Page 49 of Iridian

It was too late, indeed.

The small lights that had come from those eggs slipped into the helmets of the skeletons. The ground underneath their leather-covered feet moved. I could have been looking at a fucking movie because no way was this real—yet it was happening. The lights must have traveled down the skulls because now they were shining in the middle of their ribcages. Right in front of my eyes, in front ofallour eyes, pink flesh was appearing out of thin air and wrapping itself around the skeletons. Blood—all that blood was just sprouting into existence over them, and layers of skin were stretching from under their armor plates, up and down their whole bodies. Making them whole. Making themalive.

While the rest of us watched.

Somewhere below us, the sound of the Devil’s laughter reached our ears, but there was no time to fear him. Thoseskeletons were no longer skeletons—they were men dressed in armor, but…

They weren’t moving. They were still as the rocks to their side, and though I couldn’t see their eyes, I was willing to bet anything that they were closed.

The soldiers of the Delaetus Army had gained flesh and blood and skin, but they were still not fully alive.

I confirmed that when Hill, no longer chanting or spreading his arms around, turned to me. Our eyes locked. His were bloodshot, sunken in, like he’d lost a lot of weight since we last met in the Regah chamber.

His smile sent shivers up and down my body when he raised his hand toward me and said, “I’m going to need my bracelet now.”

Ice-cold chills ran down my back and it felt like a flame ignited in my core that was threatening to melt me at the same time. The image of those skeletons gaining flesh and blood and skin remained in front of my mind’s eye as Hill continued to smile with his hand outstretched, as if he really thought that I would give him the bracelet, just like that.

A hand over my leg.

My heart jumped until I remembered that I wasn’t alone up here with Hill. I remembered that Taland was right behind me, and he was pulling me toward himself with all his strength while he tried to make it to his feet at the same time.

At the sight of him struggling, a brand-new energy came over me, enough to help me reach for the rocks for support and stand when he did. My heart beat a mile a minute. I was breathing heavily, black dots still in my vision here and there, but I was moving. I could chant and I could fight and I could use my bracelet now—nothing stopped me. Nothing held me against the rocks.

And Taland was the same.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to make me come and get it,” Hill said, lowering his hand again, putting both in the pockets of his white pants. He wore all white—even his boots were made of white leather, and his hair had grown longer than I’d ever seen it, and the hollows of his cheeks made him look sick.

His eyes, though. His eyes were still as wide and as alert as ever. Asgreedy.As empty. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, and his would make you think that there wasnothingin there. No soul to speak of. Just pure, raw malice.

“We won’t let you get away with this,” I said through gritted teeth because I couldn’t help myself, and I couldn’t help the fear or this voice in my head that insisted that he couldn’t be beaten. He was far too powerful now—and the Delaetus Army was complete, the skeletons turned to people.

Though nobody was screaming yet, so I hoped that they were still not moving.

“And how do you plan to stop me, Rosabel? With your Council? With your pathetic soldiers?” Another laughter. “I have an army of undead.”

And I have the bracelet,I thought. “Nobody’s invincible,” I said—only because Taland was chanting under his breath, and I was foolish enough to think I could keep Hill distracted so he didn’t see it coming.

“Exceptme,” he calmly said. “You’ve come a long way, Rosabel. When I ordered your superior to kill you, my heart wasn’t in it, really, and I didn’t even mind that much that you survived, and he didn’t. I’ll be the first to admit I ended up slightly regretting that.”

The way he spoke, so calmly. I’d known all along since Taland told me about Hill being in Selem thathehad been the one to order Michael to kill me that day in the catfairie forest, but even so, I was shocked for a moment. Even so, I couldn’t help but feelsorryfor Michael now, knowing that it was Hill who’d probablythreatened him, told him that he’d kill him, if Michael didn’t agree to kill me.

“You’re pure evil, aren’t you,” I said, despite my better judgment. “Erid was my friend. You almost killed Taland—you’re fuckingevil.”

His brows shot up. Here I was, completely worked up and shaking, while he acted like he had the whole day ahead of him and he took his time in looking around as if to make sure I wasn’t talking to someone else.

“Is that supposed to make me feel bad, Rosabel?” he asked. “Goddess, you’re worse than your grandmother.” Shivers ran down my arms. “Imagine my surprise when I saw the video of you stealing my bracelet.Youof all people.” His head fell back, and he laughed, but this time it was bitter. “I should have definitely tried harder when your superior failed. I should have done it myself when you came back from the Roe.”

Superior,he said. And I wondered if he even knew Michael’s name, but did it matter?

Because Taland had finished his fourth-degree spell, and he raised his hand the same moment his Blackfire shot for Hill.

I thought I’d kept Hill well enough distracted, that he hadn’t noticed.

He had. He’d probably been perfectly aware of it the whole time, and when the Blackfire reached him, he simply raised a hand and whatever ward he had about him swallowed Taland’s magic whole, made it disappear as if it had never existed in the first place.

Hill sighed then. I looked at Taland, tried to find courage in the dark of his eyes, but he knew just as well as I did that we were screwed.

Even so, he smiled for me.

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