Page 87 of Magic Betrayed

One of them flew off and hit a tree, which instantly began to crackle and burn. Another hit the ground, but it found a rocky spot and sputtered out. But two others flew as if guided by a malevolent hand and splashed onto the bone dry wood shingles that covered the roof of the Haversmith House.

“No,” I breathed, utterly unable to hide my horror at the sight.

“You moron,” the fae woman snarled. “She’s no good to us dead.”

“Kes, get out,” I screamed, as if that would help—as if it wasn’t nearly as dangerous out here. But unless I did something, that house was going to go up like dry kindling, and take everyone in there with it.

With terror sludging my veins like ice, I shut my eyes and reached deep. Deeper. Looking for water. It was there, but sluggish, and tried to slip from my grasp. My head hurt, and my hands were shaking, and then I felt the cold press of metal against my neck.

“Don’t,” the fae woman said coldly.

I ignored her.

She raised the blade, hilt first, as if preparing to knock me out…

But before the weapon could descend, the front door of the house burst off its hinges.

The fire in the trees died like a match being snuffed out, and a slight, trembling form stepped hesitantly out onto the porch.

Ethan.

Well, great. Now we werealldead.

TWENTY

Kes had saidshe’d been siphoning Ethan’s magic, but it was difficult to tell as he stepped out onto the porch with a dreamy, detached expression on his face.

“The fire!” I heard someone scream from inside the house. “Put out the fire.”

The fools. They’d been so afraid of the flames, they’d unleashed something a thousand times worse.

I did not blame him. Not ever. Ethan, too, was at the mercy of the magic raging within him—tearing at his mind and the very fabric of his reality. I only hoped there was some way to save us, and him, from the consequences of Elayara’s hubris.

“You probably won’t listen to me,” I said in a conversational tone, “but that man will kill us all if you threaten him. If you want to live, I suggest withdrawing and hoping to all the gods you’ve ever heard of that we can contain him in time.”

“I’ll say this for you,” the fae woman acknowledged, stroking her thumb along the sharp edge of her blade with a slight smile. “You’re not afraid to bluff.”

“I only wish I were bluffing,” I told her grimly. “And in a minute, you’re going to wish it too.”

“There are five of us, and one of him,” she said with a shrug. “Not sure what you think he can do that we can’t stop.”

I let out a short bark of laughter. “There was only one of me, too.”

Her glare was sharp and poisonous. “And adragon, you pretentious little twit.”

Fine. At least I’d tried. Now, no matter what happened to them, my conscience was clear, so I turned every bit of my attention to escaping the roots that entrapped my feet before Ethan lost control. Somehow, I had to get everyone as far away as possible before then.

Into the woods. At night. On an ankle that was likely broken.

“Hey, you!” The fire elemental suddenly strode towards Ethan. “Come over here. We won’t hurt you—we just want to talk to you.”

Oh no. No, no, no.

Ethan’s chin lifted. His slender frame twitched, and in the space of an eye-blink, the flames on the roof of the house winked out.

The fae woman swore and took a step in his direction, but it was too late. A moment later, the ground tore open as if it were made of tissue paper, and the fire elemental yelped in panic as he tumbled forward into the hole that suddenly yawned at his feet.

No one had time to even try to save him. We heard a single, terrified scream, the ground underfoot rumbled ominously, and then the hole closed with a sound like a thunderclap.

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