Page 538 of Flirting with Darkness

With long, delicate fingers, she traced the necklace she was wearing. It was a miniature version of a giant water serpent, the species that lived in the rivers of Lorsan. Wound around the queen’s graceful neck, the necklace closed by the serpent biting the tip of its tail.

This piece of jewelry was created by the best artisans of Ufaris. The depiction of the creature was so lifelike, it appeared to be breathing while resting around the queen’s neck. The indigo glow of its scales blended in a most magnificent way with the pearlescent sheen of the queen’s agate skin.

“It looks simply amazing on you,” I replied, genuinely admiring how well it suited her.

“Thank you.” She gave me a smile before turning to King Aigel again. “Well, I hope I didn’t miss anything of value. What is the purpose of this Summit?”

The king’s expression hardened. His eyes narrowed to shards of steel.

“To make you pay,” he bit out.

With a blast of air stirred by wings, two sky fae descended from above. They held bows and arrows aimed at the queen.

Queen Relorna’s ocean-blue eyes opened wide in shock. She twisted at the waist, reaching back to the army of sirens waiting for her in the ocean. They raised their arms, sending a stream of water up from the surface. The water arch sparkled in sunlight, growing as it rose higher. But it never got the chance to reach the queen.

Two iron arrows were released from the sky fae’s bows. King Aigel flicked his wrist. Some invisible force appeared to surge from his hand, spurring the arrows and sending them straight into Queen Relorna’s chest.

She gasped in horror, stumbling backwards. Life left her cerulean gaze. Her eyes stared vacantly into the sunny sky as she tipped backwards over the edge and fell off the Summit Peak.

The world appeared to freeze for one endless moment. I stared at the spot where the queen had just been.

“Amira! Come.” Kyllen yanked his hood off, turning the deadly eyes of hissentiestoward the sky fae. He grabbed my hand, pulling me to our flying board.

The sirens bellowed in a heartbreaking lament for their queen.

“You’re next!” The sky king stretched out his hand toward the gargoyle.

King Galan spread his leathery wings, rising into the air.

More sky fae rushed to the peak. Some came from above. Others ascended from below. They must’ve been hiding just under the cliff of the Summit Peak. The sky fae released their iron arrows, aiming at King Galan, but he dove below the cliff, seemingly unharmed.

Gripping Kyllen’s hand, I jumped onto the flying board, and he brought the gears into motion.

The royal escort of gargoyles rushed up from the ground to protect their king. They clashed with the sky fae in a fierce battle of wings and weapons. Kyllen maneuvered our flying device in the midst of the battle.

A sky fae flew our way, a sword raised in his hand. His white wings obstructed the sun like a pair of clouds. Out of habit, Kyllen reached over his shoulder where he usually had a pair of swords strapped in sheaths on his back. They weren’t there this time. No weapons were allowed at the Summit. Shielding me with his body, he made the board lurch to the side, evading the sky fae’s sword, then forward as he ripped the spider silk strip from the sky fae’s face.

The other man’s moss-green eyes made but a momentary contact with the golden eyes of my gorgonian husband. That was all it took. The green irises turned to gray. The color spread from the fae’s eyes onto his face, his neck, arms, and further through his entire body.

The angelic feathers of his wings hardened and solidified, turning gray, too. The wings froze mid-flight, sending the dead sky fae crashing down onto the rocks below, his body nothing but a rock itself.

“You’re coming with me,” the deep voice of King Aigel suddenly sounded in my ear. His arms snapped around me like a lasso. With a flap of his black wings, I was snatched off the flying board.

“Kyllen!” I reached for my husband.

He spun around, steering the flying device after my kidnapper. Another sky fae wielded a long sword, launching at Kyllen who remained unarmed.

“No!” I screamed.

Freeing a hand from King Aigel’s grip, I squeezed it into a fist and took a swing at his face. “Let me go!”

He grabbed my wrist, stopping me half-way. “That’s rather amusing. Where are your manners, my queen? Throwing punches like a common drunk in a tavern.”

“And I will keep throwing them.” I wrenched my fist from his hand, bringing it back for another swing. “Until you let me go.”

“Is that what you want? Me letting you go?” The mocking note in his voice was my only warning. “As you wish.”

He loosened his hold on me, and I shifted down his body. Instinctively, I grabbed onto his shoulders before glancing down.

---