Page 66 of The Coveted
“See, now that’s very unsurprising,” Nathaniel continued, licking his venomous lips. “Considering she’s still fucking the Commander.”
I bristled. There it was. I felt my power rise up all around us, begging to be used. It would seem that my magick wanted to knock him on his ass just as strongly as Lucius’s magick had. What could I say? Nathaniel’s face was more punchable than most.
“Is that true?” Sebastian asked, his features painfully transparent.
“No,” I lied. “It’s just a delusion Nathaniel believes for whatever petty reason.”
“Why does it even matter?” Sebastian asked. “Why hide it?”
A very good question, Sebastian.And one that Nathaniel knew he couldn’t answer without revealing secrets too dear to the King. Taryn stayed silent for once.
“Yes, Nathaniel—why would I hide something like that?” I asked calmly, watching the angry crimson of his aura deepen in saturation.
Before he could answer, a low-pitched, deafening frequency attacked my eardrums like an ethereal crash of lightning. I winced and noticed that Taryn had doubled over, covering her ears. Sebastian and Nathaniel considered us, confusion covering their features. A scream erupted from further into the gardens, and visions flooded my perception—visions of an omen in the waves, of Lucius raising the dead, of Seraphina’s suspicion that the borders between dimensions were growing weaker as our natural magick did, and of that white marble sculpted figure, not cursing anything, butwarningme.Something was terribly, cosmically wrong.
I felt myself moving toward the scream on autopilot. Nathaniel grabbed my arm in a painful grip. “Let go of me,” I bellowed, my voice growing unrecognizable as I leaned into pure channeling for the first time since I’d fought Lucius in the woods. In this headspace, I became Magick—not separate—infinite and whole and guided by that otherworldly invisible thread of knowledge, order, and instinct.
“You listen tome,you filthy heretic cunt. Whatever it is you’re doing, I will—”
I spun around, and with a hiss of exasperation I sent Nathaniel flying through the air with a shockwave of magick. Sebastian paled and stared slack jawed as he watched Nathaniel’s body crash into the ground and skid several feet through grass and dirt. Taryn, much to my surprise, followed me at a distance, but not before throwing up her middle finger at Nathaniel. It was just as satisfying watching him fall this time as it had been the first time, but I couldn’t focus on that for too long.
I rounded the corner of a tall, manicured hedge arranged in box-like patterns around various flowers, entering a more open area of the lawn. A servant was crouching and rubbing her ears, fresh linens strewn about on the grass all around her. Her aura reflected white back to me for a moment, and I knew she was one of the ones who helped me on Solstice.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and she nodded, relief flooding her features at the sight of me. She peered around me to Taryn, cocking her head. Before I could say anything more the piercing sound erupted again, transforming quickly into an animalistic growl.
In a flash of dark energy, Lucius had arrived in the air between the servant and me. He glanced at me, then took in the situation around me. “What in the heavens is—”
The growl sounded again, and we all glanced around for its source.
You need to leave, now,I said to the servant, who didn’t protest as she gathered up as many linens as she could and scurried away.
You too, Taryn. Something isn’t right,I forced into her mind.Go back to the castle.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she responded, much like a petulant toddler.
And in that moment a giant creature manifested in the distance, midnight black with a strange glow spreading out from its body. It was probably twice my height, with a wide, sturdy build. It had two hollow black spaces where eyes should be. Its fur was patchy and mangy. I supposed it looked most like a wolf than anything else, but with demon-like features, distorted like a television with a poor signal.
I knew in my bones that this thing had no place in Aradia.
Chapter22
“Whatisthat?” Lucius and I asked at once. He glanced at me again, his eyes lingering. “You—you’re in it. Your power. It’s… radiant.” Jealousy flew off him like sparks.
He yearned for possession of what he knew belonged to me, never to him. But unlike before, I didn’t see that he wanted me to hide myself away any longer.
“Yes,” I answered. “I don’t know how, but that thing isn’t supposed to be here. There’s some kind of tear between the dimensions.”
“That’s impossible,” he muttered. “It’s probably an attack. On me and my castle, by enemies. I will cast it away.”
The enormous beast hurtled toward us, its dark energy hauntingly familiar as it cast a glowing shadow with each bow of its legs. It snarled, and its jagged, pointy teeth clamped together.
Lucius stepped out in front of us, and Taryn and I moved to the left. I channeled furiously, constructing a barely visible translucent force field before the two of us. I tuned into the frequency I knew all too well—Daelon and his shield—willing it to manifest into tangible protection. I wasn’t nearly as good at defensive magick as Daelon was; my magick was much more geared toward the offensive.
Lucius’s hands glowed with black power, taking up an offensive stance himself. But as the creature reached us, it blew right past him, toward Taryn and me. It didn’t give Lucius a second glance.
Nevertheless, Lucius threw forth a shockwave of magick, knocking the beast off its feet before it could reach us.
“Taryn, seriously, get out of here,” I urged as I watched the lupine creature straighten. But Taryn planted her feet, her features displaying a confidence I knew was at least partially fake considering the fear I could taste from her aura.
