Page 98 of A Court So Dark
I crashed against an invisible barrier and fell to the ground. What was this? There was some sort of force field around her, a barrier not of her making. I could tell by the foul feel of it.
It was Mythorne!
He was her opponent, and he had locked everyone out to ensure he could destroy her, to prevent us from coming to her aid.
I scrambled to my feet, already knowing what I must do to get to her.
Wasting no time, I let myself dissolve into shadows.
CHAPTER 39
DANIELLA
Myeyeswerewideopen now. Light poured out of them as well as from every pore in my body. It was pure energy, a radioactive mass of power.
The brilliance around me was beautiful and absolute. I spread my arms out and wiggled my fingers. I no longer needed to direct my attack at my enemy. I could simply will it so. A feeling of ecstasy filled me. I knew it would be brief, knew that Mythorne had stored more magic than me, and I would run out first.
But it was all right.
When I was gone, he would be weak, and my friends would be here to take him. Elf-hame would be free of his tyranny, and the land would remain untouched by war. Kalyll and others would make sure of that.
There was no better way to meet my end.
My legs faltered, and I took a step forward. I was near the edge, teetering. I only had a tiny bit more to give.
The beautiful brilliance turned murky. Shadows rose from the ground, climbing toward the sky, quickly forming a dome around me. Around Mythorne.
At first, I didn’t understand what was happening, but then that sliver of darkness that lived inside me nodded its head in acknowledgment as it sensed its match.
Kalyll was here.
I could almost taste his presence, sharp and lethal.
For a beat, I reveled in the knowledge that he was here, then that feeling of joy and relief melted into dread.
No! What are you doing?
—I’m here for you, melynthi.
Somehow we were communicating inside our minds. That part of him that lived in me heard him now.
The shadows drifted away from me, sliding down the cupola that surrounded us like a bowl trapping vermin underneath it. What was it? Some sort of force shield, I realized, and Wölfe had entered it, had drifted in like smoke under a door.
Stop! You don’t know what you’re doing. He drinks magic. He will consume you.
—I love you, Dani. For all your pain, I’m sorry, and for all you have given me, thank you.
Stop right this moment!I ordered.
But he wasn’t listening anymore. Instead, through our link, he sent a feeling of peace and love, the idea that everything would be okay, that I would be safe and well.
No, no, no.
I scrambled to think of something. Anything. But I couldn’t stop him. He was shadow and I was light, and here and now, we seemed to slip through each other’s fingers.
The brilliance attacking my own was abruptly engulfed by the darkness, like Kalyll trapping Mythorne in the palm of his hand. Under the now dark and moonless sky, it took my eyes some time to adjust.
Unbalanced, I fell forward, my knees smashing into the ground.
