Page 113 of Kingdom of Dance

“There’s always a choice,” she whispered to herself, tears still running freely. “I have a choice.” She began to repeat the words like a mantra, drawing life from them.

Idric wanted to control her, but she always had a choice. Shemusthave a choice. She thought her own strength was so weak compared to a dragon’s power as to be almost nonexistent. But Obsidian said she was strong—stronger even than a dragon.

Alongside the pain, something else began to grow deep within her, something hot and unyielding and potent. It wasn’t true that she had nothing compared to a dragon. She had a spark the mighty dragons couldn’t claim—or even understand. And it wasn’t true that dragons were all-powerful, either. Because nothing Idric had ever put her through had succeeded in removing her spark from her. She might not understand it, but she knew no magic could touch it. Idric couldn’t compel her to do anything—not truly. She always had a choice.

The thought gave her a strength which didn’t prevent the pain, but made her able to stand up straight in spite of it. Drawing on the new heat that seemed to emanate from within her very core, she stopped trying to pull away from the compulsion, and instead turned her full focus toward it. On the outside, she remained limp in Obsidian’s arms, but inside, she felt as though she was facing off Idric himself, standing tall and strong, as she’d forced herself to do so many times underground.

You are not part of me, she told the compulsion silently.I reject you.

She couldn’t have explained how she did it, but somehow her mind knew what to do. She pulled on the heat that was growing inside her, drawing its strength up so that it spread throughout every inch of her body. Then, without making a sound, she released its power, all her attention focused on Idric’s compulsion magic, which still bound her as tightly as a snake squeezing the life from its prey.

She felt the bindings snap, the hatefully familiar power breaking off her and dissipating like mist in the sunshine. Any remaining strength left her body, and she sagged helplessly, Obsidian’s strong arms the only thing holding her up. Physically, she was weary beyond words. But her heart was light with relief.

She was free.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Zinnia!”

Obsidian clutched her unmoving form to him, his mind racing. What had he just witnessed? He’d never felt anything like it—probably no one else had either. He had a feeling Zinnia had just achieved something unprecedented in the history of magic.

Buthadit been magic? She’d pulled on some power from within her core to break the enchantment Idric had on her, he’d felt it. But she didn’t have magic, so how could it have been that? It certainly hadn’t felt like any magic Obsidian had encountered before.

His eyes searched Zinnia’s face anxiously, looking for some sign of life. Her skin was pale, and her limbs limp.

“Zinnia, talk to me!”

Her eyes fluttered open in response to the desperation in his voice, and she gave him a weak smile. “I’m all right,” she assured him. “Just…exhausted beyond comprehension.” She gave a laugh that was half sob. “It’s over, Obsidian. I’m free.”

A shudder of relief went over him, and his arms tightened a little around her. But his voice was grim as he replied.

“I’m glad you’re free. But it’s far from over.”

That got Zinnia’s attention, and she straightened at last, anxiety returning to her features as she searched his eyes questioningly.

“For one thing,” Obsidian said quietly, “we’re both still under the silencing enchantment, unless I’m mistaken. And for another, there’s still, you know…this.” He gestured around him, and Zinnia followed the motion with her gaze.

She seemed to have temporarily forgotten her surroundings, and her eyes widened in memory as they took in the still-frozen forms filling the room. She looked like she’d lived a lifetime in those minutes, but in actual fact, it had been a very short time since everyone else had been stilled by the magic. Obsidian tried to imagine what the whole scene must have looked like to the incapacitated onlookers. Probably like he and Zinnia were conspirators, but that at the last moment he’d gotten cold feet and unleashed his magic on her in an attempt to stop her from carrying out the murder.

“Are you sure you didn’t do this?” Zinnia asked quietly. “You didn’t…lose control or something?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Obsidian said.

He closed his eyes, trying to use his other sense to identify the source of the suffocating magic. It was strong, but it didn’t seem to come from the dragons, who were still watching the drama unfold in motionless silence. When he focused on them, he could feel the coiled power within both of the younger dragons and sense the intensity of their desire to let it loose. But the unknown older dragon had been clear. They were not to interfere.

The limitation, although frustrating, came with one benefit. As furious as Idric looked at Zinnia’s destruction of his hold on her, he couldn’t act directly without alerting the other dragons to his role in the whole masquerade.

All of which was to say, it was up to Obsidian to break the enchantment holding everyone captive, and he needed to do it before Idric found another way to put his plan into motion. Obsidian let Zinnia go, reaching out to steady her as she wobbled on her feet. Once she regained her balance, she gave him a curt nod, and he stepped back.

Pulling several of his stolen crystals from the satchel slung over his shoulder, Obsidian raised them before him. His role in the chaos so far hadn’t involved any significant use of magic. His reserves were full, and the magic stored in the crystals increased his usual levels significantly. He would just have to hope it would be enough.

He turned his attention from the dragons, searching the packed mass of unmoving figures standing at the back of the room. They were eerie in their stillness, only the fear in their eyes marking them as conscious. The magic was emanating from somewhere within that throng. His target acquired, Obsidian brandished the crystals in front of him, letting his own magic flow from them back into his core. He felt full to overflowing, barely able to stand still with the energy that filled him.

With a simple gesture, he sent his magic out from him, directing it to latch on to the freezing enchantment and destroy it. The power poured out of him, as eager as it had ever been, delighted to be free of the iron control he usually exercised over it. He felt his magic connect with the unknown power and begin to break it down. Sweat gathered on his forehead as he continued to draw magic from the crystals, putting all his energy into it.

He felt it a moment before it happened. With a sharp pop that he sensed rather than heard, the enchantment broke, overwhelmed by Obsidian’s magic. All around him, people gasped and screamed, many of those who’d been caught standing falling to their knees.

“Seize them!” King Bern roared.

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