Page 142 of Vicious Is My Throne

Zor’s face settled into that cold, impassive commander-of-the-whole-godsdamn-army expression as he processed this information. “Then everyone leaves tonight. I stay, and when I can travel, I’ll meet you there.”

“Have you even tried using your magic yet?” Tavion dared. “Move from here”—he pointed to the opposite side of the room, in front of the blight-encrusted windows—“to there. If you can.”

“Fuck off, wolf.” Zor bristled. “Unlike you, I’m not a dog doing tricks.”

“So that’s a no, then?” Raz tipped his head, considering. “Has your magic changed, then? Or is it depleted?”

Even from here, I saw the herculean effort strain Zorander’s face as he rallied his magic, shadows swirling through the air, lifting up the ends of his feathers as if caught in a storm. I was about to shout a warning when he disappeared.

And stayed gone.

“Godsdamn it, you two. You should have given him time to adjust before you started up with your male bullshite. He literally climbed out of bed ten minutes ago.” I scanned every inch of the room. “Where is he?”

“Don’t worry, he’ll show up,” Raz said, but he’d gone pale.

Power and shadow flooded the room, dousing the candles, turning the darkness pitch-black. There was a thump and a cough before the air cleared to reveal Zor on the opposite side of the room, exactly where Tavion had pointed, wings splaying out from his shoulders, both middle fingers up, beads of sweat gleaming all over his pleased expression.

“There, motherfucker. Are you happy now?”

Oh my gods. Zor had used his magic.

He’d actually done it.

He was also perfectly positioned to take the brunt of the attack when two blackened, twisted creatures crashed through the window, sending sharpened slivers of blight-infested glass flying through the room like knives.

One of them sliced through my cheek, another cutting a furrow through my calf.

The larger of the two crouched, arm muscles tensing before launching itself at Tavion. Frenzied, they rolled into the fire, sending burning logs and sparks flying across the rug, igniting a hundred small blazes. The demon rolled up onto its feet, Tavion tearing off his shirt, mouth open in a primal scream.

A massive white wolf took his place, ripping into the beast with brutal precision, tearing chunks of blackened flesh out of the side of the creature’s—Lord Whitehall, I presumed—throat, then spitting the foul, decaying meat onto the floor with a juicy splat before the two circled each other, evenly matched in size and ferocity.

Another creature leapt through the opening, dragging in a cloud of blight, then another.

And another.

They were definitely my creations, Fae twisted into abominations, their bodies covered in black, glossy hides lined with thorns and thick, pulsing veins. Their faces were still vaguely Fae, dark brown eyes and flattened noses above gaping mouths lined with black teeth swimming in saliva.

Bexley screamed as one of the creatures rocketed toward him, the room dissolving into a melee of snapping fangs and flashing magic before a scaly, taloned foot closed around my waist and yanked me off the floor violently enough to knock the breath out of me.

I had the presence of mind to cast a wobbly shield around everyone as Tristan heaved me up into the sky, both of us swallowing a choking inhale of blight-infested air before I remembered we needed a shield, too.

The last thing I saw before Ravenswood was swallowed by darkness was the horde of hulking forms racing toward the castle on four legs.

“Set me down, Tristan.” I clawed and strained at the foot holding me tight. “We can’t leave them.”

But the wind tore my words away.

61

ZORANDER

Holy gods.

There were seven beasts, as black as if they’d been belched from the depths of the Pit.

No, eight, as another twisted monster leapt through the shattered window, dragging in a swirl of black ash that infested the walls, the spreading black tendrils rotting paintings and silk draperies.

The only reason we were still breathing was Anaria’s shield locking out most of the blight, but as she and the wyvern disappeared, I gave that another minute before her magic failed.

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