Page 70 of Wind and Water
Venora cocks her head. “Same eyes and small stature. Same mouth, but older.” Her eyes lit with realization. “I will have my creatures do whatever it takes to recapture her and rip off bits and pieces of her until you tell me the truth. I think starting with her fingers would be the most sensible approach. What do you think, Ciaran?”
“An excellent plan, my queen. Shall I send for the wolves to accompany a squadron of soldiers?” He looks from Wren to me, searching for some reaction.
“My mother is beyond your reach.” Crossing her arms, Wren never takes her gaze from the witch queen.
Venora’s eyes widen, and her voice rises. “No one is beyond my reach, wretch. I can get to anyone in all the worlds where I am queen, including this one. Do not test my reach. Give me what I want, or you will pay the price.”
Without blinking or shrinking back, Wren again says, “Humans have no magic.”
Fury burns in Venora’s stare as she rises. “You think you can thwart me. Perhaps the Riordan’s son is a perfect sacrifice to loosen your tongue.” Her focus shifts to me. Pointing at me, she shoots dark magic from her fingertips.
My heart lurches. Pain rips through my body. No air will flow into my lungs. While I clutch my throat, my knees slam againstthe stone floor. I’m drawn toward the witch queen as if she were the center of the universe. My body lies on the floor, and I float above.
Wren screams my name as she kneels beside my dead form and looks up at my essence floating above.
Staring at my hands, I am a shadow.
Light magic surrounds me as Wren’s prayers fill the place where my heart should be.
Come back to me. We are one, inseparable, unyielding. You cannot leave me, not like this.
The dark magic rips away, and I slam back into my body. Pain tears through me where evil claws at my soul. I can’t hold on, but Wren is there with her beautiful magic, keeping me within the painful embrace of my elven form.
Both light and darkness war for my essence. The way I was bound to Venora when in shadow is terrifying. I would have served her, killed for her, died to protect her, and given all of my demon-self to her service.
Now, I am the rope tugged at both ends by two powerful women, each with their own reasons for wanting me, but only one who gives me a will of my own.
Drawing on my magic, I thrust back at Venora with all my might.
Chapter Seventeen
Wren
Iwill not let go. The witch will not take Liam from me. I will die before I betray him, Domhan, or the human race.
She is stronger in magic, but my skills are foreign to her, and I have the feeling that she’s never been challenged before. No one has ever stopped her from taking an elf’s soul and condemning it to shadow.
When Liam slams back into his body, it nearly jerks me back, but Venora stumbles and Ciaran has to catch her before she falls.
Swimming with satisfaction, I’m sure there’s a smirk on my face as Liam returns from the shadow demon form. I’ve never been so scared or so elated in so short a span in my life. He came back to me exactly as I prayed he would.
On a furious bellow, Venora sends a ripple of her foul magic and tries to pull him away again.
Asking for the power to keep Liam intact, I hold him away from the power of the witch queen. Wrapping my arms around his chest, I pull him into my lap on the stone floor. I’ll never let him go, not for her to use as a slave. Killing him would have been preferable to enslaving his soul. I’ll not have it. I’d save themall, if I could, but it’s our connection that keeps Liam with me. The bond between us is the only reason I can save him. I feel his mind on the fringes of mine as soon as he comes to his senses.
His pain is my pain, but I can’t break Venora’s magic. It’s too strong, and she’s too powerful.
As she keeps screaming and trying to make him a shadow demon, her skin pales, and her eyes begin to look tired. The scar on her cheek darkens and enlarges. It’s a burn, and there are the same types of burns on her hands.
“Stop, my queen,” Ciaran begs. “You are using too much magic at once. Please stop.” He holds her around the waist to keep her upright. Worry fills his eyes.
The tingle of Liam’s magic shoots along my arms as he mumbles something and throws light magic across the room. It hits them like a sonic wave, and they both fall backward to the floor with Ciaran breaking her fall.
Liam gasps for air, and his deep blue eyes lock with mine. “You wouldn’t let me go.”
“Never.”
Across the room, Venora’s skin is tinged blue. Her chest is still.
