“You failed her. Left her in the past. There’s nothing you can do. For everything will catch up to you. Nothing you can do.”
“Lies,” the Lonely King bellowed.
Again, the room shook with him. There could be no doubting whatsoever that he was using his own personal magic. It wasn’t whatever device was in his pocket. It couldn’t be one of his many faceless assassins operating from the shadows. No. The more I wound this guy up, the more he let loose with his power, and the more time and opportunity it bought me.
Even if the least I could do was unsettle him, it would make him more likely to make a mistake. It would buy us time.
And, at the very least, it would help me figure out what his power was.
“No matter how many hearts you steal, no matter how many sacrifices you amass for time, you will never appease it. The consequences for your soulless magic have finally caught up with you. They will make you lonely forevermore.”
The Lonely King shook back. His eyes blasted wide open. I may have struck a nerve when I’d figured out he was using this time spell to draw some woman from the past, but now it looked as if I’d punched him right in the heart.
The Lonely King… the Lonely King? What if his magic was what made him lonely? What if his magic was what had cost him this woman in the first place?
It was another gamble, but I was on a roll.
“Your magic has condemned her, and tonight, you will die,” I repeated.
This time, the Lonely King didn’t scream, didn’t shake the room with his magical rage. Instead, he pushed down to his knees and slapped me with such force my head jerked back, and I fell on the carpet.
As I opened my eyes and stared at him, I could tell he was filled with murderous rage. But before he could push forward, collapse his hands around my throat, and choke the remaining life out of me, he came to his senses. He jerked back, wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, dislodged a line of saliva, then shoved to his feet. Shaking all over, he pushed from the room.
It took several seconds for the door to close behind him. Jim craned his neck as far as he could to the side as he focused on the disappearing door. He was still counting on his fingers, his digits moving so quickly they were like blurs.
My face quite rightly felt like I’d just headbutted a wall. The Lonely King had slapped me with enough force to remove a tooth.
With a final hiss and a crackling discharge of green magic, the door closed and melted back into the wood paneling and red paint.
Jim let out a sharp breath, pivoted, grabbed hold of the bars and stared at me. “Shit, are you okay?”
I clamped a hand to my face to confirm it was still there. “I guess,” I lied. Because I was on a roll here.
It was clear Jim didn’t believe me. He shifted down to his knees, looping his arms around the bars. They were no longer electrified, but they’d clearly done their damage, as Jim’s arms and hands were burnt and blistered from the brief contact they’d had with the charged metal.
“Christ, are you okay?” I indicated his hands with a nod. It was honestly all I could manage. It felt as if the Lonely King had dislodged my spine with that slap.
Jim let out a small, mirthless chuckle. “If you’re fine, then so am I.” He demonstrated by pumping his hands in and out, but the move was slow and accentuated how raw the skin looked.
We shared a morose moment before Jim returned his attention to the door. He shifted his head to the left and nodded at it.
My heart leaped. “Did you figure out a way to get out of here? Did I buy you enough time to analyze the door?”
“Yeah. I think I’ve got a plan.”
I pressed my lips together and pushed a long, hard breath through them. Which was a mistake, as it instantly made me woozy. I clamped a hand on my head, leaned forward, and willed myself to stay awake.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here. But first, Chi, you’re going to need to get out of here.”
I let my hand drop. I felt like my body had been shoved into a cocktail shaker. Between spinning thoughts, I managed a frown. “What? What do you mean? We both have to escape. You heard what the Lonely King said – he needs to use both of us for his spell.”
“Relax, Chi. I will get out of here. But first, you need to find a way out of this room.”
“But we have to go together—”
Jim pushed his arms through the bars and tapped them.
The penny dropped, and my heart sank. “Oh.”
“Yeah, I’m still stuck in this cage. The Lonely King isn’t stupid, but as you proved, he isn’t completely in control, either. How did you do that, anyway? I saw how much blocking agent he pumped into you – you shouldn’t have been able to use your powers.”
It was my turn to offer a grim smile. “Who said I was telling the truth?”
“Ha?”
“Never mind. I don’t think we have the time for this.” Wincing, I tried to push myself up. Though I’d done a good job of rocking back and forth on my knees and looking like I’d been in a trance, that was very different
