Bittersweet (37 page)

 

 

My gown tangled around my legs as I trudged after them, past fuchsia fur-covered couches, and velvet chairs surrounding ornately carved tables. The forest path was illuminated with an ethereal glow. Chandeliers dangled from every tree, lit with dozens of tiny floating candles. And ten-foot gilded mirrors leaned against tree trunks, to reflect the mystical, gothic backdrop. I stared after them, into the glimmering forest they'd disappeared into. I had to find them. To find
her
.

“Venus!” I hollered her name into the night, spinning around under towering redwoods. “I know you can hear me.” My voice reverberated on the wind, carried back to me in a mocking echo. The wind picked up and the leaves swirled and trembled, yet still there was no sign of her. But she was close. I could feel it. She had Adrius, and if she'd done anything to him, anything to hurt him, or worse...

“Answer me,” I shouted at the forest surrounding the borders of Mythlandria. The winds howled in protest to my cries, their strength picking up as she neared. Branches whipped back and forth in a frenzy. It was a tactic meant to intimidate me, to demonstrate her command of the forces of nature. It wasn't going to work. Not this time. The thought of her using those same tricks against Adrius, warping his mind, turning him against me—it fueled the fury already burning in my chest. It left no room for fear. Though my hands had gone cold and my skin was numb, I stood and faced the coming storm head on. A black feather floated to the ground next to my feet, the only response. I knew Zanthiel had passed through here with Adrius. They were too fast for her. Our magic would never match the superhuman speed of the elves or fey.

“Venus!”

Then she was there, behind me. I could feel the cold hatred of her lizard green stare.

“You bellowed? I mean, really, Lorelei, I'm pretty sure your feeble-minded friends in the human realm can hear you.”

I turned slowly to face her, pushing my hair from my eyes. Her red Medusa curls were lashing in the wind, and she'd taken the time to arm herself with Adrius' sword. My teeth clenched tighter.

Venus held out her hand and sent an invisible force slamming into my chest. I reeled back, but managed to stay on my feet. Every instinct was screaming,
run
. All except one, that small still voice, calm and sure in the storm, whispering...
kill her
.

“Where is he?” I repeated, giving one final chance to redeem herself before I turned the full force of my dark magic against her.

“Why would I tell you? So you can find him? Rescue him?” She threw her head back and laughed. “He doesn't want to be rescued. He wants to be with me, now. Sorry you came all this way to hear the bitter truth, Lorelei, but I'm not the one keeping Adrius from you. He is.”

Anger boiled in me, surging like a tidal wave. “He despises you. And if he thinks he wants to be with you, it's because of some manipulative spell you've put him under.”

She smiled again, cold and vicious. “You think
I
could enchant an Elven prince of Mythlandria. Unfortunately, that level of magic belonged to my mother. A power that only
you
possess.” She folded her arms, cocking an eyebrow. “Perhaps the truth is it was me he loved all along, and that
you
were the one enslaving him with your dark magic.”

I stepped back as though she'd slapped me. Then, without thought or warning, I raised both hands and sent a force into her. Her body flew into the tree behind her. And for a moment, I didn't think she'd get up. I almost hoped she wouldn't. But she climbed back to her feet… ready for a showdown.

So this was it, then, a paranormal battle to the death, for the soul of the boy I loved. I knew I had to get back, get the necklace to Peterson and stop any more rogue fey from entering my world. But I couldn't let this go. Couldn't let him go. Not without a fight. So if it was a battle she wanted...

I leveled my gaze and stepped toward her. “Adrius wants to be free. And the only way that can happen is if you're dead.” With one hand I sent the sword flying away from her and with my other I forced her to the ground. Invisible fingers wrapped around her throat, pinning her in place. I pulled back, and with the flick of my wrist, icicles coated a branch before it crashed down on her in a hail of icy thorns.

I moved closer to Venus, my hands itching to fire again and again until there was nothing but her charred frozen remains, smoking on the ground. An oily blackness swirled in my peripheral vision, blurring my sight. All I could see was Venus on the ground, bleeding, her life force draining away as the poison spread through her system. And through mine. My muscles quivered from intense pain, but I refused to let go. She wasn't going to win. Not this time. I inhaled a deep breath, ready to fire the last blast, the one that would end her, halt her reign of terror and free the guy I loved.

“Nobody likes a sore loser, Lorelei. Get over it. He's mine now. Fighting over a boy you'll never have—is this what you've been reduced to?” Her voice wavered just slightly. She was healing faster than the poison could spread.

“Not fighting over him. Fighting for him. Every second that he's with you shortens his lifespan. I can see it in his eyes. He grows further and further from himself, deeper into that abyss. Before long it'll be too late and he'll be lost for good.”

She pushed to her feet. With a wave of her hands, the branch holding her flew at me. “A bit dramatic, no? Perhaps the simpler explanation is the true one. He'd rather be with me.”

I ducked, avoiding impact. “I won't let you continue to control him this way. You've tried to destroy everyone I love.” I lifted my hand and blasted a stream of fire at her. Green and purple flames licked at her face, but she pushed them back using her own magic as a shield.

“You really are as evil as they say.” She pushed back on the flames and they hurled toward me with lightning speed. But not before I raised my hand to push them off to the side. They hit the base of a tree, which ignited in a lavender inferno.

“Nice work,” Venus quipped, moving to the side but still directly in my line of sight. “You'll ignite all of Mythlandria, if you keep it up.”

“Don't care, as long as you go up in flames along with it.” I hit her with another blast, this time far more powerful. She blocked it but the force of the impact slammed her to the ground. She was down. Defenseless and for just a few seconds I could finish her. This was my chance. End her life. Make her pay for everything I'd lost.

Lifting my hand, I directed a fiery blast. She rolled out of the way, and the ball of fire flew into the keep behind her. The crumbling dry wood ignited instantly. Then with a deafening blast, it exploded, sending a rain of fire into the night. Thick black smoke filled the air around us, billowing up into the night sky. I coughed, gagging with every breath. The sound of screams, cries and voices raised in shock and anger, filled my ears. As I searched desperately for signs of Venus, one thought lingered, haunting me.

I did this. This happened because of me
.

Sounds of elven knights and faerie warriors preparing for battle surrounded me, their running footsteps pounding the ground, drowning out the lively sounds of merriment that filled the air not long before. Shouting, battle cries, wails of the wounded were all around me. Still I moved forward. I had to end this. Finish her. It was too late to turn back. Too late to undo what had been done. If I was to be held here, a prisoner to my own life, then I would at least have the satisfaction of knowing I'd defeated the only other person alive who wanted me dead. I marched through the flames, willing them not to touch me. They obeyed.

Arrows sliced through the air, whipping by me as they fought an unseen foe hiding in shadows and flames. Dragons. That must be what they believed was behind this. They thought dragons were attacking their kingdom, their home. They would not suspect the future Queen of Faery was responsible for so much destruction. If they'd known, those arrows would have been marked for me.

“Venus. I know you're there.”

Through the smoky haze, I searched for her. Then I saw the flash of crimson hair. She was running toward the forest edge.

“Stop,” I hollered.

She did. Her form silhouetted against the backdrop of flames, like the devil's halo. It struck me that this was close to the place where her mother had died, where I'd taken her life and absorbed her magic. Ironic that now that same magic was going to be used to end her daughter, as well. Anger and fury continued to swirl inside me, poisoning my heart and darkening my soul. All I could think of was her death. She had to die. This had to end.

Venus faced me, her hand waved the air, and obediently the smoke dissipated leaving a clear path between us. She didn't have a weapon. Neither did I. And yet, neither of us needed one.

This is my fault.
A small voice, almost too faint to hear, spoke inside of me.
If anyone else dies, I'm responsible.

But I shoved it back into the recesses of my mind.

Around us trees were igniting, surrounding us in a ring of white fire. It was better that way. It kept everyone else out. This was between Venus and me. No one else needed to die. I had to make a move. We couldn't remain here this way for long, or the flames would close in and kill us both. That was not the plan. Only one would die here. And it wasn't going to be me.

Venus narrowed her emerald eyes. “You know, all that power is wasted on you. You don't have the talent nor the guts to use it. It should have been mine. I would have ended you long ago. Spared everyone all the drama.”

“Wrong, Venus, this time it's your end.”

We raised our hands and, with a simultaneous surge, fired a stream of ice shards which collided in the middle and scattered in every direction. Everyone who'd been brave enough to stand and watch now dove for cover as poisonous razor-like daggers of ice rained down on them. The blast continued until we both stopped, spent, exhausted. Drained.

“You can't win,” she panted. “He loves me. He belongs to me.”

I remembered what Hawthrin had said about evil. That it often wins because it wants what it wants so violently, it will risk everyone to have it and cares not what it loses. In that moment, I could feel the energy of that need. The all-consuming desire to have what I wanted, it took hold of me, flooding every cell with darkness until I couldn't contain it any longer.

With a wave of my hand a tree was uprooted and flew at her, its branches coiling around her like vines, pinning her in place. For a moment the startled look on her face was tinged with fear. “For months now I've watched helplessly as you hurt the people I care about. My mother, Davin... Neil... and now Adrius. It's over.” Winds raged around me, twisting the brush in a tornado of flames and snow. “It ends now. And you will pay.” She'd almost worked herself free from the choke hold of the branches when I fired flaming shards of ice at her. They struck her, piercing her side, and she crumbled to the ground. She was weakened. Weak enough that I could place the Shaqua band on her and control her magic. But it wasn't enough. She'd done too much damage. She deserved to die for what she'd done. Behind me I could hear Zanthiel's voice urging me to stop. I pushed it aside, holding my focus on her. Her heartbeat had slowed, mine had as well. I could feel her life force draining. My hands went limp. One more blast and she'd be gone. Her magic absorbed into mine, like her evil mother's had. A fate she deserved.

****

“You think you can free him? I'll never let him go,” she gasped.

“Yes. You will.” I raised my hands and before I could focus, a stream of fire and ice shot in her direction. She shielded them with a protection spell, but I knew her defensive magic wouldn't hold up for long. I could feel it, the energy swirling and pulsing inside me, feeding me with its delicious power. Venus countered with a sweep of her arm, sending furniture and branches flying at me. I ducked as wood and glass splintered against the ground behind me.

I sent another blast in her direction, this time holding it while sparks sprayed in every direction. Little by little her defenses weakened. With my last blast, she was on the ground, breathless, scarred, bloodied.

A voice came out of me, one I didn't recognize, and spoke words that tasted bitter on my tongue though they weren't truly my own. “You came into my world and took everything from me. And now I'm going to do the same to you, starting with your life.”

I blasted her again, feeling her life force pour into me. My skin tingled, and a raw laugh tore from my lips. A laugh I'd never heard before. She was almost gone. For good. Her life was hanging by an invisible thread, when a force broke the connection and slammed into me, pushing me against a tree.

Stunned, I clamored to my feet. Venus was still lying on the floor, her body limp and motionless, though she was still breathing. Immortals were hard to kill. I'd have to work that much harder to finish her off. I lifted my hand, prepared to end it, eager to watch her burn, when a voice hollered from the darkness.

“Stop!”

The volume of it rattled the ground and I clasped my hands over my ears to block the deafening echo.

“Lorelei, stop.”

I let out another blast which struck an invisible wall protecting the figure that appeared between us.

A sword I'd never seen before raised and knocked the blast of magic off to the side. It landed far from its intended target, as yet another tree went up in flames.

I swore under my breath, glaring at the one who dared defy me. Squinting into the smoke I stared as a man emerged, dressed in a sweeping black feathered robe and a crown of thorns.

When my vision finally cleared I focused in on his face, and froze. Standing between me and my intended target stood Oberon, the King of the Shadow Court... my father.

“How could you help keep her alive, knowing what she has become?” I cried. “She's a monster and she deserves to
die
.”

“You cannot kill her,” he said calmly. “Why would you do such a thing, when your gift is for healing?”

I paced back and forth, desperate to finish what I'd started. “Can't you see the destruction and death she's caused in my life? In your world? Whatever brought about her death should never have been undone. But I'm not making your mistake. I won't let her continue to torment the people I love. Now get out of my way.”

“Lorelei, you do not want to do this.” He took a step toward me and I froze.

“Yes, I do. Why are you protecting her?” I demanded, my hand poised in the air, fingers itching to blast fire or ice or anything to take her down.

“Because Venus is my daughter.”

I gasped.

“And your sister.”