Page 88 of Merciless Is My Crown

His hand gripped my shoulder and slammed me to my knees, black spots dancing in my vision as blood poured unchecked from my side, my face. Then, ever so slowly as if he wanted to make this moment last, he used magic to pry my mouth open, wide enough my jaw cracked. I thrashed against his dark magic, fought Solomon with every ounce of my strength, and only managed to produce a single tear.

Powerless, I could do nothing as he pinched my tongue between his fingers and pulled it taut. Out of the corner of my eye, his blade flashed in the blazing glow as the floor ignited.

I fumbled for my magic, yanked and dragged at my worthless power, but the magic stayed dormant, locked down inside my equally worthless body like I’d been wrapped in a thick, smothering blanket.

“Screaming would make this so much more enjoyable, but no need to alert the entire fortress. I’ll leave your body down here, then you’ll all be displayed on the arches tomorrow, along with sweet little Bella, her mother, and everyone else who has helped you since you killed our true priestess.”

Everything faded away except for the cold bite of his blade against my tongue, my breaths heaving in and out as I waited for the flick of his wrist that would take my voice away forever.

Sparks floated through the air in a shower of yellow and gold.

The phantom wind that drove them curled around me like a lover’s caress, and Solomon paused, searching the darkness behind me, his eyes glittering like ice.

“You think you’re so clever, Bella, but you are no match for me. A bookworm and a pretend priestess. You never should have brought her down here. This is your fault; these people will die because of you.”

This time the draft came from the other direction, but instead of sparks, when this wind hit the torch fire exploded everywhere, setting the edge of Solomon’s cloak ablaze. He yanked away from me, tearing at his flaming cape, shedding the burning fabric to the floor and kicking the blazing fabric away where it burned with glorious brightness.

And when he turned, knife in his hand, that creeping, malicious grin on his face, the iron bands lay discarded at my side. Magic roared out of me, no regard to the books or the fortress above me. No, all I wanted right now was to make this bastard pay for everyone he’d ever hurt.

Shadows wrapped him in a noose of consuming blackness and forced him to his knees.

“How were you planning to release the prisoners?” A trail of thorny vines exploded up Solomon’s neck, covering the side of his face as he clawed and cursed. “How?”

Another pulse of power had one side of him encrusted in a thick, oily residue, like sap, like…oh gods…exactly like Corvus’s corrupted power.

“Tell me how and I’ll make this quick,” I told him, prowling close enough to glimpse the black veins spreading beneath his skin and pulsing with hideous power, the terror dawning in his eyes. “Or I can draw this out until I get the answers I require.” I squatted down so we were eye to eye.

“I might not have much control,” I told him softly. “But I am pissed off enough to make this last. Trust me, you will talk before the end.”

“You will never rule.”

“Good thing I have no desire to rule, then.” Another push and his body torqued as a line of black shiny spikes tore out of his spine with a wet, shredding rip.

“I can do this all day. My magic has depths I haven’t yet explored. Perhaps now is the time to try?” I picked up his discarded blade, inspecting the blood—my blood—coating the silver edge.

“Stop,” he sobbed, sagging in the coils of shadows and stars. “Stop…I’ll…”

A deep thud reverberated from somewhere overhead. Dust sifted down over us, highlighted in the glow of Bella’s torch. Another crash, louder this time, and a chunk of ceiling shattered across the floor, loud as thunder.

Only then did I hear the shrill cries, the clash of metal on metal.

“What did you do?” I hissed.

“He let them out,” Bella whispered. “He released the prisoners.”

Solomon’s eyes reflected the blazing flames when he threw his head back and laughed, his teeth stained black. “It’s already too late. They’re all free, and you and your friends don’t stand a chance. When you?—”

I snapped his neck and smothered the fire with my darkness, Bella flinging herself out from the shadows, her eyes horrified as she peered down at Solomon’s monstrous corpse, the sound of muffled fighting drifting through the boarded-up door.

Bella picked up the guttering torch, her eyes huge. “Let’s go. They’ll kill as many witches as they can, and all of you.” We ducked through the opening, the panicked shouts getting louder. “They are the very worst of us and the most powerful.”

She paused on the first step, her eyes flickering over me as if she couldn’t quite decide if I was friend or foe. I wiped my still-bleeding face.

“For everything Solomon did, he deserved far worse. I am your friend, Bella.” I gripped her hand. “And I will not let you down.”

34

ANARIA

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