“Are you all right?” I glanced at Trevor.
“Fine,” Trevor said as he searched my eyes.
I nodded in answer to his unspoken question. Yeah, I've got a plan, Honey-Eyes.
“Release Trevor's manacles then push him away and take my hand,” I said to Marduk. “Trevor, trace as soon as you're free.”
Trevor grimaced in frustration but nodded.
Marduk watched both of us carefully, eyes darting back and forth, while he removed the manacles from Trevor's wrists. Then he pushed Trevor, sending him stumbling away from us as he grabbed me. The situation had crossed out a couple of my options. I couldn't use Lust or Illusion now. So, that left Lunacy or Love, but I really didn't want to make Marduk any crazier than he already was.
I shoved heartbreak into Marduk as soon as he touched me. He cried out and fell to his knees as Trevor traced away. I got one glimpse of my husband's gleeful expression before he disappeared. Then I focused on Marduk, stripping away any chance of him finding love and making him feel it. Forcing him to experience the heartache of being eternally alone, without the one person who could warm his cold existence. Marduk screamed and clutched me tighter, pulling me down with him to the sand.
I smiled into his face as his army wavered uncertainly. “You're not the only one who can change a person's destiny.”
Marduk's head shot up and his eyes narrowed on me as he slapped a hand on the Tablet. “Maybe not, but I do it better than you, bitch!”
Something wrapped around the magic I'd sent into Marduk. It clutched Love tightly then pulled. The butterflies of my Love magic burst inside me in a shower of blushing sparks. Those sparks tore through me like shrapnel, borrowing through my body and then out of it completely. I screamed and fell forward onto Marduk. A cord snapped inside me, and I heard the roar of the Great Wolf echoing into silence. Marduk clutched me to his chest like a lover and laughed softly in my ear.
The pain drenched my mind. I couldn't think. All I could do was feel. And I felt so very much. My magic seeped out of me with an acid burn and flowed into Marduk. Was this what it was like when I took magic from a god? Did they feel this soul-shattering torment? I gasped as Marduk pressed my cheek against the stone of the Tablet; it was warming with my power. With the magic it was funneling from me into Marduk.
Dragons roared and a pride of lions answered them. The pound of hundreds of feet shook the earth. An enormous shadow coasted over us and then another. Fire rained from the sky.
“I will fucking kill her!” Marduk shouted. His grip loosened as he focused on the incoming army. “Stay back or I'll take everything! All she has and all she'll ever be!”
I opened my eyes and saw Marduk's army rushing forward to meet mine.
Do something! Alaric shouted in my mind. Do it now, Vervain!
Something tingled inside my chest and reached for Marduk. Of course! I'm the one who takes magic, not him. I reached into Marduk and grabbed Love with my mental claws. With a growl, I jerked it back into me. Marduk flinched and refocused on me with a shocked expression. A magical tug-of-war began between us. The butterflies fluttered until I could feel their vibration throughout my entire body. Just a little more.
I wished that I'd worn the emerald Odin had given me; with it, I could have taken Marduk's magic too. I could have drained him. Why hadn't I taken the time to think past my rage? I always wore my emerald into battle just in case of moments like this one, but I'd been consumed with anger and fear for Trevor. I had raced off without considering all of my options. No matter. At least I had remembered who I was and what I could do just in time. The thought centered me and strengthened my grip. Every second made me stronger, and I was about to push away from Marduk when he began chanting.
The Tablet of Destinies trembled. Magic gathered within it then burst forth. I felt something snap inside me, but I clutched Love even tighter. I pulled harder. My mental grip slipped like a bloody fist, and Love snapped away from me. I reeled through confusion as I tried to regain a hold on my magic. There was nothing to grab, or rather, no way for me to grab it. The Tablet had either destroyed my ability to take magic or taken that too.
Marduk started to chortle.
Vervain! Al shouted.
The battle had weakened me, but I condensed what little strength I had left and shifted my right hand into a claw. When all is said and done, there's a reason why I rely heavily on my dragon. She never lets me down.
With an enraged roar, I lurched up and stabbed upward. The blow glanced off Marduk's jaw, but I still sliced open the side of his face and one eye. He screamed and rolled away from me, clutching at his face. I wobbled to my feet, unable to even trace. I was about to fall right onto Marduk again when an enormous dragon claw closed around me and lifted me into the air.
That's when it all went dark.
Chapter Sixteen
I floundered in darkness. Somewhere in the distance, the dim light of a star shone, but I couldn't reach it, and it refused to illuminate my path. Beasts prowled the inky-murk around me. I could feel the brush of their fur on my back and the heat of their breath on my cheek. They wanted blood but not mine. An enemy. They craved vengeance on my behalf. But why?
I squinted into the gloom. Finally, the Moon rose, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was still with me even if my star had
