Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

“You’d have to be able to check the actual land to find crystals,” I say with a grin that tells him I’ve just made fucking checkmate.

He looks around in disbelief. “Woodland spell? That’s impossible. Magic isn’t strong enough for illusions that massive anymore. It shouldn’t allow illusions at all.”

No. No it’s not. “I’m stronger than you think,” I lie, taking credit for someone else’s wonder.

Gavin’s smirk returns when a powerful surge of energy comes out of Kane, and then he laughs while we watch the power display visible ripples up the side of an invisible field around him.

“Did you honestly think I would come out here and expose myself without any line of defense?” he chides. “And don’t forget I still have your princess.” For good measure, he grips her throat tighter, making her cry out in pain.

I figured as much.

“You always were a stickler for detail,” I tell him, grinning down at the shackles that are binding her. “You realize those are just for a creature god or goddess, right?”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s all I need.”

“It would be,” I drawl. “If you had a creature goddess.”

Kane lowering Alyssa to the ground beside Drackus draws my attention. He’s about to kill Gavin before I can.

The confusion spreads across Gavin’s face until the real Ella walks up from behind me. “Sorry it took so long. I was a little busy adjusting traps and taking out strays after Grandfather showed up and blew our plan all to hell.”

Gavin looks down at the false Ella he has in his grasp just as she starts laughing and vaporizes out of his hold. Sadie appears at my side, joining us on looking in as she drops her Ella mask. Gavin grinds his jaw.

“She shouldn’t be able to change her appearance like that,” he growls, then he looks around, confused.

“We thought the same thing once upon a time.”

He struggles as Kane’s hands begin to glow with powerful, deadly orbs.

“What’s wrong, brother,” I mock. “Wondering why you can’t dematerialize? Oh, that’s because you’re on heavily spelled ground. It allows you to use magic, but it holds you to the breathing plane. You have about a mile where you can walk. I know you well, brother. The trap was designed to let Sadie out, but not you.”

Gavin looks as though he could bite through an ogre right now. The upper hand feels damn good.

“Go ahead and make your shot,” I taunt. “But I’ll deflect it, Kane will deflect it, Ella will deflect it… You get the idea.”

He walks forward, as far as the spelled ground will allow, and in true Gavin fashion, smiles in the face of defeat while bowing toward us. As he straightens back up, he meets my eyes.

“You did it brother. You outwitted me. Go ahead and kill me now. You know you want to.”

I don’t want to, but he’s too dark and sadistic to let live.

To push me forward, I think of Morgana and how he has forced her to endure his merciless quest for all these centuries. I think of the slave rings and the people he has stolen from their homes. I think of Karma and the torture she suffered at his hands. Then I think of Kimber… The thought of Kimber begging and crying for mercy he would never grant, and that’s all I need to find my resolve.

“Gladly,” I growl.

“Excellent decision,” Kane hisses at my side.

Gavin lowers his shield that keeps himself safe, accepting his fate, and we both launch our orbs at him with all the energy we have in us. Gavin closes his eyes, but just before the orbs reach him, they deflect, splitting around him and crashing into the ground.

Gavin’s eyes pop open in surprise, proving he didn’t just do that, and Ella walks up to shove him over with one hard gust of power that steals his breath.

“Ella, what the hell?” Kane demands.

Gavin grunts as he tries to stand, and Kimber walks up to step in front of my brother.

“You’re too fucking close!” I yell at her, but she ignores me.

“Actually, I’m right where I need to be. He can’t touch me because he’s in the devil’s eye.”