Page 42 of Immortal Alliance

The guards are too tongue-tied to respond.

“Tell him the Midnight Queen awaits him in the throne room,” I say in irritation.

I walk through the front of the palace, making my way across petrified wood floors and past stone walls. Black marble braziers light a passage between large columns swirling with intricate runes, and the throne of jagged shards of black onyx sits at the far end of the cavernous chamber.

The heels of my boots click on the obsidian floors as I walk up to the throne. Unseelie watch as I sit on their king’s chair.

Theren pushes through the doors a moment later, fire snapping in his vivid gaze.

“Morrigan,” he sneers. “Why do you sit in my throne as if you’re the Queen of Oronrel?”

“You and I must talk, Theren.”

“About?”

“I’ve gone deep into the forests and found no sign of Silvanus, and Variant is no further along in his search for the one who will serve as a sacrifice in the ritual. The temple has been located in the Cogost Mountains, but the same problem remains: we need the two sacrifices.”

Theren tilts his head and watches me with wary eyes. “What are the requirements? Perhaps my men would serve you better than Variant.”

“A necromancer and someone with magic in their blood, but no true arcane power. They must complete the tantric ritual of their own free will. Only then can I open the Veil.”

Theren throws his head back and barks out a tendril of laughter. “I’ve been to the Veil, Morrigan. I’ve fought this necromancer and I’ve seen the power he wields. He willneveragree to take part in your ritual.”

“I don’t need him to agree.”

The Unseelie King approaches the throne. He lifts a hand and touches my cheek, ignoring the angry hiss from the kelpie.

“So much beauty has been retained in your form over the years, but your soul is just as mangled and ugly as the rest of this putrid world,” he says.

“You forget who is in control, Theren.” I stand and grip his throat in my hand, forcing the spells within him to cause his knees to buckle. “I can feel you fighting me, puppet. I don’t like it.” Yanking my hand away, I stare down at the place on his neck where a red mark is visible. Using theinfluencedrains my power. I won’t be able to hold Theren’s mind captive for much longer.

The king climbs to his feet and his expression remains impassive, but there’s no defiance in his eyes anymore. I step down from beside the throne.

“We cannot lose now,” I tell him. “If you break free of my command, I will be forced to kill your brother. You and I had a deal, Theren: I get what I want from you, and Cambion stays alive.”

I turn to leave, but the kelpie’s sudden aggression puts me on edge. She leads me over to a dark corner where a blast of magic sends me sprawling across the floor. I look up as Cambion reveals himself from the ethers. The kelpie’s power swells as she reaches toward the former King of Nature.

Water begins to fall from his eyes like tears, spilling past his lips as he struggles to breathe.

“Morrigan!” Theren calls from behind me.

I place my hand on the kelpie’s shoulder and she stops her magic from killing him. He falls to the floor on his knees, where he belongs.

“You filth! What makes you think you can attack me?” I insist.

Theren moves to stand beside me. I see the betrayal in Cambion’s gaze as he stares at his brother, and I find it delicious.

“Whatever hold you have over him, Morrigan, he will be free of you,” Cambion hisses at me. “And when that day comes, there won’t be anywhere you can hide where I won’t find you. My allies grow stronger each day and we will have our revenge.”

“Take him to the center of the throne room,” I order the kelpie. “It’s time we remind Cambion who it is he seeks to rebel against. Let him taste the salt of the marshes on his tongue until he chokes. Let him gasp for breath only to breathe water. And when his life begins to slip away, let him crawl to the surface like a drifter at sea.”

***

CAMBION

Oronrel

I know nothing but darkness now. I don’t know whether Aima is safe or if the others are still alive, or how long I’ve clung to the traces of consciousness at the back of my mind. And all the while, I try to reach beyond this world and the next, hoping Pyre and the others can pick up my signature and find us here in Oronrel.

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