Page 103 of Iridian

“You…you…” Helen was trying to speak, and I slammed my boot onto her wrist hard just as she touched the edge of her sword with her fingertips. Again, she screamed in frustration.

“Do me a favor, baby,” I said, racing to catch my breath because that spell really did take a toll on me. “Drain them for me, will you? I really want to keep them alive.”

I didn’t need an answer, of course. Taland could hear me just fine through his soldiers that were by my sides, and even thoughIdidn’t know enough to separate the colors of my magic yet, his soldiers did.

The look of pure terror in Helen’s face when my words made sense to her was something I’d take to the grave. George closed his eyes in surrender. She opened her mouth to scream again, but the Whitefire magic thatpouredonto her body from the soldiers’ hands didn’t give her the chance.

Drained.She would be drained, unable to access her magic at all. She would bechained,too—in the Tomb, together with other criminals like herself. And we would be there to make sure she remembered how she screwed the whole world over, and how powerless she’d become because of it.

The deafening screams of the crowd behind me filled my ears. Helen was no longer conscious, but she was breathing. Her chest rose and fell steadily, and I turned around to see what was happening.

Nothing.

The crowd was jumping up and down with their fists raised in the air. The IDD soldiers remained right there where they were, guns and anchors in hand, looking like they had no clue what the hell to do.

And I wondered for a brief moment why they hadn’t even tried to stop the soldiers. Why they hadn’t protected the Council or why they hadn’t attacked when Helen ordered them to.

I wondered, but the thought escaped me instantly when I saw Taland, on one knee on top of that bus, and Radock and Zachary and Aurelia looking at him. Talking.

There was no way I could hear them over the screams, and I was surrounded by body pieces and skeletons wearing armor, so I couldn’t get to them as fast as I’d have liked but…

I read two words on Radock’s lips.

Stop him.

Zach and Aurelia and Kaid who’d been somewhere in the crowd were already moving, pushing the people aside—toward Taland.

My heart fell all the way to my heels. Radock turned, and when he saw me standing there with my eyes on him, he flinched.

Fucking prick,I thought. “Get me to Taland, now!” I said.

I didn’t know if Taland would hear me and order his soldiers to take me to him, or if the soldiers by my sides could understand and obey me themselves, but they moved. When I started running, thinking they’d just clear the way for me again, one of them grabbed me by the arm, andthrewme.

He threw me right on the back of the first.

The scream was stuck in my throat. I moved on pure instinct when I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips, hanging onto him like a fucking monkey as the soldier ran.

So much magic.

My eyes were watering and my nose was almost completely blocked and my body screamed in protest—Goddess, these bodies contained so much magic. Taland hadn’t been kidding when he said theyranon it—they really did.

Gritting my teeth, I held onto the soldier with all my strength anyway, and?—

Radock was in front of us, hands forward, screaming, “Stop!”

The soldier did. He stopped so fast, so suddenly, I swear it felt like I slammed onto a brick wall with my chest, even though I was literally hanging on his back.

“Get out of my way,” I said through gritted teeth.

“It’s over,” the asshole said. “It’s over, okay? The soldiers will not attack. The Council is gone—it’s over.”

“Move, Radock!”I shouted at the top of my voice because the crowd was now moving farther away on their own, and I could see how his brothers and the Mergenbachs were trying to fight the soldiers standing around the bus to get to Taland.

I could see Taland, who couldn’t even stand on his own feet anymore.

“It’sinsaneto give them up!” Radock screamed. “It’s insane! We will only knock him out, talk to him when he wakes up. He’ll be safe! He’ll be?—”

I raised my hand at him and began to whisper a spell—fuck if I cared who he was right now. I wasn’t going to let any of them near Taland.

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