Page 5 of Prisoner of Steel and Shadow

“Excuse me?”

“That’s not even the best threat I’ve heard this week. If you’re trying to intimidate me, Nightshade, you’ll have to try a whole hell of a lot harder.”

Lukas’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t act.

Ronan silently groaned. If he’d realized it was going to take this much effort to get the man to attack him, he wouldn’t have bothered with stealth in the first place. He could think of a dozen men, his best friend among them, who would have had a blade to his throat by now. What the hell was Lukas waiting for? He had the upper hand. There was no way Ronan was getting out of this. So why the hesitation?

Realizing he would have to take matters into his own hands, Ronan stepped forward and slammed his forehead into the other man’s face. Shouts rang out as blood sprayed from his nose.

“You’re going to die for that.”

“Finally, you’re getting the idea.”

“Who are you?” Lukas growled, a flickering ball of Fire in his hand.

“They call me the Butcher.”

A vein spasmed in the other man’s throat. “Liar.”

“Am I? You sure about that, Nightshade? Willing to bet your life on it?”

People were openly trying to flee. He may not be wearing the famed armor or carrying the sword they’d heard so much about, but they weren’t going to take a chance Ronan was telling the truth either. Smart.

“I don’t have to. I’ll take yours instead.”

Ronan grinned. “You can certainly try.”

Chaos erupted all around him. Four of Lukas’s most loyal followers darted forward to restrain Ronan as Lukas shouted, “Seal the room! No one leaves until this fucker is dead.”

Wind whipped through the underground chamber as the ball of molten flame swelled in Lukas’s hand.

“You really going to throw that at me with so many of your people around?”

Flames danced in the other man’s eyes, making him appear absolutely unhinged. Ronan felt his own power begging to be unleashed, but he tamped it down.

“Oh, I’m not going to throw it at you. I’m going to melt you from the inside out.”

Ronan swallowed, knowing just how literal the threat could be. Depending on the strength of his gifts, Lukas could suck the air from Ronan’s lungs. Or make the blood boil in his veins. He could even take that ball of Fire and find a way to shove it into his body while leaving his flesh intact. Such was the power of the Chosen.

Bracing himself for the worst, Ronan shuddered as Lukas inhaled, sucking the swirling ball of red, orange, and purple flame into his lungs. As a master of multiple elements, he must be immune to the burn. Lucky bastard, even he could admit it was a cool trick.

Then Lukas stepped forward, death shining in his eyes.

This was it, the moment he’d been waiting for. There was no escape.

His final battle had begun.

But now that it was here, Ronan didn’t feel quite so willing. Nothing had changed, yet... something in him rebelled at the thought of this being the end. He struggled against the men holding him but couldn’t shake them off. He tried again, this time calling on his Earth magic to give him a boost. It didn’t help.

Ronan was well and truly fucked.

Lukas took the final step and grasped Ronan by the jaw, forcing his mouth open. Knowing that this was the end, that it was really over, he allowed his eyelids to fall closed, picturing a raven-haired beauty with forest-colored eyes just as Lukas blew a jet of flame straight into his mouth.

Reyna... I’m sorry.

CHAPTER3

RONAN

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