fingers and imagined choking Adam to death again and finally revealing his real face. His power would overcome the deadly metal within a day or so, and he would be more dangerous than ever—and pissed off. Even though he was exhausted, he resisted the temptation to reach out to Ella. She didn’t need to hear his woes. The last thing he wanted was for her to come running to save him. Hadn’t he done his best to make sure she never wanted to see him again?
His smile faded and he listened intently to the magic-infused black darkness. His enemies might have forced him to play their games, but there was something they’d forgotten.
In Otherworld, he was invincible.
Ella had no idea what time it was, only that since she was last outside, it had started raining and it was dark. As soon as she magically punched her way through the walls of her dungeon, she’d been returned to the square where she’d arrived. She loitered in the trees near the exit, concealed in the green shadows. Water continued to gush out of the fountain in a soothing refrain, but there was no sign of the queen or any of her guards.
That was weird.
Why
She checked around the square, using both Vadim’s magic and her empath abilities. It was odd...the more she accessed his power, the stronger it seemed to be and the easier it rose to her amateurish commands. No wonder Vadim had been feared so greatly. She was only using a fraction of it, and it scared the pants off her. It was like being given the keys to a racing car after driving a tractor.
A shadow moved at her left. For a moment she wished she had her familiar weapon with her, but she had so much more in the tips of her fingers. Magic that was far more suited to Otherworld, as well. She needed to find Adam before the queen mother or the king found her. She attempted to clear her mind, but found it impossible as a clear sense of danger clouded her judgment.
“Dammit!” She walked toward the shadows, but instead of dispersing, they seemed to thicken. “What do you want?”
A guttural laugh answered her.
“What do you think, Soul Sucker?”
The advancing troll looked somewhat familiar. His heavily furred body was naked and his black eyes shone with hate. Behind him was a sniggering group of young Garden Fae.
“Do I know you?”
“You destroyed my nest and forced me back here.” He raised his club. “Now you’re going to pay.”
He rushed her. Ella just had time to point her finger and shove magic at him before he cannoned into her and she fell to the ground. There was a
When she finally disentangled herself from the troll’s soggy remains, she shuddered at the carnage.
“Too much power, Ella. Bring it down, girl.”
She wiped at her face, which was sticky, and spat uselessly to rid herself of the unwanted taste of deep- fried troll. If any of the others had wanted to take a pop at her, her awesome display of power had sent them scurrying away. She headed back for the fountain so she could at least rinse herself off. How the hell did Vadim control himself?
She dipped her fingers into the flowing water and shivered. It was freezing. She suddenly remembered the spell he’d taught her and freshened herself up. The magic even repaired the holes in her pink jeans. Damn, it was useful. If only it worked on her face...
“Soul Sucker?”
She turned to see a woman standing quietly behind her. Even in the darkness, she registered the richness of the woman’s dress and the sparkle of diamonds in her long dark hair.
“Let me guess. You’re Morosov’s mother.”
“Indeed I am.” The Fae inclined her head. “And you are my son’s mate. I am so pleased to meet you.”
“You are?”
“Of course. Why would you think otherwise?”
“Because everyone else in this batshit-crazy place, including me, wants to kill him.”
“He is my son. How could I wish for his death?”
Ella scowled down at her boots. The apparent sincerity of the queen’s answer made her feel like a loser who had given up on her mate way too fast. But the Fae were tricky like that. She shouldered her backpack.
“Is there something I can help you with? Otherwise I’d quite like to get on.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find my face.”
The queen drew closer. “You have been bespelled? I did wonder.”
“Didn’t anyone tell you? Normally I’m blond and blue-eyed. An idiot called Adam stole my face as his third trophy.”
“But that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
She paused to study the queen’s delicate features. The female looked about the same age as Ella was, and that couldn’t be possible. It was also the second time someone had suggested Vadim had tried to protect her from Adam. “What
“Nothing.” The queen shivered. “Cygnet insisted that we stop Adam from taking your face.”
“Well, it didn’t work.”
“But why?”
“Perhaps you’d better ask your husband and mother about that.”
“We all agreed to it, as did the sect.”
“Then someone didn’t follow through, did they? You all wanted Morosov back here for your different reasons anyway. It’s hardly surprising that my face wasn’t enough to stop someone from getting what they wanted.”
“Soul Sucker—”
Ella had to look away from the ethereal beauty of the queen, whose blue eyes were now swimming in tears.
“I understand that you are angry with us, but please consider what you intend to do.”
She stared hard at the fountain and realized the figure of the woman was modeled on the queen behind her.
“And what if he still has cygnet?”
“‘Cygnet’ is supposed to be the most powerful being in Otherworld. How could anyone ‘have’ him?” She glanced down at her hands. “I feel some of his power in me. I
“But what if his power is constrained?”
“By what?” Ella shook her head. “I’m so tired of everyone speaking around every subject. If he’s so easily contained, why are you all so scared of him?”
The queen drew herself up. “His apparent weakness might not be our doing.”
“So you’re saying it’s my fault?”
“You are mated to him.”
“So what? It obviously means nothing to him. He walked out on me.”
“There are many ways a male can show his love for his female, Soul Sucker.”
“By buggering off to Otherworld to play at who’s the biggest idiot? That’s supposed to show that he
“Perhaps this time it is you who speak in riddles.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
