Page 129 of Fractured
Yes, the palace could see. The question was, would it help Rune or its king—or neither?
God, it was so hard to breathe. My eyes were dry, and I was no longer crying. I was no longer kneeling, either—I’d stood up. My hands were at my sides, the magic underneath my skin painful.
Father and son were on the stairs of the dais, fighting still, moving together with the shadows they commanded.
It wasinsane.It was sick and twisted.
It wasenough.
“Nilah, stop,” Vair said, but I was walking ahead. Putting one foot in front of the other. Raising my hands forward.
Sick, twisted, sick, twisted, sick?—
“Nilah.”
Raja didn’t say it. Didn’t tell me to stop. She merely called my name, and I could have sworn I heard exactly what she really thought in the tone of her voice—stop them.
She wanted this madness to be over, too.
I didn’t turn. Didn’t think. I gritted my teeth against the pain of the frostfire that had built up in so many layers of shards it felt like I should have been bleeding from every inch of my body. Instead, my skin was pale and unbroken, just glowing from within.
Silver powder on my fingertips.
I heard my name again, though I wasn’t sure who called it. I locked the world away from my senses almostabsentmindedly, like this was a move, a dance I’d rehearsed a thousand times.
Just like in the Ice Palace. Just like in the cave.
Music.
The haunting melody of the music box chased away every ounce of fear and every bad thought from my head. Wiped it clean. Polished it.
My skin felt the slight weight of the magic, of the gloves that wrapped around my fingers. In my mind, I saw them exactly as they were. Pale blue satin, threaded with silver, feather light.
And lastly, the memory of the sharp taste that exploded on my tongue melted the world away and left me the only one standing. Floating there into nothingness. Pure.Free.
That’s how I began to search.
Helem.His name had been inside my head, unlocked by the look in his eyes and my survival instincts. But I knew him—if not the whole me, then a part of me did. I knew him and I knew his shadows.
Most importantly, I knew Rune.
Their energy was like a beacon to me even though I couldn’t see anything. My eyes were closed, and my ears were full of music. There was something leaking from my fingers, something that was either light or that silver frost.
Something that had stopped a small army of Seelie soldiers once.
Something that was going to stopone mantonight.
I moved with the music. Incredible how I could hear it with such clarity because I’d memorized every single note. The feel of the silk around my fingers and the taste of burnt sugar on my tongue merged with my need to find the magics in front of me. I was moving, walking ahead,getting closer, drawn to the shadows—not those of Rune, no. Those were just slightly more faded.
In my mind I saw the ones that were as thick as tar, blacker than the night.
In my mind, I covered every inch of them with the magic slipping from my fingers. Whether it was with light or water or frost—it didn’t really matter. But theywouldbe stopped.
Silence.
The music suddenly faded. My mind was empty, my focus sharp. The shadows were there, and they were lighting up.
They were…fading, too. Faster with each second.
