Silence fell among the five of us as the Seelie King started to laugh again. I could feel my companions looking at me, probably wondering what our next move was. I stood there and waited for silence. I believed Belanor’s claim—the spell I’d witnessed in his head had been a possession spell of some kind, but his voice rang with truth just now.
It meant that Belanor had made his own choices.
“This is excellent news,” I said once the king was finished chortling. Hearing a shift in my tone, his brows lowered, and I could practically see Belanor’s thoughts racing as he tried to figure out why I wasn’t panicking. I tucked my emotions into that dark place where they wouldn’t hinder me. I smiled and added, “If you’re not possessed, it means I can do this.”
I knew that Belanor’s mind would be well-guarded, and I knew I’d pay for it later. I just didn’t care—I burst into his thoughts and memories like a missile.
This hadn’t been part of the plan. Earlier, as the three of us discussed laying this trap for Belanor, we’d decided Laurie would be the one to kill him, if it came to that. But it stood to reason that whoever Belanor was working for, he was afraid of them. If there was no demon in his head, I’d be able to find the memories I needed.
This time, I dug past the things I’d seen when I was last here. I hadn’t gotten much farther when I found a memory that took place mere days after the witch had forcibly performed a spell on Belanor. I saw a single image, one of the young prince sitting in an armchair, looking dispassionately down at a book.
Belanor, a voice whispered.
Just before I reached for the rest, I drew back to reality. Belanor might not survive the next few seconds, and if he died, I wanted to get in the last word. I leaned down to whisper in my tormentor’s ear, “You were never going to be as good as Laurie.”
Then I was back in his head, heading for that memory. The fear that would hold the answers I sought.
But before I could bear witness to the moment Belanor had met his master, I felt the king’s roar of panic and rage. It vibrated through me as if I were in the ocean and a tremor had gone through the water.
“Fortuna, stop him!”
My eyes shot open. I didn’t know who had shouted, but it didn’t matter; my attention zeroed in on Belanor.
He stood with the edge of the handcuff at his throat.
We’d never bothered to retrieve the other pair after the demon had torn them open, I thought with another rush of adrenaline. The cuffs had also been soaked in holy water recently, so the ragged edge would be fatal. We had to stop him. If Belanor went through with this, the knowledge of his master’s identity would die with him. How had he broken free of my power?
His eyes met mine, and they shone with a manic sort of disbelief. “This isn’t the end,” he said. “Look to the morning star. That’s where we’ll meet again.”
His arm tensed. Collith sprang forward in an attempt to grab him, but it was too late. I was too late to use my abilities, as well. The Seelie King dragged the broken cuff across his neck, using his fae strength to inflict the damage. Blood spurted down the front of his gold vest, looking black in the weak light. Belanor swayed for a moment, his expression going slack.
No one moved to catch him as he fell.
Laurie was the one to end the stunned silence. He sounded as shocked as I felt. “Bel killed himself. He actually did it.”
“Fuck,” I spat, making Savannah jump. “Fuck.”
I swung away from Belanor and had an urge to kick something. I knew I should’ve been thinking of Laurie’s loss, but I could only focus on the rage. I’d underestimated how far Belanor would go to protect his master. Without him, without Jacob, I was at another dead end. I’d wanted to find him, the creature that had caused so much pain, harm, and death to countless Nightmares and other innocents. To my own family.
Speaking of my family. Letting out a breath, I took my cell phone off one of the metal shelves—I’d put it there before Belanor’s arrival, worried it would be damaged during the mad dash from the living room to the basement—and found Damon’s name in the contact list. Miraculously, three bars glowed in the upper righthand corner, so I called him right there.
My brother answered on the first ring, as if he’d been staring at his phone the entire time they’d been gone. “Are you okay? Is everyone all right?”
“You can come back,” I said tonelessly, staring down at Belanor’s corpse again. “Yes, we’re fine. We won this round.”
“Be there in twenty.”
The line went dead, and I put my phone in my pocket, still staring at the dead faerie on the floor. I heard the triumph in Belanor’s voice as he hissed, This isn’t the end. I saw his throat opening again. That blue-black blood flying like someone had flicked a paintbrush.
Air. I needed air.
“I’ll… be right back,” I said to the others, sounding strange, even to my own ears.
“What about Belanor’s guards?” one of them questioned.
“They would’ve felt Belanor’s death. They have no reason to attack now.” Without waiting for a response, I spun and hurried up the stairs. I pretended not to feel the multiple gazes boring into my back, and then I was on the main floor, out of their sight. I rushed through the front door and onto the porch.
Just as I’d predicted, there was no sign of Belanor’s creatures or protectors. His witch was long gone, too, which we’d expected when making the plan for tonight’s takedown. That was why we hadn’t bothered keeping watch over her once Belanor sifted inside the house. Laurie had wanted to kill her, but I refused. Our main concern was Belanor. Once we cut off the head of the snake, his followers would scatter and cease to matter.
I leaned against the railing, searching the dark with a thoughtful frown. Maybe their absence wasn’t because they’d felt Belanor’s death and slinked away—maybe he truly had come alone. If that was the case, then Belanor’s arrogance had been the cause of his downfall.
I wanted to learn from his mistakes. Anything to avoid meeting the same end. I didn’t want to cut my own throat in a dim, concrete basement. Alone. Hated.
I stood there for so long the cold began to creep through my bones. No one tried to speak with me. Not even Finn. Though I tried to keep my mind empty, it felt like I’d lost hold of the reins to myself. Thoughts and emotions galloped through me.
In the space of a single day, I’d managed to bind another person to me and take yet another life. I may not have cut Belanor’s throat myself, but his death was my doing. He’d deserved it, I knew that… and yet, guilt was already breathing down my neck. Guilt for liking it. Guilt for enjoying his violent end. It meant that Gwyn really was right about me. What if, in spite of all my efforts, I was still on the path to becoming her?
Something moved at the corner of my eye, pulling me out of the swamp of thoughts I’d fallen into.
This time, I wasn’t surprised to see Laurie at my side. He stared out at the black sky, as well. I expected him to say something about Belanor, or acknowledge that he’d lost a brother today. Instead Laurie said, his tone matter-of-fact, “Do you have any idea how magnificent you are?”
I gripped the railing, uncertain why the words made my insides roil. “Stop. Please. I’m a fucking monster.”