Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms 3)

“I’m grateful for your sacrifice, Danaus. The magic I’ve stolen from other immortals is meager—but you, an elder, an original like me—you have so much more to give. I’ll use this magic well when I’m finally free from this prison.”

He screamed as his body was swallowed up by blue-white flames, and, finally, Melena stepped back from him, watching as he disappeared in a flash of light that turned Alexius’s vision stark white.

Danaus had existed for millennia, and here he was gone—forever—in mere moments.

“That was incredibly satisfying,” Melenia said, sliding her hands through her shimmering hair.

This wasn’t right. Melenia had to feel at least a sliver of remorse, and if she didn’t, she was even more of a monster than Alexius suspected.

It wasn’t too late. Alexius would find a way to get to Timotheus and tell him what had happened here. He and Melenia were the only original elders left.

She had to be stopped.

Pain wrenched through him at the thought.

“Now, where were we?” She fixed her gaze upon him as he sat stiffly on her chaise. “Ah, yes. Phaedra. You believe I murdered her because she knew too much?”

Her eyes blazed so brightly that he thought they might overflow in a sea of sapphire power.

She was more dangerous than he’d ever seen her, and he couldn’t help feeling fear.

He bowed his head. “Apologies, my queen, I never should have suggested such a thing.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She sat next to him, so close he could feel the crackle of the magic that now coated her golden skin. “Show me what we worked on the other day.”

For the briefest of moments, he hesitated. But the pain rose up again, forcing him to obey. He loosened the ties of his shirt and bared his chest to her. The golden swirl over his heart had dimmed since she’d begun to consume his magic, just as she’d done with Danaus, but less severely. She took a small taste every day, just enough to keep him from visiting Lucia in her dreams or watching over her in the mortal world in hawk form.

He, too, was now a prisoner here, in every way.

“I know I’ve been harsh with you,” she said softly. “But I have no other choice. I can’t risk anything going wrong.”

“And nothing will, my queen.”

He could only blame himself for the position he found himself in. He’d wholeheartedly agreed to collaborate with her, thinking that he could help save his world—help save all worlds. He’d understood from the beginning that certain sacrifices would have to be made for the greater good, but his intentions had always been pure.

He hadn’t known the whole truth then.

Melenia inspected the symbols she’d carved on his chest with a golden blade infused with her magic. As she traced the wounds with her fingertip, she infused even more of her obedience spell into his very being. The four designs—the symbols for each element—were so simple, yet so powerful, especially when etched so deeply into the flesh of an immortal.

And even when the scars finally faded from sight completely, they would still control him.

She would control him.

“Do you think you’re ready?” she asked.

The words bubbled up and escaped before he could stop them. “I exist only to serve you, my queen.”

She slid her hands up his chest and throat, then over his cheeks. She held his face between her hands, as she had with Danaus. He had no choice but to meet her gaze, unsure whether she would let him live or kill him now and be done with it.

No, she wouldn’t do that. She’d spent far too long preparing him for what was to come. She needed him.

“You will carry out my orders without hesitation. I shall give you a gift in return for all you’ve done and will do for me, my beautiful boy. Do you understand and agree to this?”

He could feel her scrutinizing him for signs of dissent. If he flinched, she would strengthen her spell even more. More pain, more torture. He would lose that much more of himself. Already the need to obey her was a snake wrapped around his throat, squeezing until he could barely breathe.

He held on to an image of a beautiful girl with raven-colored hair and sky-blue eyes, the girl he’d once pledged to protect with his very life. He believed in her. She would give him the strength to survive this.

“Yes, my queen. I understand completely.”