Cheyenne stared at the Crown, her chest heaving. She doesn’t know he’s here. She has no idea. The halfling glanced down at the small, tree-shaped pin stuck through the hem of her shirt. And I can’t reach that thing.
“I only have so much patience, girl.” The Crown sneered, white teeth flashing in her slate-gray face. “Make your choice, and for the sake of full transparency, you only have two. Accept my offer, or I will feed the roots of that ancestor tree with your blood as I have done with countless others before you. Of course, the choice is up to you.”
No other choice, right? I’m screwed either way.
Cheyenne swallowed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she stared into the Crown’s glowing golden eyes. “Show me then.”
“Show you?” The drow woman’s grin widened. “You are curious, aren’t you? What would you like to see first, hmm? The way I’ve built this empire to bend to the magic I can show you how to wield? I would very much love to teach you.”
“Show me how to kill L’zar.”
“Oh!” The Crown’s lilting laughter filled the courtyard again. “Even when you’re trying to defy me, I can see that is something you want. We have that in common. He’s always been a disappointment. We can start there, then.”
With a flick of her dark wrist, the Crown dropped the immense force pressing Cheyenne against the tree. She stumbled forward and stopped, not daring to race toward the altar again. Not yet. “This’ll be fun.”
“Yes, it will.”
Cheyenne slapped her palm on the tree-shaped nalís pin at the hem of her shirt. “Abdur orzj, L’zar.”
The Crown’s eyes widened, and a portal burst to life against the wall of the courtyard. L’zar barreled through it, his eyes blazing with purple light as he raised both hands toward the Crown, grinning like a madman.
“No!” The Crown’s gaze darted between Cheyenne and her drow father. Her hands lashed out toward both of them at the same time, and dark light spewed from her fingertips. Cheyenne slipped into drow speed and ran toward the black metal altar, her fist raised high and clenched around the gold coin.
Even at enhanced speed, the Crown’s attack moved quickly. A purple light flashed behind the portal, and Ember sped through it just before it closed. The rest of it happened all at once.
The Crown screamed as her dark-light attack met L’zar’s blazing silver storm with a deafening crack. The drow woman’s other attack curved to follow Cheyenne as she brought her hand down toward the bowl shape on top of the metal anvil. Ember spread her arms and blasted pale violet light from every inch of her skin at once. The fae’s light consumed the Crown’s attack before it could strike Cheyenne. The Nimlothar tree hummed and filled the courtyard with a bright white light so blinding Cheyenne couldn’t even see her hand, but she felt the lip of the metal bowl beneath her fingers. Please tell me I didn’t miss.
The Crown screamed.
Chapter Ninety-Three
The blinding light and the echoes of the Crown’s screams died at the same time. The only sound echoing through the courtyard above the muted din of the battle above them was the hollow metallic tremble of the gold coin spinning in the center of the bowl on the Rahalma altar. It wobbled and finally fell on its side.
L’zar pulled himself up from where he’d been blasted back against the courtyard wall and chuckled.
The Crown lay in a heap of dark robes on the opposite side of the courtyard from him. She sucked in a furious breath and fought with her cloak to free herself before scrambling to her feet. Then she whirled on L’zar and hissed, “You!”
Breathing heavily, L’zar pushed himself up off the ground, gave her a mocking bow with his arms spread wide, and grinned. “Hello, Ba’rael.”
She snarled and studied his madly smiling face. “I would have felt you.”
“See, that’s quite amusing. Not having to deal with your shit Earthside gave me an enormous amount of free time to study the Weave. It was perfect, really. My daughter passing her trials. Me, just two steps away from spinning the last stolen thread to shield myself from you. And you, of course, overwhelming in your urgency to rip through worlds in order to get to her first.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Now look at you. All accounts frozen, and not a drop of magic at your disposal.”
Cheyenne pushed herself away from the altar and stared at the gold coin in the center of the bowl. It sparked, quickly melted, and was absorbed by the black metal. Two seconds later, every trace of it was gone.
Ember floated back slowly until she thumped into the wall, staring at Cheyenne. The halfling gave her a reassuring nod and returned her attention to the drow conversation.
“How dare you?” Ba’rael spat.
“Quite easily.”
“I’ll rip you apart, L’zar.” The Crown stormed toward him, seething with rage, and raised both her hands.
“Ah-ah.” L’zar lifted a long, slender finger and summoned a pulsing silver light at its tip. “If you fought me, Ba’rael, you’d be forfeiting so much more than your status.” He threw his head back and laughed. “I have my magic. You’ll just have to wait.”
Ba’rael turned her furious golden eyes on Cheyenne. “You’re as full of lies as he is.”
Cheyenne shook her head in disbelief. “Yeah, and you might be crazier.”
L’zar smoothed his disheveled
