Page 35 of Magic Claimed
The outcome of fae magic battles depended largely on relative strength. If my magic was stronger, my shield would hold, but there was no way to find out for sure until we clashed. No way to be certain without taking the risk of being burned, and I hated risk. But we were in this now, so I had no choice but to throw everything I had into holding this shield steady. At least until I had water in my hands…
I heard a sudden splash as the mass of water I’d pulled from the pond hit the barrier, but it was followed by a series of unexpected thuds. I risked a look, and watched as a couple of terrifyingly large turtles slid down the side of the glowing blue dome and fell to the ground.
Oops. Apparently I’d yanked a little too hard. Hopefully, the poor things somehow survived their brush with fae magic without any weird side effects, like turning blue or developing magic powers. Snapping turtles were mean enough without any need for extra help.
Fortunately, even though the water couldn’t penetrate the barrier, it did soak quickly into the winter-dry ground. Once it sank in, I was able to pull it towards me through the earth, even as the first of my attackers unleashed a barrage of fireballs in my direction.
For an instant, I panicked, and my brain gibbered that it couldn’t possibly focus on two things at once.
But this time, I’d actually practiced—several hours each day for the past week—and even in that relatively short time, mymental muscles had managed to learn a thing or two. Almost instinctively, they flexed, and my shield brightened right before the fireballs impacted with a hiss and a splash of light.
So far, so good. I was at least stronger than one of the eight who surrounded us.
I heard a scream as Kira’s first victim went down and saw her pause as she considered her next move…
And that’s when things went all kinds of wrong.
The four fae closest to Kira turned in unison and shot what looked like thin, reflective wires arrowing towards her—wires that suddenly knotted together to form a sparkling, metallic net. The net flew, spread, and dropped, just as Kira seemed to realize what was coming.
She leaped up and sideways, but it was too late. Her wings were caught and pinned to her body, and she immediately crashed to the ground with a cry of pain.
It made sense that this trap would be for her and not for me. No one knew I was mated to Callum, and these fae could not have cared less about Shapeshifter Court politics. They wanted a hostage they could use to manipulate the outcome of their own power struggles, and who better than Draven’s mate?
Through Draven, they could potentially control Rath, and very likely force him to step down from the contest for the throne. Andthat, I knew, would spell disaster for any hope of peace between the courts in the foreseeable future.
So I couldn’t allow them to take her. Couldn’t allow them to use her. But the only way out of this was if my fae magic was stronger than theirs, and while I was practiced withmanipulating it, I had no way of knowing how it stacked up against others.
My water magic could act as a shield, but that wasn’t going to be enough. I needed an actual weapon, so in desperation I turned to the one thing none of them possessed. The one thing they likely didn’t know how to guard against—a fusion of my inherited powers.
I’d done it several times before, and each time grew easier—more natural and less migraine-inducing. This time it took only a handful of seconds to forge daggers of fae-magic-infused ice and send them arrowing towards the place where Kira had fallen.
Like a brutal wind, they sliced through the night, targeting the glowing net and slicing it to shreds. Thankfully, Kira's scales were impervious to magic and weapons alike, and I was careful to avoid her wings so that she emerged unharmed.
As the remnants of the net fell away, she let out a snarl of annoyance and shook out her wings.
“Thanks,” she called out. “Now let’s…Raine, look out!”
I saw her reverse course in midair, trying to reach me. Twisted sideways to avoid whatever threat she’d seen coming.
But I was too slow. I didn’t have true shapeshifter speed and reflexes, only human ones, and against fae it simply wasn’t enough.
A searing heat scored my ribs, blinding me momentarily with pain and shock. To my left, a fae male stood slightly crouched with a blade of glowing blue in his hand, the smile on his face revealing brilliant white teeth in the moonlight.
“Quit now, and we won’t have to kill you,” he said, his voice a darkly seductive murmur. “We only want the dragon.”
I could feel the wet trickle of blood down my side, and went lightheaded for a moment with the realization that I had no clue how deep the cut had gone.
Not too deep, I told myself silently. That’s what ribs were for, after all. They’d stopped the blade from cutting anything vital.
At least that would be true for a regular knife, but a magical blade? There was no way to know. But it didn’t matter. I would keep fighting until I bled out or my heart stopped or my lungs quit working.
“I wish I could help you,” I panted, hunched over a little against the pain. “But the dragon is part of my family, and I don’t like to share.”
He shrugged. “My prince doesn’t really care about collateral damage. Be it on your own head then.” And he lashed out, in a whirling strike that slashed downward at an angle towards my neck…
He never saw his death coming. A bolt of brilliant white fire hit him broadside, knocked him off his feet and…
Then he simply wasn’t there anymore.
