high that was just a touch out of reach.
“Fine,” I said through clenched teeth. I was finally able to yank my hand away, grabbing onto Lucius’s forearm instead. I closed my eyes, fighting against the protest of every fiber of my being. I could nearly hear the sound of my mothers screaming at me to stop, their voices ringing in my ears over the sound of rushing waves. Wind whipped all around us, the doors to the balcony suddenly slamming shut. I took a deep breath and I followed Lucius’s directions, and soon the ambient sound of my own power melted away. I thought of that crowd of witches bowing. I thought of pure power. Of dominance and control. I opened a door within myself that yearned to stay shut, and I let his shadowy, cruel magick slide its way into my blood. I invited it in.
I felt my eyes open, but all I could see was darkness. I heard a great screeching assail my eardrums, followed by sharp booms of thunder and destruction, like cannon fire. There was so much pain in this power, so much death. My throat began to close up, and a burnt taste crept onto my tongue. This magick was like a bolt of lightning, all-consuming and ravaging. It was all there was. All there would ever be.
I felt…like a god. No one was more powerful. There was me, and then everything else down below. Nothing and no one could ever hurt me again. I held the Kingdom’s destiny in my palms. I held itallin my palms. And if I wanted it all to crumble, all to disintegrate into the vast nothingness of the eternal void, then it would be so. But I would survive—and that would be enough.
“Lucius,” I heard from the great beyond. “What have you done?”
I knew that voice. But I wasn’t done channeling. I would never be done. I needed this lightning inside me, where I could keep it safe and alive, to set the world ablaze with my command alone.
“Leave it, brother. Look at her. She’s fine. More than fine—she’s never seemed more alive.”
“Her eyes are white.”
“Cool, right?” There was a pause. “All right, fine. That’s enough.”
I couldn’t tell where or who I was anymore. I was just power. A power greater than gravity, the tallest wave, the hottest fire, the greatest love—and it was allmine.
“Áine. Can you hear me?”
A vision of a man with dark hair and dark eyes clouded my vision, distracting me from the burning in my throat and chest and limbs and palms of my hands. I knew him.
I loved him.
I let go.
Chapter18
Isucked in a breath. My throat burned as if I’d swallowed liquid fire. As the room came into focus, I realized all of my senses were heightened. My vision was sharp and clear, and my entire body radiated a kind of heat and power that felt foreign and dangerous.
Daelon. I looked quickly from him to Lucius, both of them staring at me, Daelon with shock and panic and Lucius with awe.
“My King? Is everything alright in here? We felt an earthquake… or something…” Nathaniel trailed off, his figure coming into focus. He narrowed his eyes on me, my hand still clutching Lucius’s arm. I let it go, pulling in a sharp breath when I realized I’d left deep gashes where my fingernails had dug.
“Don’t worry, love. I can’t feel pain,” Lucius said with a shrug, his eyes alight. With a wave of his fingers, he was healed.
I was tired of Nathaniel. So tired of his bad attitude, his rampant jealousy and hatred of Daelon, and I was especially not over the time he syphoned my power for a head high. Not to mention he must’ve bragged to all the guards if Harry knew about it. He sickened me. I felt a deep-seated desire rise up inside of me, one that I couldn’t ignore or fight. A power that begged for release.
Lucius grinned, rising from the bed and offering me his hand. I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. Daelon looked like he was going to be sick. Nathaniel glowered at me.
“I give you permission. Do as you will,” Lucius whispered in my ear. I stepped forward, faintly aware of his hand now on the back of my neck. “You better keep your distance, dear Daelon,” he warned.
It felt like I was once again untethered to this realm; I had become one with power. But it was not my power… it was a different magick altogether, one that beckoned forth thoughts I had rarely before entertained—thoughts of violence, vengeance, and unbridled relentlessness. Everything I’d ever suppressed and buried rose from the dirt of my psyche like corpses from the grave.
