Page 200 of Heir of Broken Souls

A dagger made of my golden power flies, careening through the air and across the clearing. It sizzles through her hair, nipping the tender skin of her neck. My eyes flare as she screams, smacking a hand to her neck as black oily blood oozes out of her.

I’ve seen enough.

Marching across the clearing, satisfaction hums through my bloodstream as she lifts those eyes to mine and finally drops the mask. No longer is there a coy, bashful Fae taunting me. In her wake stands a monster wanting to destroy me.

“You fucking witch,” she hisses.

Reaching behind my back as I stalk for her, I unsheathe the twin dragon blades, clocking her wide eyes as I spit, “It’sgoldenwitch.” Without taking my hands off the blades I launch another golden dagger, this one for her thigh. “At least get the insult right.”

She bites her lip as her hands tremble. She won’t let me see her pain. I don’t know what it says about me but I can’t wait to tackle the challenge of making her scream in pain.

“Why do you need my blood,” I ask again.

Shadows form in her hands.

“Fucking wretch,” she spits as she flicks her wrists, blast after blast of dark magic screaming for me. “Unfortunately, your disgusting blood is necessary.”

“My disgusting blood?’ I say incredulously, dodging the darkness that comes for me. Then a golden shield snaps into place, and the darkness simply bounces off with a sizzle, dissipating within seconds.

A scream of frustration leaves her lips a second before she charges for me, her hand never letting go of that golden egg.

Her free hand is suddenly clutching a blade and right as she lunges with it outstretched, I teleport behind her, not at all surprised when she anticipates the move and spins. Our swords clash, the sound of steel reverberating through the clearing.

She shouldn’t be this skilled in combat. I should know, I taught her myself…

“Another lie sliding into place?” she taunts.

This only further proves I should kill her.

“Adding another nail in the coffin,” I spit as I lunge, nicking her side.

The black blood that pools along the left side of her stomach doesn’t seem to faze her. It doesn’t even slow her down, but I can see the small fleck of golden power trying to catch. Unlike the demonic creatures earlier, she doesn’t go up in flames.

The work of the dark magic thrumming through her veins is somehow more powerful. A simple cut won’t take her down. I’ll have to dismember her.

She grins wickedly. “How’s Ace doing?” she asks suddenly, making me stumble.

It costs me.

The blade in her hand slices along my abdomen, arcing up toward my heart. A blast of golden light explodes from the cut, shoving her and the blade in her hand across the clearing. My magic pours from me without abandon, filling the clearing and the trees.

Ignoring the pain ripping through me, I take the opportunity over her stunned and blinded form on the grass among the mutilated bodies and pounce. Shoving her to the ground, I pin her wrists above her head as I sit on her chest and push a golden dagger into her throat, until blinding pain slices into my wrists.

Hazel has manipulated her body, changing her nails to grow the length of a demonic hound’s. She claws and maims my hands until I can’t help but yelp in pain and free her from my grasp.

She lifts her blade, aiming for my heart. Spinning to the side, I dodge it just in time. Her blade meets grass and not my heart.

A groan of frustration rises in her chest as she comes for me again and again and again, her hand never once dropping the ornament she’s clutching with a death grip. Her darkness and my golden power dance around each other, and I narrow my eyes. Before I can think better of it, I pounce. My leg comes up, my feet kicking out and making direct contact with her hand. The golden ornament goes flying and with it such a rageful scream from Hazel I can’t help but instinctively clap my hands over my ears.

She lifts her hand and to my astonishment, the golden ornament draws back into her awaiting hand. Using my moment of shock, she reaches out with her blade and slices down my forearm, making blood gush from the wound.

Her smile is serpentine as I try and spin away from another attack, but instead of a blade meeting my skin again, she brings the ornament to my arm. Sick satisfaction fills her blue eyes as my blood pools over the golden egg.

Shadows come at me in all directions. I’m blinded by it, choking on it, as she cocoons me in her darkness of corruption. She’s quick, too quick.

Her lips begin to move, a language rolling off her tongue I’ve never heard before and to my horror, the blood on the ornament turns black. I try with all my might to move, to tear away from her touch and to get that heinous golden ornament away from my blood, but my magic is frozen. Whatever is in her hands is powerful, containing something ancient and wicked.

Suddenly I’m up and against a tree, danglingly by a rope of dark shadow magic wrapped around my neck.