28. Aniah #3
Shadows appeared before me. I crouched, pulling a small dagger from a sheath on my thigh—
Griselda.
Her short black hair was wild, as if she'd been traveling all over. The moonlight glinted off her nose ring and the gold hoops adorning her ears.
Her dark red gaze raked over me before she turned and waved her hand in front of the skurs, causing the horde to fall one by one.
Not dead, but sleeping.
She turned to me. Tattoos peppered her dark skin, on display with the red, sleeveless fighting leathers she wore. A new tattoo from her temple to her neck caught my attention—a melting rose—my curse.
“I’ve been looking for you, little sister.” Her thick accent instantly brought me back to our time on the Dead Isles together. She grabbed me in a tight hug. I stood rigidly in her arms until she pulled away.
“What are you doing here, Griselda?” I asked, my tone sharp. The Council’s words replayed, how they'd been putting my memory curse to use. My gaze lingered on the melting rose that matched my own. Griselda noticed my stare, and her expression saddened.
“You know. What the council is doing,” I said, betrayal settled deep within my gut. “How could you?” I hissed. Griselda was the only one who had ever befriended me. Protected me. She’d been a true sister.
Her eyes flicked to the orb, and I stepped between her and it, magic tingling in my hands.
“I’m sorry Aniah. I am. Yes, I know. And nothing I say will change any part I’ve had in this historical night coming to fruition. My soul has blackened to a point I can’t turn from, but you,” she breathed, “you still have time. You were always the good one.”
“Why did you come?” I demanded again.
“To help you, this one time. Before I help lock away the Southern Realm I serve.”
“Lock it away? I don’t understand,” I said, searching her face. Thunder and screams filled the air, then a roar from the Fae army, as they began their advance in the distance.
“I’ve known what the council has been working toward for a while. And despite my involvement, I did my duty and warned the King in the Southern Realm of what was coming once the Gargoyles were destroyed.” Griselda paced before me.
“He demanded I help lock away their kingdom. No one in, and no one out. I came to help you before I did. Aniah, please, there’s no time,” she said hurriedly, glancing around. My mouth pressed into a thin line.
Griselda was someone I trusted as a child, but not now. Not with all the truths exposed tonight. And yet… I couldn’t do this alone.
“I tried to destroy it, but I can’t. Maybe if we both—” I started.
“No. You can’t destroy this with magic. It is magic.”
“Then how?”
“I don’t know!” she bellowed, followed by a ragged sigh. “I don’t know. But I can help you hide it. We need to get away from here.” Without warning, she lurched forward and grabbed my arm. We shadowtraveled to an island not far from the Gargoyle mainlands. The orb fell between us in the sand.
“Together,” she said, a look of determination on her face. “It’s not safe with us. We need to make sure it’s hidden with someone who can’t access magic.”
“How’s that supposed to help?” I demanded, my brow creasing.
“It just will! You must trust me in this. Even now, I can feel the pull of that orb. I want to grab it, Aniah. Can’t you feel it?”
I could, though I didn’t want to admit it out loud. All of that power… What it could do… I shook my head.
“You mean a human, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Her expression was sharp. “But tell me nothing of them. I’m so sorry for my part in this Aniah—”
My eyes snapped to her, my expression hard.
“It’s done, Griselda. You have to live with the choices you’ve made. We all do. But it’s never too late to right our wrongs.”
Her mouth pressed in a thin line, a tight dip of her chin.
The human’s face instantly came to my mind. She'd be perfect—least suspected. Until I could figure out how to destroy such an evil object, I knew it would be safe with her.
“I’m ready.”
My eyes drifted shut as we clasped hands above the orb, both beginning to chant.
The air churned around us, lightning striking the sand again and again and again until the ground split and a crater formed.
Our voices rose, a steady thrum beating in my ears that made my eyes shoot open.
Blood dribbled from Griselda’s nose, just as it was mine.
My arms shook, but our hands stayed locked onto one another.
The orb began to glow.
Suddenly, Griselda was torn from my grasp. Her arms wrenched free as if an invisible force pulled her away. I turned—but a dark, ancient power had a hold on me. On my magic.
I fought and pulled, trying to escape its grasp, but that orb only blazed brighter, as my magic scraped across every nerve, fighting to stay inside, clinging to me—
It was ripped free.
“NO!” I cried as more of my magic was stolen from me.
Griselda, with a war cry, pushed me away from the orb, both of us landing hard in the sand. I scrambled up to see what had happened, but the orb was gone. And the majority of my magic had gone with it.