CHAPTER 51 MILI
“M ilica,” a voice says.
I stir, but I can’t open my eyes. Why can’t I open my eyes? My breathing becomes heavier, faster, and a cold force shoves me from behind so that I fall.
A shrill gasp escapes me as I fall, and it echoes through the chamber. The echo reminds me of something. It reminds me of another cave, where the ground was cold and jagged like this.
“You can see now,” the voice says.
Then, I can see. I don’t feel my eyes opening, but I can suddenly see everything.
I’m back there –back in the Den of the White Warlock. I’m on my stomach on the floor, my palms outstretched on the rough stone, and I quickly flip onto my back to protect my wings.
Oh, Realm’s Mother, my wings. He’s going to hurt me, he’s going to trap me here, then he’s going to break them so I can never fly again and –
“Milica,” sings Kar. Then I hear a blade unsheathe.
I growl so I don’t cry as he appears before me, then I scramble backwards to try to put distance between us. Kar doesn’t even move, he just smiles.
“A little further now, hm?” he says.
My growl turns pathetic as I push myself backwards, too panicked about Kar’s newfound powers as the White Warlock to feel the malevolent presence behind me. I gasp as I push myself back into a pool of bright, white light.
The Moon is here.
I try to throw myself to the side to get out of its clutches, but the Moon’s rays wrap around my arms, my legs, my waist, and hold me fast. I choke as the rays wrap around my throat and yank me violently back against the ground.
His illusion powers are in my dreams, even though the spell failed. He’s in my mind , even now, and he’s brought the Moon with him. I squeeze my eyes closed as the Moon forces my head backwards, threatening to blind me with its wicked light, and I start to pull my magick together.
Then the Moon’s rays grip my throat tighter, and I squeak pathetically as my breath leaves me.
Kar’s voice speaks, although his mouth doesn’t open. “Silence, faery.”
I think back, “Don’t do this.”
His voice rings out in my head, so violently that it makes me dizzy, “You are still mine.”
I try to scream, but nothing comes out. Then he walks over to me, footsteps reverberating like cold stars flung through space, as I gasp for air.
The White Warlock kneels, grabs my hair in his callous fist, and drags his jagged, rusted blade through it. My hair pulls against my scalp, his knife too dull for a clean cut, and I choke out my best attempt at a cry for help as my black locks fall to the ground beside me.
All the while, he smiles.
I feel the Moon shifting around me, and I struggle to gain some purchase against its grasp –to no avail. My wings get pulled out to my sides and pinned down, as if I’m a butterfly in some perverted collection, and Kar smiles and smiles as he drags the blade in vicious gashes on each wing.
“Mili!” Cory yells.
I hear screaming, and I open my eyes to realize that it’s me. Cory is holding me in his arms, and Max and Port are on either side of him, a hand on each of my arms.
“Oh, thank the Realm’s Mother,” Max blurts out.
Port whispers, “You’re okay.”
Cory, though, is horribly silent. I gaze into his eyes, trying to will myself to calm down and trust that I’m safe now. His expression flickers from relief to sorrow to complete, utter hatred. I know he knows this was Kar’s doing –I don’t even blame him for his anger. I just don’t know what can be done about it.
“It was the White Warlock,” I sigh, rubbing my eyes with my hands. I check my wings next, brushing over them with ginger hands. Cory’s healed them already, as best he can. I can still fly, but I’ll be slower for a little while yet.
The thought of them being broken for good ... it’s too much to bear.
Cory nods, his nostrils flaring with fury at my words. “Kar.”
“Yes,” I whisper. “He gave me a vision. He –he broke my wings.”
I see Port and Max’s eyes both widen, and they glance at each other before looking to see Cory’s reaction. They must feel him before I see his reaction, because they both wince a second before he lets out a roar that shakes the cottage’s very foundation.
My jaw falls open in shock at the ferociousness of his reaction, and I sit in shock as he turns to the other shifters. He points at Port, then at me.
“Keep her safe,” he growls.
Then he sets me down, kisses my forehead, and sprints out the front door. I cry out to stop him, but he doesn’t so much as turn around to acknowledge me.
Port and Max hold me tightly as I watch Cory shift into his full dragon form through the windows, and I scream for them to let me go. Port’s hands fall off me in shock, but Max holds me tighter.
“He’s going to take care of it, Mili,” he says softly.
“No!” I scream. “I can’t –what’s he going to do to him?”
Port and Max glance at each other, and I elbow Max as hard as I can to get him to let me go. He doesn’t completely release me, but he loosens his grip enough in his shock that I’m able to leap away from him.
“Stop!” I shout. Max and Port exchange a wary look, debating whether I’ll take off without warning. I huff to get my breath back before trying to explain. “I can’t forgive Kar, and I never will, but it’s possible he can be changed. At least we could exile him, forbid him from returning to Ethelinda.”
Port walks to me, and I barely stop myself from pulling back from him. “We can’t guarantee that you’d be safe, Mili.”
I shake my head and say, voice firm, “We must show mercy. That’s what I’ve always been taught, and it’s all I believe. I can’t let that go. I can’t.”
Max puts a hand on Port’s arm, and Port sighs as he steps back from me. Max’s gaze is searching, perhaps looking in vain for some way to understand my words. I stand firm, though, eyes flicking between Port and him.
“Please,” I plead. “We have to stop Cory. I won’t have anyone’s blood on my hands–Kar or otherwise.”
“You might not have that luxury, Mili,” Max mutters. “The White Warlock is too dangerous. He’s left Cory no choice.”
His words cut deep, but I force myself not to believe them. “Please, you must see the value in what I believe. I can’t allow violence to rule Ethelinda.”
After an uncertain glance at each other, Max and Port nod. The two of them step to embrace me briefly, and I sigh shakily and let their arms envelop me. A moment later, we take off flying through the woods to find Cory and the White Warlock.
–––
Cory has the wind to guide him, which I’m sure he’s already called upon, but I already know exactly where to go. With the two shifters following close behind me, I fly slowly through the trees and clearings, avoiding the patches of moonlight as best as I can.
When we arrive at the place Kar first fell from the sky, I see Cory and Kar are already there. Their voices filter over to me as I fly, and my breathing becomes ragged with panic at the sound of their heated conversation.
“Silly dragon, you’re just a glorified giant lizard, not a real man” the White Warlock hisses. “You haven’t the power to subdue the faery in the way she needs, the way she craves.”
I hear Cory snarl and lunge, but Kar simply laughs. Cory roars, “Do not even speak her name you pasty-white troll. You don’t deserve to have her name upon your lips.”
Kar snarls. “Oh? Well, Milica, Milica, Milica. Divine, isn’t she?” A flash of orange light blooms in the trees before me, and I hear Kar gasp with delight as Cory tries to set him aflame. “Can’t even hit me with a pillar of fire. Weak lizard boy boy . You’re no man, Cory. You play pretend, but you can’t fool me. I harness illusion –I see your lies.”
As he speaks, I hear Cory howling and lunging. The White Warlock’s voice comes from different angles with every sentence, as if he’s flickering in and out of his physical form.
Finally, I come upon the path where Cory and Kar are. Kar is dressed in a simple white robe with silver trim. His eyes are dark and hollow as ever, and the sight of him in his faux-royal garments sends a chill down my spine.
I look handsome, don’t I? His voice says inside my mind. I land on the ground, ignoring him entirely, and fold my wings up hastily as he grins at me. Max and Port immediately spread out, trying to gain some leverage over the fighting grounds.
Kar’s body disappears entirely as Cory sends a pillar of flame in his direction, and it reappears directly behind me. I scream as his hands clamp down on my shoulders, and Cory whirls to face me.
“Careful, Corinthian,” Kar murmurs. “You wouldn’t want to hurt your precious one.”
Cory’s eyes widen with fury and agony at the sight of me in Kar’s clutches, and I try to sweep under Kar’s arms to escape his grasp. He vanishes from behind me and appears in front of me where I end up, and I’m suddenly struck with a vicious anger.
Turns out I’m not such a perfect pacifist, because I lash out, fingers outstretched like claws, and drag three horrible gashes down his face. Apparently, he anticipated an attack from Cory, but not from me, because his facade splinters into shock and disgust as he stumbles back.
“Wicked harlot!” he snarls.
I pant and grin viciously, determined to keep him focused on me as the three shifters move into a position to attack. “You look best when you’re bleeding,” I hiss.
At that, Kar barks out an evil laugh. “We all have our preferences, don’t we?” Then a flicker of excitement passes over his eyes, and he whirls to face Cory. “Did you know I made her come?”
Overcome with hatred, I scream and lunge for him again. He sidesteps my attack expertly, not even needing his illusion powers to evade me.
“Impossible,” Cory roars.
The White Warlock grins coldly and replies, “Oh, but it’s true! You didn’t know? Your precious faery bared her soul to me in a moment of ecstasy.”
I pant and force myself to keep my eyes on Kar. A flash of movement passes in the trees directly behind him, and I barely make out Max’s shape as he prepares to attack.
Cory must see Port behind me, too, because when I nod imperceptibly at him, he returns the gesture. His rage is all-consuming, though, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to wait to attack Kar at the right moment.
I pant out, “You were a mistake, Kar.” He scoffs, but I feel his resolve cracking, so I continue. “Your touch was distasteful. You were commanding but selfish, confident but ignorant. Aurora did all the work anyways, didn’t she? You just ... sat there. That’s not the mark of a man, is it?”
Kar shrieks and lunges for me, and I leap backwards as Max, Port, and Cory pounce at once. The three of them have shifted halfway into their dragon forms, their teeth and hands shaped into fangs and claws. The four men tumble to the ground, Kar screaming in panic as they do.
Then I watch Cory lift a sharp-clawed hand to the sky, prepared to plunge it into Kar’s heart, and I scream, “Stop!”
Cory falters, just enough, and the White Warlock tries with all his might to escape their grasp. Max and Port pin his arms and wrench him into a standing position. A bead of sweat falls down Cory’s temple, and I see his left hand clenched, twisting viciously. As his hand jerks in a small circle, Kar cries out shrilly and twists in pain.
“What are you doing to him?” I exclaim.
Cory snarls, “He’s trying to psychically transport himself. I’m forcing the matter of the Realm to hold him here.”
I feel my eyes widen as I realize how painful that must be for both of them. I have no attachment to Kar, but I can’t stand the thought of someone dying for my sake.
I’m desperate to run to Cory’s side and beg for Kar’s life, plead for him to be exiled rather than killed, but terror at the sight of my lover’s fury keeps me rooted to the spot. I gasp out, “You can’t kill him.”
“He would have killed you!” Cory roars.
“I will not let Ethelinda be ruled by violence!” I bark back. Cory wavers at that, and Kar takes in a desperate gulp of air for the first time since Cory trapped him.
“Please,” Kar gasps. “Please.”
As much as I hate him, his words twist at my heart. I beg Cory, “We’ll banish him, forever. If he returns you can –you can do what you must. Now is not the time for such bloodshed. Cory, please .”
Everything goes quiet. Even the forest stills as Cory’s fiery rage condenses itself into nothing more than a smoldering ember. I watch Cory in a panic, afraid he’s chosen to kill Kar.
Then he whispers to the White Warlock, “Go.”