Chapter 61 #2
Seferin places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a possessive squeeze.
Now that I know her cell is unlocked, I don’t brush him off.
I straighten in my chair as he gives me a thorough observation.
A chill slides down my spine at the sight of his faint smile that hardly reaches his cold, emotionless eyes.
Something about this situation amuses him far too much.
All the while, I’m counting how many seconds he keeps his hand on me.
It’s been seven seconds now.
I sense he’s about to pull away, so I grab his hand and hold it in mine, softening my gaze. “Thank you for this,” I say, clinging to him. “For showing her a little mercy.”
Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven—
He says nothing in response, just stares down at me with all-consuming eyes. Then he snatches his hand away.
Does he know I’m bluffing? That I don’t actually have the tome?
Eleven seconds. That’s how long he touched me.
With the mindflare, I send another thought to Thane. Now.
Several minutes later, Analla appears with Maliek gripping her by the hair. In her hand is the liphanet crystal.
“Analla!” I push out of my chair and dash her way, but Seferin rushes in front of me, holding me back with a solid hand.
“Before you reunite, I need you to take the crystal, Zaira, and bind your soul to it.”
I stare at the crystal briefly before eyeing him.
“Take it.” His smile fades, and his nostrils flare.
“If you want your sister to live, you’ll take it.
But you must know that once you have it in your hands, you will become my source.
You won’t die, I’ll be sure of it, but you will become weaker over time as I draw from you.
You will become the mortal who strengthens my magic.
You will fuel the land I reign in. After all,” he sneers, “the braver the heart, the stronger the magic.”
“But can’t you get that kind of strength from the tome?”
“I could…but why bother when you’re right here?”
I look from him, to Analla, to the crystal.
“You’ll let her go?” I ask.
He gives me a subtle nod.
“Zaira, don’t.” Analla steps away with the crystal and holds it close to her chest. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Analla, I’m doing it for you.” I move around him to grab her arm and give it a gentle squeeze. “You heard him. I won’t die.” I swallow, peering at Seferin. “Will I still get to see her, at least?”
“No.” His answer is firm. Final. He narrows his eyes.
I’m stalling. I think he can sense it.
Maliek pushes Analla forward, and she trips over herself. Her knees slam to the marble floor, but that doesn’t stop her from raising her shaking arms in the air with the crystal in her hands.
“I’ll end it here,” she declares. “It’ll end right now with me. I won’t let you have my sister!”
My heart drops once again. She’s going to smash it and probably destroy the parts of her soul inside it. She could die if it breaks.
Seferin sighs and rolls his eyes, clearly bored and growing impatient. He bobs his head at Maliek, who marches toward her and grips her throat.
“No!” I yell.
She groans as he elevates her by the throat and chokes her.
“Stop!” I scream. “What are you doing?!”
“Take the crystal,” Seferin growls, side-eyeing me. “Take it and your sister will be restored. She’ll live the rest of her mortal years in peace, however long that lasts.”
“Okay, I’ll take it! Just stop choking her!”
Analla still clings to the crystal, struggling to shake her head behind Maliek’s grip as a vein bulges out on her forehead. Maliek only squeezes tighter, though, curling his fingers, ready to close them in a fist and end her life.
He’ll do it, too. I know he will. Seferin isn’t bluffing. Whether Analla is dead or alive, he’s going to make me take that damn crystal.
Anxious, I rub my forehead hard to get the mindflare going. Now!
I snatch the crystal from her hands before Maliek can choke the life out of her. Analla lets out a broken cry. The crystal is hot in my hands, pointy and light in weight.
Maliek lets Analla fall to a heap on the floor. As if the curse is fading as it transitions to me, Analla’s hair goes from brittle gray to voluminous brown. Her cheeks plump just a bit, too, and the dark rings around her eyes disappear.
With a sinister smile forming, Seferin does a gesture with his hand and directs the tips of his fingers at me.
I immediately think it’s too late for the other half of my plan to work.
I expect something to happen from Seferin—for some kind of pain to seize me, or for my body to weaken…but nothing comes.
Seferin frowns. “What the f—”
His eyes flicker up instantly, as if he knows that whatever is wrong with him has something to do with me. I take that moment to swing the tip of the crystal upward and slam it into the side of his face. He howls, stumbling backward and clutching his bleeding face as I scream, “Analla, run!”
Analla shoves away from Maliek and bolts toward the door, but Maliek throws up a hand and wraps an invisible grip around her, hauling her backward.
“You bitch!” Seferin snarls, lurching toward me and clutching the collar of my shirt. He grips hard and yanks me toward him, causing some of the threads in the neckline to snap. There’s a deep gash in his cheek, running from beneath his sharp cheekbone to the dip beside his left nostril.
“What?” I breathe. “Men like you have made a bad habit of touching women without permission. You placed your hands on me multiple times—you still are, in fact—and because of that, your magic has been muted.”
“What?” he hisses, grimacing.
I dig into my pocket, retrieving the empty vial I bought from the sorceress and dangling it in the air by my fingertips. “Muting elixir,” I inform him. “Only more enhanced, thanks to the tome. I’m certain you’ve heard of it.”
And fuck me, I didn’t truly think this would work.
Maliek slams Analla to the floor, stealing my attention. He uses that same invisible grip to keep her pinned down, then draws a dagger and reels his arm back, ready to launch it at me.
Seferin pulls away from me to throw up a hand and shouts, “Don’t!”
Maliek freezes.
“We need her,” Seferin says.
I don’t need any of this shit. I just need my sister.
My eyes dart to the door as I wipe nervous sweat from my forehead and signal the mindflare again. It’s now or never, Thane!
Seferin notices where my eyes have gone and says, “Don’t be foolish, Zaira.” His voice is eerily calm. “You’ll never succeed. Muting elixirs fade after time, and your weak attempt prior did nothing but draw a little blood.”
Maliek lowers his arm and sheathes his dagger, like it’s all over.
Come on, where are you? I wonder as Maliek takes a step toward me.
Finally, something hits the door hard, and it flies open. A body stumbles in backward and slams down on a glass table in the center of the room.
It’s one of the guards from the corridor. A deep slit is in his throat, and blood oozes from his mouth while his lifeless eyes stare at the ceiling.
Analla screams as two sharp bolts of gold zip above her, one slamming into Maliek while another blasts harder into Seferin. Maliek flips backward, tumbling on a wooden chair and breaking it, while Seferin crashes into the bookshelf behind his desk with a deep groan.
Grunting, Maliek pushes himself back up and draws his sword as he eyes his attacker.
I place my attention on the attacker, too, relieved to see warm brown skin under a mask and hood, and eyes sparking a familiar gold.
Thane.
My heart races twice as fast as he briefly carries his gaze to me, offers an assuring nod, and then charges for Maliek.
As he does, I sprint toward my sister.