Leaning over, he brought the warmth of his body to me and pressed his lips to mine. It was one of those sweet and unexpected kisses that made my stomach flutter.
“Okay, it smells like dead ass in here. Can we do this later?” Elle piped up from behind me, and we both pulled away, grinning.
“Be careful,” I told Liam, edging forward.
He took the sword in his hands and immediately winced.
“What’s wrong?” I reached out, and he recoiled, eyes darkening.
“Nothing. I’m fine,” he growled before slipping the sword into the scabbard at his hip.
“Let’s bounce.” Elle turned to leave, and I nodded. Now that we had the sword, there was no reason to stay.
The three of us made our way out of the room and into the hallway. Once Elle slipped through the stone opening and back into the demolished turret room, I had Liam go next, and I brought up the rear.
As soon as I stepped out into the room, I heard it again. “Daughter of Light,” the black goo hissed as it wound and slithered and started to gather in the corner of the room.
Liam’s eyes widened. “What the hell was that?”
Elle took one of her throwing knives and chucked it at the inky blob snake. It moved out of the way expertly, then hissed again, rearing up.
“Lily. Walk slowly over to me.” Liam’s voice was deadly calm, and I realized that they were on the other side of the room, with me five inches from the coiled demonic snake.
Trying to keep my heartrate down, I walked slowly over to where Liam stood. Out of the corner of my eye, a black rope lashed out and wrapped around my ankle.
Shit.
Elle and Liam screamed at the same time as I was yanked to the ground. A bone-chilling cold wrapped around my leg and seeped into my soul.
Princess must not restore Faerie. This time, the voice was inside my head, which scared the living shit out of me. With my other foot, I kicked the snake-like blackness to try to dislodge it, but it didn’t work.
“Use the light magic!” Elle shouted, standing over me. Her arms were outstretched like she wanted to grab it and yank it off me but had thought better of it.
Light magic. I needed to stop forgetting I had that! I reached up to bring my hands around the snake, but before I could, Liam stepped over me and brought the Sword of Night down in one big arc. He plunged it into the thickest part of the creature—avoiding cutting off my foot, thankfully—and an unseen force slammed into the wall beside me, cracking the stone.
Pain sliced up my thigh as the black snake hissed and slithered slowly off of me, retreating to the corner of the room. I pulled warm sunlight magic through my palms and blasted it in the corner for good measure. The oily snake blob was incinerated by my light, and Elle offered me her hand.
“That was close. Thanks, guys.” I stood and noticed Liam was still staring at the far wall, holding his sword.
“Li—”
“I’m fine!” he snapped, and sheathed the sword, spinning away from me and tearing out of the room.
Elle and I shared a wide-eyed look. I picked up the pace, running after him and out into the frigid cold. Wind slapped against my face as I slid across the ice before slamming into his back.
“Stop!” I yelled, and spun him around.
His eyes were like a blue ocean with threads of blackness weaving through, and I could see that the darkness had him.
“Liam, you’ve had this sword five minutes, and it’s already affecting you. How are you going to carry it three hours home?”
His chest heaved as his lips pulled into a frown. “I’m fine…it’s just bringing up…dark memories. Things I’ve done that I regret now.” He looked so scared and sad. It pinched my heart.
“Liam, let me carry it. I don’t have that many dark memories. I can handle it.”
If this thing was playing on all the bad shit he’d done, then maybe it was better that I carry it. Other than witnessing my mother’s death, there wasn’t much it could do to taunt me.
He shrank away. “No. You’re too pure.”
He’d said this before, and the way that he said it made me sad…like he didn’t see us as equals. “Liam, I want to help you.” I reached out and cupped his face.
He didn’t meet my eyes. “You do help me. You just being you is…you’re amazing.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s just get back. I’ll be fine.”
He took my hand in his, and we walked to meet up with the others.
I didn’t want him carrying that thing for three freaking hours. Even standing near him and holding his hand while he had it was making me feel sick. We could fly to the Spring Court in one hour.
“Liam and I will fly back and meet you all there,” I told the group.
Trissa frowned. “I’ll go, too.”
I shook my head, “No, stay and protect the others. I have the sunlight magic, remember? We’ll be fine.”
Not to mention Liam could freeze anything and now had this crazy-ass sword at his disposal.
Elle and Trissa looked disappointed, but I didn’t care. I wanted Liam back in the Spring Court and that sword away from him as soon as possible.
I didn’t bother looking at Liam to see his reaction. He was flying back with me right now, whether he liked it or not.
After nearly an hour of hardcore, fast flying in which we barely spoke to each other and Liam became increasingly sullen, the riverbanks of the Spring Court appeared in the distance.
“Almost there,” I told him with a small smile.
He gave me a side glare but said nothing, and I worried that the sword was worse than Jasper or any of us had imagined. I worried it had taken hold of him.
I was just about to suggest for the hundredth time that he
