Page 109 of The Eternal Mirror
He pauses, head up as if scenting danger. Eyes widening, he holds up his hands in surrender. And I hurl the celestial flame and burn him to the ground.
At that moment, magic—rotten and forceful—sweeps over the camp like a wave. Khronus is away from the fighting, but not so far that I can’t see his lips moving as he does his beastmaster thing. I throw out a flame, but it bounces harmlessly off his wards.
Thank god we moved the shiftersafterNiall disappeared.
Then I spot someone off to the side. It’s Sheela, and she’s staring at Killian in horror. He must have spent the night in the camp and been caught unawares. Now he’s racing away from her, until he crashes to his knees and screams.
I’m guessing he’s too far from her for the sleep spell to work.
“Killian!” I yell. “Stop! Fight it!” But I know the words are futile.
He goes still, raising his head to stare at me. Then he’s up, half-shifted, eyes glowing yellow, muscles pulsing like something inside him is trying to tear out. As I watch, the shift comes over him. A huge black wolf stands, staring across the space between us. He’s still fighting the compulsion. I can see it—every limb is locked solid, every muscle straining.
But like a puppet, he moves forward, stalking me.
Sheela is looking on in horror; then she turns away. She looks around and bends down to pick up a sword. I expect her to turn back to Killian, but she doesn’t. She throws back her head and screams her rage and grief. And then she’s running toward Khronus. She must know that she can’t touch him, but I don’t think she’s exactly thinking straight right now.
Sheela doesn’t stop.
Her sword is up, her mouth open in a scream, her feet eating up the ground between her and Khronus.
He just sits on his horse, watching.
I see the moment he recognizes Sheela. He stops muttering his incantations and stares at her.
Then he raises his hand, and the arrows fly.
One. Two. Three.
Sheela drops, like the world itself just gave out beneath her.
Everything seems to slow around us. In front of me, Killian stops; no longer the focus of Khronus’s magic, he turns and races toward Sheela.
“No!”
He doesn’t hear me. Or he does, and it doesn’t matter.
I stare at the dead woman, a crumpled heap on the ground. Khronus didn’t need to kill her. She was his niece, and he didn’t even blink. Killian howls and then hurls himself at Khronus, crashing into the wards over and over again.
The space between us fills with soldiers as a second wave attacks, and I lose sight of him.
And I just stand there, my heart not beating, my lungs not working.
“No,” I whisper. “No, no, no—”
“Amber!” Khaosti screams, and I jerk out of my funk as a huge guy with an ax leaps for me. I pivot and slice, and he drops to the ground. I reach for the celestial fire, but everyone is all mixed up, and I can’t burn them without burning us. So I fight. But itdoesn’t stop. Of course it doesn’t. Something slams into me, and I crash to the ground, a heavy weight suffocating me. There’s blood in my mouth—maybe mine. Then the dead weight is dragged off me, and Khaosti grabs my hand—hauls me up—but I’m barely standing. I can’t see straight.
“She’s gone,” I say. “Sheela. He killed her.” Like maybe he doesn’t know. Like maybe I don’t believe it.
His face is hard. Too hard. And something behind his eyes snaps.
The next moment, he drops his sword.
And starts to change.
His skin glows gold, then splits. Wings unfurl—impossibly wide. All around us, people scream and run for cover. Scales shimmer in the firelight, iridescent and sharp as broken glass. Horns. Claws. Eyes like suns.
For a moment, I just stare. He’s fucking glorious.
