Page 59 of A Fury Of Shadows

He wouldn’t poison me,Nikolai thought bitterly.Not when magic is an easier and more painful alternative.

He barely tasted the food Vedran’s attendants placed in front of him during the interminable dinner. It wasn’t until they had finished their meal and the servants had left that the Sorcerer King removed an object from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Nikolai’s scalp prickled at the sight of the metal compass sitting innocently on the pale linen.Shit.

Oscar licked his lips, his unblinking gaze fixed on the artifact. “Dietrich managed to make an alternative compass?!”

“Yes. He succeeded in recreating it while the two of you were…incapacitated.”

Nikolai cursed himself. He’d forgotten that the Immortal alchemist was working on reproducing theBook of Light,even though Oscar had mentioned it in passinga couple of weeks ago. The implications of Dietrich’s experiment had escaped him until this moment.

His heart sank when he finally dragged his eyes from the artificial compass.His father was studying him with a zealous expression.

“Open it,” the Sorcerer King ordered.

Nikolai saw Rose stiffen slightly out of the corner of his eye. His mouth went dry.

“What?” he said hoarsely, unable to mask his shock.

“Fire Magic is the key to making this compass work,” Vedran said impatiently. “Your Hellfire Magic should serve that purpose.”

That’s why I’m here.Awareness chilled Nikolai to the bone at this sudden realization. He observed Vedran’s predatory look with a sick feeling.Because I’m a pawn he desperately needs!

He looked around the chamber, stalling for time. “It might be better to do this elsewhere.”

Irritation darted in Vedran’s eyes.

He sighed and pushed himself up on to his feet. “You’re right. Let’s take a walk.”

Nikolai followed his father out of the suite, Oscar and Rose following in their steps. His heartbeat grew louder as they navigated the gloomy corridors of the keep to the main stairs leading to the entrance hall, the Dark Council members whose paths they crossed falling back reverently at the sight of their king.

He felt the gazes of the sorcerers and witches guarding the grounds upon them when they exited the stronghold.

Vedran led them down a winding path to a coppice. The outlook opened up after a minute. A pier lined with lanterns appeared. They shed an orange light on the dark body of water surrounding the island.

The lake was as still as a grave.

For one second, Nikolai entertained the crazy notion of jumping into it and swimming for his life. Alastair crooned softly, a warning that brought him to his senses.

We wouldn’t make it to the other shore.

“This should do,” Vedran said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Nikolai swallowed down bile when his father handed him the compass. The metal was heavy and cold to the touch. Every instinct he possessed screamed at him not to open the damn thing.

Mae Jin’s face flitted before his mind’s eye. His belly knotted.

Though he still felt animosity toward the Witch Queen, he realized he could now segment that emotion to an extent and stop it from clouding his every judgment and action.

What would she do in my stead?

Alastair butted his cheek gently with his head.

Nikolai clenched his jaw at the answer his familiar gave him, a cold smile tugging at his lips.You’re right. She would see this through to the bitter end and turn the tables on her enemy at the earliest opportunity, like the crafty witch she is.

He tapped into his core with that singular thought in mind. Heat flared inside his belly and surged through his veins, Alastair’s energy resonating with his own. Hellfire Magic blossomed around them with a force that cast ripples across the water.

He focused it into his hands.

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