Page 120 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
The thunderbirds seemed to regain some of their strength, so I dug deeper inside me, using more of my magic than Brenton’s as I ordered both birds down. They fought against me, striking at my magic with the might they were known for.
Nalari kept the second bird pinned to the ground, her large talons around its neck. Although it fought her, I knew it would only take one slash of her talons to kill the feisty bird.
“Calm yourself,”she told the bird, with our end of the communication still open.“Be calm. We are your friends.”
The bird struggled, rejecting the magic we pushed into her. I felt a change, like a sizzle and buzz that spread from the bird to me. The bird blinked her eyes, and a film I hadn’t noticed cleared. When Nalari bent her large forehead to the bird’s, the thunderbird stilled and seemed to shudder out a relieved sigh.
Beside me, Brenton swayed, but he gripped my hand tighter when I tried to let go. His eyes were like black orbs. Endless and lethal.
This was the danger in our primal instincts. It was unpredictable. Could make us lethal to ourselves as well as those closest to us.
“Stand down,” I urged.
When his grip only tightened, I jerked my hand away and summoned the snow around me to hold him down. He thrashed against the snow that enveloped him but managed to push past it to tackle me to the ground.
My magic lost its control over the remaining bird, and still stunned and sluggish, it flew away with a final shriek.
It didn’t matter. Not when I had to bring Brenton back to himself.
I pushed Brenton off me, but with his canines out, he bit my arm. When I shoved him this time, it was with my magic and enough snow to pile over him so he couldn’t move.
“Stand down,” I growled, with my canines pulled down.
I wouldn’t fight him, though. I’d restrain him however I could, but not fight him. Not when he wasn’t himself.
He growled back, but his eyes flickered and started to lighten in color. He angled his face to the side as if he were curious about something. I waited, watching him as he closed his eyes only to reveal their golden hue when he opened them again. When he took a shuddering breath, I took one too and willed my mind to steady itself.
After being lost to my primal instincts, I understood. They made us stronger and not care as much.
Our more primal instincts were ruthless, but it was nothing compared to the nothingness it promised us. And every part of me wanted to let myself surrender to them.
By the look Brenton gave me, I knew he felt the same way.
Chapter
Twenty-One
ELIAS
For weeks,I split my days hunting thunderbirds to subdue them and hunting livestock the hydras hadn’t yet killed. It was exhausting and bore little result. The thunderbirds traveled in flocks; to subdue one, we had to fight the rest. So far, we’d only been able to get four more, each with my friends’ help.
Once the birds were subdued, Nalari was able to break into their minds. She’d sift through the magic we believed Leanora had infected them with and free them from the bleak fog. With their help, we’d managed to kill more of the stealthy hydras, but they hid in the deepest parts of the forest, where it was harder to track them by air.
At least there hadn’t been any more lirio or nyxx sightings or attacks.
From reading Teddy’s journals and getting a glimpse into Leanora’s thoughts on revenge, we were certain she was the one who controlled the thunderbirds as well as the other creatures and had sent them to this realm. While we still hadn’t gotten permission to return to Niev, one of theGuardians Nalari knew had promised to look through our borders and get back to us with her findings.
While it wasn’t what I wanted, it was something. Better than the nothing we’d accomplished in the past few weeks.
As we broke Leanora’s control with the birds, I tried to familiarize myself with her magic. Tried to locate where she was. Her magic was different from mine, though. Stronger in a way I didn’t recognize.
History told us that in most cases, mages were stronger than fae, but this felt like more than that, and I was certain her strength came from not only killing Blaise but also continually absorbing Alastor’s magic and soul as well as the fae she’d stolen away.
While the hydras remained in the forest and hadn’t attacked anyone, they were killing any live animal they crossed paths with. Killing without reason as they left their carcasses for us to find.
I’d had to use my magic to speed up our dams’ pregnancies to keep the people and fae of my region fed. So fast that some of the females started becoming ill from pregnancy after pregnancy, without much rest. Some young had been born with abnormalities because I’d had to speed up their fetal growth quicker than they were ready. But it kept the people alive, especially with the vegetation flourishing throughout my region.
In the town’s square, I stood off to the side as Donnie approached the audience we’d asked to come. While George and Nalari believed I should address the people, I thought it wiser to let Donnie do it. I knew I was right when people shied away from me, some throwing hateful glances as they rushed by, careful not to get too close to me.
