Page 4 of Darkness Rising
My lips part as I stare at him.
That was a killing blow. A rattling last breath should be shaking his lungs, not … laughter.
“I told you not to push me,” he whispers with a quiet laugh.
The green energy that seeped into his chest is thrown out with more force than I’ve ever seen. It hits the fearful attacker in the center of his body. The man slumps to the ground with a sickening thud and Jeriko is there in an instant like a starving dog.
Life, shining and bright, leaves the man’s body. It’s an apparition of who he used to be, and Jeriko gives it a five-second head start before racing after the departed soul. The man almost gets away before Jeriko’s body dissolves into a chaotic swirling mass. The magic of the Wild Hunt turns him into an ominous mass of destruction. It grows into a smothering shadow, looming high above us before crashing down on the bright soul. His dark essence wraps around the man, blanketing his soul until he absorbs it entirely.
Euphoric energy twirls all through my body, making me sigh at the feel of it. The other two men of the Wild Hunt mirror my peaceful look. Jeriko’s bulky frame turns solid once again. He looks up to the heavens with a satisfied smile slashing across his face.
Cameron’s quick movements catch my attention. His palms slam hard into the cobblestone. The earth cracks beneath his power. Trembling stones shift beneath my feet. The men stumble back and begin to run. As the world shifts for one unsteady second, I’m jostled.
My boots stumble and I fall forward hard.
Warm and calming heat meets my fingertips as I crash into Cameron. He holds my weight but we both hit the ground with a jarring impact.
Silence settles in. Our breaths fan together, drifting my long hair around our faces. His fingertips dig into my hips, sending a reckless energy all through me from his simple touch. He stares up at me with eyes just as wide as my own.
“Fuck,” is the only explanation that falls from my lips.
It’s the first terrible and spectacular thing I’ve said to anyone in over three years.
Chapter Three
The Princess
Unlawful detainment of the living; that’s the crime I’ve committed. It is a crime for a hunter or huntress to capture a live soul. Not that anyone’s ever been stupid enough to do it.
No, lucky me, I am the first.
My father’s magic pulled us to the Court of Darkness so fast it took my breath away. The invisible veil that surrounds us was ripped painfully away. Now we stand in plain sight, and suddenly, all I want is to be hidden away again.
“Stop pacing. It’s not like your father would skin you alive for accidentally stealing someone’s soul,” Link says in a reassuring voice that doesn’t reassure me one fucking bit.
I continue my slow pacing just to spite him.
He acts like this was just a small blunder. Apparently, pulling a living person into the in between world of the Wild Hunt is on the same scale as spilled milk in Link’s eyes.
My father would kill me for less. The King of the Court of Darkness has approximately three hundred and four heirs, and I’m the least favorite. Not that I’m sulking about it.
“Dude was probably going to die anyway,” Link adds, his palm pushing down the inside of my arm. His touch sends a shivering feeling down my skin and I jerk away from it and him.
“Yeah, I’m right here if you could not talk about my death like that.” Cameron cocks a brow at Link and Link gives him a side-look of disinterest.
“Cameron was not going to die,” I say, my fingers picking at my bottom lip as I remember the way his magic shook through the earth itself.
“What the fuck did she just say?” Nollix tilts his head toward me. On slow steps he stalks up to me. He stops me in my tracks and forces me to look him in his fuming eyes. The color of his gaze is like a shadow over the deepest part of the ocean. They’re beautiful, but always shining with more anger than I can handle “You can talk? I’ve watched you mouse around us for three years and this whole time you could talk?” He looks me up and down like he’s never really laid eyes on me. “We just weren’t good enough to talk to?” His height is intimidating, the sharp angle of his tightly held jaw is intimidating. Every single thing about this Fae is intimidating.
But it doesn’t stop me from shoving past his arrogant ass and continuing my thinking.
What will my father do to me?
He already sentenced me to a life of death. What more can he do?
The five of us wait in the empty hall. Jeriko, Link, Nollix, my newly acquired soul, and myself are waiting while my father discusses real problems. The glossy ebony tile floor nearly bleeds into our black boots, the lighting is brighter than I’m used to. I’m used to the warm sunlight and soft stars. Not electricity invading my sight and highlighting every natural flaw I possess.
“What will happen to me?” Cameron asks, his attention shifting over the walls of the hallway.
