Page 23 of The Princesses of Ruin
Blinding blue light fills the room as the eksteinvas crystal discharges all my magic into the restraint of Lily’s shield. I close my eyes, my hope dying just as quickly as it came.
My arms shake and I surrender to the faintness overtaking my body. I splay out on the cold dungeon floor and fight the burn of tears in my eyes.
I’m too weak.
I’m not good enough.
“You’ve made incredible progress in a few months of training,”Alyse says in my mind.
Her words ring true but don’t alleviate the knot growing in my throat.
“Perhaps I should try,” Scarlett says.
The knot moves aside for fire. “And what makes you any better at imbuing eksteinvas crystals?”
“I’m not saying I’d be better, just that I could try.” Her tone softens, placating. It worms under my skin and brings more heat to the surface.
“Breathe, my soul,” Jasper says in Selkie.
I don’t want to breathe. I want to throw something, but my arms are too weak.
The cold dungeon air flows into my nose and I focus on the feeling, the sound, and the scents. The musk of damp stone and wood. The moisture clinging to my face. The beat of my heart.
Scarlett wants to try? Fine. She can try.
“Have at it, then.”
I roll to the side and push myself up on trembling arms. Jasper doesn’t dare help me and become the target of my wrath.
Scarlett’s eye follows me as I move out of the secondary containment circle and into the periphery of the room where the others stand. Alastair is here to support Lily, Kazimir lingers to ensure that his machine doesn’t malfunction somehow, and of course Jasper wants to observe and ensure I don’t wear myself to exhaustion…as I just did.
Scarlett reaches out with a scarred arm, her palm up, asking for my power. She could take it from me at this distance, just siphon it straight through the air. I’ve seen her do it with others, but she’s asking.
The urge to slap her hand away is strong. I know I’m being irrational. IknowI need to cooperate and play nice for the good of our kingdom.
“Yes, Alyse, Iknow,” I growl out loud.
Her presence recedes from my mind, but the truth is left behind. I am being irresponsible. If Scarlett can succeed where I fail, we’re all better off for it.
But if she does, I’ll hate her.
I close the distance between us and touch her palm with mine. There’s no sensation associated with Scarlett absorbing the essence of my magic. She’s not taking anything from me, but rather copying it.
The half-healed runic scars on her arms shift from glowing teal to my darker blue. She drops her hand and sighs.
“Better stand back.”
I purse my lips. “Why?”
She gives me a wry smile. “Don’t want to get any blood on you when I blow myself up.”
I can’t help the snort that comes out of me at the image, then I shake my head. “Don’t blow yourself up with my power. Zane would kill me.”
“And then I’d kill him,” Jasper says.
“And then we’d be fucked,” Lily says. “Can we get to it? I’ve got limited power and patience left for this.”
“My apologies,” Scarlett says, putting her hands up in mock surrender as she rolls her eyes. “I didn’t realize we were short on time.”
