Page 86 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

The Blood Riders and Wild Hunt continued to battle one another. Blood soaked the floor, but neither side backed down.

Erissa turned her gaze upon me. “You bitch. Stay out of this.” She fired a bolt of dark magic my way.

Amolie threw up her shield, blocking the attack.

“Run!” I yelled.

“Where? They’ve locked us in,” Amolie said frantically.

Erissa moved towards us gracefully. “There is no place for you to go.”

Behind her, Tharan and Gideon engaged in heated swordplay.

A flash of light blue caught my eye. “The king,” I said to Amolie. “Baylis is going for the king.” A gaping hole smoldered in the wall of thorns. I called my dagger, but it would not return to my hand.

Erissa cackled. “You and that fucking dagger. You thought you could beat me once again. But I know where to put my strikes now.” She held up a hand, sending a blast of energy, knocking theAlder King to his knees. He grasped at his neck as though an invisible rope choked him.

In an instant, she stood before him, pinning the king against his throne.

“Amolie. Now!”

Amolie triggered the smoke bombs, filling the room with a thick, acrid fog. She pushed a piece of damp fabric into my hands—valerian root.

The smoke burned my eyes as I ran toward the throne. “Baylis, don’t!”

I reached the king in time to see Baylis plunge my dagger into his heart. Hate and joy flashed in her gray eyes. The Alder King cried out in pain.

A hot scream formed in my throat, dragging its claws against soft tissue. I unleashed it into the ether.

I dove on top of Baylis, knocking us both off the dais. The ground rocked underneath us. The king and the land were connected, and the land called out to its master—feeling his pain.

“Don’t fight me, Baylis. I’m trying to save you!” She squirmed underneath my grip.

“I don’t need to be saved,” she said in an alien voice.

I held the cloth over her mouth, and she quieted, her body going limp.

“This is all just a bad dream,” I said, pulling her sleeping body to the side.

Through the smoke, the Wild Hunt arrived on the backs of their dire wolves, pouncing on the Blood Riders and tearing them to shreds. The sounds of screams echoed through the massive hall.

Once the Blood Riders were desecrated, the wolves directed their attention toward Erissa. Sparks flew from her fingertips as she frantically struggled to open a portal.

The clash of weapons distracted me from Erissa. Gideon’s sword pressed down upon Tharan’s, pinning him to the floor.

I had to help him.

‘Gideon.’I tried to make my voice as alluring as possible. ‘Gideon, I know you can hear me.’I cracked an eye open to check if he reacted, but he remained focused on Tharan.

This called for drastic measures. I conjured the magic inside me, hurling it like a lasso around Gideon’s mind, pulling it tight.

Gideon let out a cry of pain, stumbling backward, releasing Tharan.

I pulled tighter.

What are you doing?He held his hands to his head, wincing in pain.

‘Something I should have done a long time ago.’ I pulled the lasso tighter.

---