Page 81 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“I want to try something,” Tallon said, pausing to look at me fully. “Do you trust me?”

“Do it.” I did not hesitate. If there was something he could do to help us, he needed to do it. And as far as trust, despite our beginning, I’d never trusted anyone more.

He nodded, and then his magic was surrounding me, swarming and dark and blocking out the rest of the room. It should have terrified me, knowing what else his magic could do, but the inky tendrils that embraced my body were warm and inviting. As quickly as they’d encompassed me, they melted into my skin, pulsing along the lines of my own marks before they settled.

Power thrummed through my blood. He’d given me some of his magic, and I intended to use every bit of it. A pale-faced Tallon nodded once, continuing his own battle with his dagger as he encouraged me yet again. Raising my hands, I directed the power out, watching as my marks surged towards the possessed, once again engulfing anything in front of me. My marks, fueled by Tallon’s magic, swallowed up the possessed. And then just like before, it collapsed in a blink, rushing back into my body and sending me reeling.

I stumbled but caught my footing before I fell, throwing my shoulders back as those who had been possessed also stumbled, shaking their heads and rubbing at their eyes. They were pale and shaky, but most importantly, alive.

Fingers wrapped around mine and I almost flinched before my body caught up and realized it was only Tallon. I let him gently pry away my death grip on the handle of the dagger, my fingers aching as they unclenched. He nodded once, smiling quickly before he turned us to face Eadric and the rest of the ballroom once more.

One step closer.

The castle settled into a stillness I’d never experienced since stepping inside those gilded gates. Once more, it was merely a castle, layers of stone and wood and metal. Nothing more.

“I’ll just summon more,” Eadric panted, his eyes wide as he stared at me.

“There are no more.” I wasn’t sure how, but I knew my words were true without a doubt. There was no more evil left to draw from inside these walls. “There is nothing.”

He spluttered, fingers twitching as he tried and failed to summon anything left to combat us. But nothing came to his aid. His people watched on in horror, cowering against each other with wide eyes.

“Youhavenothing,” I said softly.

“What shall you do now then?” His eyes flicked to Tallon beside me. “Is now your chance to gloat, Tallon? To boast your superiority over me? Do you wish to take the throne, herald of Kalyx? You wish to be the King of Veressia?” He shook his head. “The people will never accept you.”

“I have no use for a crown.”

“Then why are you still here?” Eadric roared, spittle flying out and coating his lips. “Will you kill me now? Show these people who you truly are?”

“He will not kill you,” I replied. He drew back in shock and returned his attention to me finally, but I continued. “I will be the one to claim the honor of ending your miserable life. And then I will take the treatment from your corpse and liberate Veressia from the tomb you shoved them into.”

Eadric narrowed his eyes, and slowly he stepped up onto the stage. “I welcomed you and your ilk into my castle, offered safety and security, and this is how you repay me?”

“You stole us from our families and made it seem like an honor.”

“You know I gave him the command to kill your brothers, right? The day you arrived, they were already marked for the grave before you ever set foot in this ballroom.” His venom was hissed, quiet but no less deadly. He turned his gaze to Tallon, a vague smirk of victory in his beady eyes, as though the information would make me turn on Tallon.

The information on the timing of the order was a shock, but I refused to give Eadric anything to use against us. I curled my lips back over my teeth as my marks warmed against my skin, writhing and begging to be freed once more, to feast upon Eadric’s blood. Tallon squeezed my hand and gave a subtle nod. His command for me to let the magic go and do what it wanted. To embrace it once more. “You’re too late again, my prince. I already knew that. And now, you will pay for it with your life.”

My magic lashed out, pulling away from my skin and expanding into a mass of inky darkness, all sharp edges and smoke twining together. Tallon was the only one in the ballroom who did not flinch and cower in fear.

The mass slithered over to Eadric, who—with no magic left to call upon—was petrified where he stood, and wrapped around him, squeezing tightly around his limbs, his torso, his neck, before covering his face. I did not need to see beneath the blackness to know that it was forcing its way into his nose and throat—I could feel him choking beneath the power.

Tallon reached his hand out, twining his fingers with mine. To the crowd, perhaps it was a sign of endorsement, but to me, it was reassurance. Reassurance that it was notmewho was beginning to choke on my own blood. “Draw it back,” he murmured. “He does not deserve the dignity. Let them see him die.”

I imagined the swarm of shadows sinking back into my skin, warming my body from the inside out, and like a snap, they retreated from Eadric’s body and did exactly that, settling back along my arm and neck. They had grown again, spreading across my chest and collarbones now and nearly reaching my other shoulder.

“You’re dead, my prince,” I whispered. This time, with Tallon at my side, I did not flinch or falter when blood began to pour from Eadric’s nose and mouth. I did not retreat into my own mind or picture my mother’s body. I watched, and I relished the Coward Prince dying by the very weapon he’d sought to control. It may not have been at Tallon’s hand, but knowing we were both free now was a relief.

He clutched at his throat and choked, blood flying from his lips and splattering across his face and chin. Trembling hands reached out towards the crowd, begging someone to help him, but no one moved. Money could not buy loyalty, it seemed. Another gurgled attempt at Eadric speaking echoed across the floors. It grated on my nerves as well, his audacity to die as dramatically as he had lived. His face was both flushed and pale as he suffocated on his own blood, spitting it out with each rasping breath that only sucked more of the crimson poison into his lungs.

Sylviana curled against my leg on the side opposite Tallon, and I couldn’t help the smile that formed. “It’s funny,” I murmured to them without looking away from Eadric, who was still trying to take his last breaths. “I’d always feared the dark before. But the two of you seem content to turn that around.”

His chuckle was low and rich as he stepped ever closer, our arms nearly touching now. “Now you are the darkness. And no one will ever harm you again.” He leaned down, brushing his lips against my ear. “You have never looked more stunning than now, my wolf. I cannot decide if I want to show you off across Veressia and the Beyond, or if I want to lock you in my room and never leave.”

My body thrummed with both power and arousal, but I was all too aware of the slowly dying prince and his gaggle of revelers to respond the way I wanted to. We still needed the treatment, and I still needed to get to Emyl as soon as possible. “After,” I promised. “You can do both, after we see Emyl.”

With a last gasping choke, Eadric’s body slumped to the floor, falling into the pool of blood, his unseeing eyes staring up at the bejeweled ceiling. The tomb of his own creation.

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