Page 72 of The Dark Rises
Desperate, he turns to Riona and orders her to give him all her power. She struggles, but his hand on the torque forces her to pour her magic into him.
Cormal sways, and I realize the toll it’s taken to pit his magic against his sister’s. They must be pretty evenly matched.
“Now, Rivan!” Cormal shouts.
Rivan’s a blur as he bullets toward Denir and Riona, his hands outstretched. His body slams into theirs, knocking them to the ground.
Denir stands and peers down at his chest, his brow furrowed. Blood seeps from the outer edges of the golden scarab attached to his chest, its onyx eyes unblinking as it stares back at him.
He stumbles over to Riona and pulls her to her feet. When he sees a similar one on her chest with golden unblinking eyes, he begins to roar.
“No, no, no,” he rages. His fingers claw at the edge of the scarab, trying to peel it off, but it refuses to budge.
Cormal’s harsh chuckle makes Denir swing around. “I found these little beauties in the light Fae palace. In a storage room, of all places. Tossed in there like an old sword. They called to me, so I took them. It wasn’t until I received Evren’s note that I realized what they do. They break all binding chains, turning the master into the victim.”
Denir glances from him to Riona, and he knows what will happen when she gains the upper hand. In one last burst offury, he raises his hand, but not toward Riona. His head swivels to where Leandra stands on the sidelines, and faery fire erupts from his finger. She ducks behind the nearest pillar.
Enraged, he turns toward us, and I raise the shield I was taught from birth. The only one capable of withstanding the faery fire he flings toward us.
Cormal steps up and recites the spell on the piece of paper sent to him by Evren.
Khepri, hear my plea
Let the scarab sun undo
And the scarab night release
Undone is done
The faery fire ceases, and I lower the shield around us. Hands trembling, I fist them against my thighs. It takes a tremendous amount of power to create that particular shield.
Leandra moves out from behind the pillar to watch the scene unfold, pure satisfaction in the depths of swirling, mad-filled eyes. This is the moment she’s been waiting a thousand years to see.
Dark blue eyes light up, a fierce flame in their depths. Riona cracks open the torque around her neck and destroys it. Gold dust rains to the floor. She jerks Denir to her.
“Your reign has ended. Death is your reward.”
His body turns to dust in her hands.
Leandra laughs, and we all turn toward her. Dust is flaking off her skin as her body begins to decay right in front of us. “I tied my life to his long ago, but the years meant nothing without her. My revenge is complete. I go to be with my daughter.” Seconds later, she, too, is gone.
The crowd looks from one to the other, then starts shouting. Callyx, Theron, and Arden move to stand with us, and we close ranks. The court pushes forward, but suddenly stops, pointing to the dais.
I follow their gaze and find the power zipping in circles around the throne. Holding out my hand, I call it. Slowly, it stops moving and turns in my direction.
A massive hand reaches out and palms the power. “I’ll take that.”
The crowd scrambles back a step. Massively tall, with a long beard, the fierce old man on the throne squints at me with his one eye. Hard to believe he leads The Wild Hunt.
Furious, but unable to do anything against him, I bend a knee and bow.
“Odin,” I hiss at Cormal and the others. “The Wild Hunt. Kneel or die.”
Cormal must decide the power Odin wields is more than he can fight because he slowly kneels beside me.
There’s a collective movement as the rest of the room follows our actions.
Odin heaves a huge sigh. “Whatever. Get up. I know your respect is real.” He holds out his hand and shows me the swirling orb of power. “I listened to everything and waited for the dust to settle. Unfortunately, you didn’t get Leandra to transfer the power from Meri to you. According to our laws, you failed to get it back.”
