Page 80 of The Serpent Prince

He knew she could get anything she wanted as long as she could control the lust in her victim.

Imani never wanted to end up like those enslaved female elves. And not for the first time in her life, she teetered too close to that situation.

CHAPTER 29

The hallway to the library was dark, as were most places inside the mountain. Without her glamour, Imani’s shadows fluttered around her body. She felt naked but free. The sconces flickered as she walked past them, darkening the passageway even more.

She’d let the shadows out a bit more than usual. Imani didn’t trust these elves, no matter how reverent and inviting they’d been thus far. Besides, she’d lost her constant guard of the echo shield—a security measure—and Kiran forbade her from casting a blood burning. She needed her shadows for protection.

Around a bend, she saw large wooden doors with a stocky male elf in fine-tailored clothes walking out of them. His walk stuttered when he spotted Imani coming toward him, and he narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly as he scanned her body from toe to head.

Letting her wand slip a little farther out of her sleeve, she rubbed her fingers against the smooth wood and narrowed her eyes in return. Imani didn’t like the way he looked at her. She might have been glamoured for most of her life, but she had still learned young to recognize when others were looking at her with desire—though this wasn’t about a desire for her blood or her body.

This, somehow, seemed even more dangerous.

That was the power of the soul draw.

She cursed silently as he strode forward with his head tilted to the side.

“You’re the elf princess,” he stated. “And they are allowing you to wander the halls unchaperoned?”

“I was invited to come to the library,” she said coolly.

“Not many venture down here. You’ll be quite alone. Let me accompany you.” His voice was like a slither across her skin.

Imani glanced down the small hallway; indeed, it was dim and dark. Utterly deserted.

He trailed the back of his hand down her cheek, and she shuddered with disgust and anger. Imani slipped her wand entirely out of her sleeve and pressed it into his cheek. She was done hating herself for all the weaknesses that came with being a high-bred female elf.

No, she hated them—the men who took advantage of her for something out of her control.

“Don’t touch me,” she spat, a glamour layered in her voice, eyes staring straight into his.

It wasn’t enough.

This was where female elves needed magic to protect themselves. It was why Imani had been forced to hide all those years without magic. Because, sometimes, the draw wasn’t enough to subdue them—it simply overtook all reason. You needed magic to overpower the draw.

She gritted her teeth, eyes burning with determination as the answer came in barely a blink. Imani set her jaw, nudging the beast within her. Magic thrummed through her bones, setting her blood on fire, humming as if to answer her question. That dark power in her uncoiled, awakening from slumber. Fight, the shadows seemed to whisper. Destroy him.

The allure of her magic called to her, a slick, oily power burning through her veins, and for a moment, Imani forgot the world.

Remembering that day with Malis, a part of her ached to set it free and harness that power. She wanted to let it loose.

Yes. Her magic was protection. Power. Her lips lifted at that. In fact, she had been waiting for this day for a while now.

But attacking him wouldn’t be prudent with them still needing to be respected guests here.

The man pulled her closer with his hand curled around her neck. She recoiled. While the soul draw was to blame, males still had some purchase over their actions … and she’d make him regret giving in to his baser nature.

With her unassuming, soft appearance, Imani counted on her opponents being downright shocked by her ruthlessness. She wasn’t disappointed.

Using her shadows to cloak him in darkness, and with a strong right hook, she punched him.

He hissed in pain, eyes widening.

When the grip her shadows had on him loosened, with a grunt, he picked her up and slammed her down. Pain ran up her spine. With him still bent over to be sure she was hurt, she kicked him in the face in retaliation. There was a wordless shout from their right that distracted him. Imani didn’t hesitate, kicking at his knee, savagely happy when her foot connected with a crunching sound. It didn’t stop him.

He growled in frustration, grabbing her dress just as she made it to her feet.