Brandon looked at my hands with no remorse whatsoever. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” His cold blue eyes were like shards of ice.
I heard a cry and saw Santino fall to his knees. One Drakaar had his hands outstretched, his magic concentrated on Santino, pinning him to the ground and awaiting orders.
We were surrounded.
“Why, Brandon?” I ground out through clenched teeth, my hands continuing to glow. “Why did you do it? Why betray us?”
“Curb your magic, Aurora, or the pirate prince dies,” said Brandon sharply.
I hesitated, then reduced the glow in my hands, although not completely.
“You won’t get away with this,” I threatened, but I could see Santino out of the corner of my eye, struggling with his magical bonds.
“Oh, but I already have.”
“What has Morgana offered you?” I had to keep him talking—maybe I could stall until backup came. “Land, titles?”
I could hear screams coming from inside the palace, and I knew the gorgoths were keeping the guards busy. No one was coming to help us.
“You think I did this for money?” Brandon paused. “So like your father. Clueless to the feelings of others or too selfish to care.”
“My father? What does my father have to do with it? He’s dead.”
“Yes, he may have died, but not before he ruined my sister’s life and took her away from me.”
My hand flew to my mouth as realization dawned. Rafe had told me the story of Brandon’s sister, the poor girl who leapt from a castle window and killed herself over a man. But I never knew who the man was. Until now.
“It was my father,” I said, choking on the words. “Your sister fell in love with my father?” That must have been why he put me in her room at Briarwood Castle. It was some sort of sick game he had been playing.
Brandon nodded, his lips a thin line. I could see the pain in his eyes every time his sister was mentioned. He must have loved her a great deal, and I almost felt bad for him.
“Yes, he told Riora he loved her, but when your mother came along he discarded her without a backward glance,” he snarled.
“No!” I shook my head, not wanting to believe it. “My father wouldn’t do that. He was a good man.”
“Foolish girl.” Brandon stepped closer, his jaw tightening. “Your father was a coward and a liar. Now he has left his daughter behind to pay for his crimes. I was lucky to have met the archmage on my travels through Illiador; he offered me a chance to finally get my revenge on your family.”
“You told Lucian where we were in Calos too.” It all made sense. That was why he was so concerned about how my magic was recovering. “It wasn’t Marcus who betrayed us. It was you all along.”
“Yes.” Brandon nodded. “Getting rid of Marcus Gold wasn’t difficult. It was that insufferable Captain Gerard who spoiled my carefully laid plans.” He paused, eyeing me warily. “When I realized your powers were stronger than the archmage, I had to change my strategy. I sent word directly to Queen Morgana as to where you were and that your magic was weakened from using it in Calos.”
The Drakaar were still circling and holding Santino down with their sorcery.
“I have what I came for.” Brandon grinned, taking out the triangular key from his pocket. “The Drakaar, however, I called specifically to take care of you.”
He seemed to be enjoying this. How could I ever have trusted him?
I gathered my magic and let it build up. If I was going to die today, I would go down fighting. “Don’t do it, Brandon. You have no idea what Morgana is going to do with that key.” I tried to reason with him. “She is going to destroy our whole world.”
“I don’t care.” Brandon turned to walk away. “I got what I wanted, and I will be placed in a high position once Morgana becomes high queen.” He stopped and turned back, almost as an afterthought. “I do regret having to kill the mastermage, though,” he added. “But the half-witted old man kept the key on a chain around his neck. It was the only way.”
He looked at the Drakaar. “I’m done with her. She’s all yours.”
My heartbeat quickened. I had to stop him from leaving with the key. Raising my hands, I gathered my magic. The sky crackled and shimmered as I shot a lightning strike at Brandon, but the Drakaar were still shielding him, and he disappeared into the shadows.
Santino lay pinned to the ground, struggling to get up as Drakaar shadows circled him. I couldn’t project my magic past theirs to shield him, and the darkness was reaching for me and snaking around my shield, trying to break through.
I whirled and shot consecutive bolts of silver fire at the Drakaar; they recoiled and hissed as it struck them but only stopped momentarily. My fae powers held them back, but not for long. Silver fire was the only thing that made them hesitate; mage magic had no effect on them whatsoever. Sweat formed on my brow as I struggled to control my wild magic without my amulet, but the dark sorcery of the Drakaar was too strong, and I had no idea how to get past their shields.
The leader of the Drakaar, the one who spoke to me earlier, reached out his hand, which looked more like a claw. Out snaked a shadow that solidified into a horrific creature similar to a gorgoth but without wings: a Shadow Demon. It lunged at me, pushing me to the ground as it clasped me in its talons, reaching out and suffocating my magic.
I struggled to focus. I couldn’t die here. I had so much to do. There were so many people who were depending on me. I had been foolish and naïve all this time. If only I had learned to wield my fae powers properly.
But it was too late.
The Drakaar
