The monsters that menaced my family spun to face me, sniffing the air as their gazes landed on me. They tilted their heads, clearly curious.
Slowly, they prowled toward me. My skin prickled with anticipation, and it took everything I had not to draw a weapon.
No.
Something told me that was a bad idea. I sucked in a breath and waited, trying to slow my racing heart as they moved forward. They were so big that their heads were level with my shoulders. Each one had to weigh at least a thousand pounds, all muscle and deadly claws and teeth.
They stopped right in front of me and sniffed.
My mind raced as I debated whether or not to draw a weapon.
Then, they disappeared.
My shoulders sagged.
Oh, thank fates I’d read the situation correctly.
The cavern was quiet except for the sound of my heaving breaths. I stood alone with my family, power coursing through me. The ice walls still encased Tarron and Aeri, but they were thinner than they had been.
I rubbed my hands together. Time for a little magic.
I called upon my new power and thrust out my hands, envisioning blasting golden light that the false queen had conjured. Surely it could blow away these walls.
Nothing came.
Frustration surged inside me.
I tried again.
Still, nothing came.
What the hell?
I had magic—I could feel it. But not the power that I’d asked for, it seemed.
Fear chilled me, followed closely by anger. Had this really not worked?
I called upon an ax from the ether and gripped the wooden handle tight. The ice fortress that surrounded Aeri and Declan was closer to me, so I charged toward them, attacking the wall that stood between us.
Rage surged as I hacked at the ice. Sweat poured down my back as I gave it everything I had—the rage that I couldn’t do the job, the rage that I didn’t know where to go from here. It coursed through me like fire, and I turned it toward the ice, hacking at it until I could reach Aeri.
Finally, the last shards broke free. I scrambled through the hole and stumbled toward her. She and Declan were tied to a post, both slumped and unconscious.
“Aeri!” I called a knife from the ether and sliced at the ropes that bound her.
She twitched. “Mari!”
I cut the last of the rope free, and she stumbled forward, Declan at her side.
Quickly, I ran around to face her and threw my arms around her. “You’re okay!”
She hugged me tight, then pulled back, her gaze confused. “Yeah. I blacked out. Now…I’m here?”
“I’ll explain in a minute.”
I climbed back through the hole in the rapidly melting ice wall and sprinted to Tarron. Again, I conjured the ax. Rage still drove my motions. Even worse, there was uncertainty. I hadn’t done what I’d come here to do. I had new power—I could feel it—but not what I’d expected. Not all that I wanted.
Please let the healing work.
Something had changed in me, and I prayed that it would be the ability to heal Tarron.
My lungs heaved as I smashed my ax against the ice, the force of the blows singing up my arms. Finally, I hacked through the last of the ice, forming a hole big enough to climb through. I scrambled inside, cutting myself on shards of ice. Pain shot through my arm where the ice had slashed me, but I ignored it.
Like Aeri and Declan, Tarron was slumped against his bindings.
“Tarron!”
His head jerked up and his eyes flared gold and black.
Shit.
“You.” He hissed, thrashing against his bindings. His muscles bulged and his face turned red as he fought to reach me.
I gripped his shoulders and shook him. “Tarron! I know you’re in there!”
“I’m coming for you. She’s coming for you.”
That bitch. I couldn’t take it anymore. She’d been hounding me since this began, and I was going to take her out. I didn’t care that I didn’t have the magic she did. I was going to end her.
But first, I was going to heal Tarron, damn it.
I wouldn’t fail at that. Couldn’t.
I sucked in a deep breath and gripped his shoulders tightly. My new magic bubbled up inside me, and I fed it into him. “I’m going to find this poison and drive it out of you.”
“The hell you will,” he growled.
My magic connected with his, and suddenly, I could feel the curse that was inside him. Like black ink spilled over his soul, it polluted him. The curse took away the goodness and replaced it with the false queen’s evil rage.
I forced my own magic toward it. The healing power connected to his soul—something I’d never been able to do before. Maybe it was a version of my mother’s magic or maybe it was something entirely new.
But it’s working.
Determination and energy flowed through me, and I pushed them into him. No way I was stopping this until it was done, even if it killed me.
And I’d finish in time. We didn’t have long until the final battle came, and Tarron would be on my side fully. I might not have all the magic I needed to defeat her and survive the battle—but damned if I’d give up.
As my magic stamped out the evil that had been painted onto his soul, the gold began to fade from Tarron’s eyes. The black streaks receded, and his struggles slowed.
“What are you doing?” His voice was still rough with anger, but confusion flowed between the words.
“Healing you.” My heart pounded. The darkness was almost gone. “Bringing you back.”
He jerked away halfheartedly, but the bindings kept him in place.
Finally, I drove the last of the darkness from his soul.
He blinked, his eyes totally green once more. “Mari?”
“Tarron!” I threw my arms around his neck and hugged tight. “Do you feel her anymore?”
“No. She’s gone.”
I pulled back, joy surging through me. I might have failed at part of this—but not all of it, thank fates.
I’d healed him.
Ecstatic, I pressed my lips to his and kissed him with everything I had. He groaned and kissed me back, so skilled that he swept my mind away.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I groaned, pulling back.
Tarron gave me a half smile, relief on his face. “Your sister wants you.”
I turned, exhaustion pulling at my muscles. I’d used so much magic, and I could feel it. Standing on the other side of the ice wall with her head peeking through the hole was Aeri.
She grinned at me. “Perisea is here to see you.”
Shit. I turned back to Tarron. “We’ll finish this later.”
“Damned straight we will.”
I hurried around behind him, using a dagger to saw away at the bindings that lashed him to the post.
He freed himself and shook out his arms, then turned to me. “How’d we get in here?”
“Perisea. You remember nothing?”
“I blacked out.”
“Aeri said the same.” I climbed back through the hole in the ice and found Perisea waiting for me.
Unlike before, she was in her dragon form. Awe filled me at the sight of her. She was incredible. Her crimson scales glinted in the light, and her black claws gleamed like onyx. Ebony eyes watched me carefully.
I stood still under her inspection, hoping I was passing.
Finally, magic swirled around her, and she transformed to her semi-human body.