Shadow Heir

Pagiel used the diversion to flee. I couldn’t address him right away because I devoted all my energy to stopping the maelstrom he’d created. My magical senses burned, and I could detect every thread of magic, every molecule in the air around us. The magic was a mirror of my own, courtesy of our shared genes. I matched it, answering each glimmer of the magic with a nullifying force. It was a complex process, like trying to unravel a tapestry. I hated the delay but needed to undo this magic before it killed me, Jasmine, and Dorian. When I finished and the world stilled, I glanced around, expecting to find Pagiel gone.

Instead, I found him encased in a prison of earth and stone that had risen up from the ground, cocooning him up to his neck. I sensed him pulling his magic to him, probably in an effort to blast Dorian’s handiwork away. I quickly slammed up walls of air, turning the air pressure up to crazy heights that were uncomfortable for the rest of us but ensured Pagiel wouldn’t bust out anytime soon.

Pagiel fixed his eyes on Dorian. “Your Majesty. Please let me go. You said you would help me!”

“I am,” said Dorian, a hard expression on his face. “I could easily keep building this structure until you suffocated. I don’t want that. I want you alive.”

“Then free me,” Pagiel begged. “You always supported the legacy in my family. Will you really drag me back like a prisoner?”

Dorian hesitated long enough to glance briefly at me. “Things change. This is the better fate.”

My heart swelled, and the last piece of fear within me shattered. Dorian had been telling me the truth. He could have easily let Pagiel go, letting him continue on with the prophecy. Instead, Dorian had stood by me. His love for me really was greater than the dreams of conquest he once held.

My epiphany was short-lived when a giant fox came tearing out of the woods. He leapt straight for Pagiel, jaw open for the boy’s semi-exposed neck. In an instant, all the plants and trees in a huge radius withered and water shot from all directions toward Kiyo. It wasn’t enough to incapacitate him, but it did throw his attack off course. He harmlessly hit the side of the rock formation and was knocked back, skillfully landing a short distance away. He blinked the water out of his eyes and then shook droplets off his muzzle.

Jasmine, who had been freed in the earlier storm, was on her feet and allowed the water she’d summoned to fall to the ground. “Let him go, Dorian!”

It was probably the most conflicted I’d ever seen Dorian. Letting Pagiel go might mean we’d never catch him. Keeping him imprisoned made him an easy target for Kiyo.

“Do it!” I cried.

Like that, the walls of rock and earth shattered, giving Pagiel just enough time to dodge Kiyo’s next attack. The boy fell to the ground, but by then, I was back in control. I pulled up the water Jasmine had called, turning it to a mist that swirled in the wind. I moved the whole creation, surrounding Kiyo in a thick cloud he couldn’t see through. A moment later, I felt the wind and air pressure intensify. Pagiel, whom I’d expected to disappear, was still around, adding his magic to mine. Maybe he didn’t trust us, but he also wouldn’t leave us to Kiyo’s attack.

As the mini windstorm increased, I could sense the pressure closing in on Kiyo. That was Pagiel’s doing too, and I realized there was a very good chance Pagiel would kill Kiyo in the process. In fact, I had no doubt that was Pagiel’s goal. I was still a gray area for Pagiel, but he knew with black-and-white certainty that Kiyo was a threat. I could’ve counteracted the magic but was struck with a dilemma: Should I? After all the problems Kiyo had caused, wouldn’t it be better to be rid of him? And wasn’t it Pagiel’s right to defend himself against an assassin?

I had once loved Kiyo and had a connection to him. That was a hard thing to overcome, but I daresay he’d done plenty to make it possible.

These thoughts flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye. Before I could act, Pagiel fell to the ground, eyes wide. The magic supporting mine abruptly stopped. Pagiel clasped his neck, gasping for air. For a moment, all I could think was that air magic was suffocating him ... except, there was no one who could wield it here except me and him.

“Pagiel!” Jasmine hurried to his side, where he was twitching and flailing on the ground. Still keeping my hold on Kiyo, I joined her and fell to my knees. Pagiel was no longer making a sound, which was a bad sign. He was clearly still desperate for breath, and I could see now that his face and throat were swelling, like some sort of anaphylactic shock.

I tried to steady him, frantically wondering what I could do. But I possessed no healing magic, no modern EpiPen. His face was turning a weird purplish-pinkish color, and I knew we were losing him.

“Dorian?” I asked. He had joined us and looked down at Pagiel, anguish all over his face.

“This is beyond me,” said Dorian. He lifted his head and gazed around the clearing. “There’s someone else here.” He got back on his feet and began to make the ground ripple and shake, in the hopes of scaring out whomever we couldn’t see.

But despite his efforts, it was a little too late. Pagiel had stopped struggling for air. Pagiel had stopped struggling altogether.

Storm King’s heir was dead.

Chapter 27

“No!” screamed Jasmine. Tears ran down her face as she shook him. “Can’t we do CPR or something? Use the air! Give him some!”

I stared mournfully down at the boy. His face and neck were so swollen now that I knew there was no way I could force air into him, not when all the passages leading to his lungs were so blocked. I couldn’t control the body.

A smooth voice suddenly came from the woods. “I’m right here, Dorian. You might as well stop with the showmanship.”

Maiwenn appeared, gliding forward in a silvery blue dress that seemed out of place in this scene. Her golden hair cascaded down her back, and she looked like the California girl I always thought of her as. Dorian did stop the earthquake, but I could tell from his rigid stance that he held his magic at the ready. She released a tree she’d been holding onto.

“How did you do that?” I asked. “Your magic ... it’s healing magic.”

She gave a small shrug. “It’s all part of the same system. My magic understands the way the body works. It’s as easy to hurt as to heal.”

I was appalled at how casually she could speak about it after what she had done. Dorian had no such qualms. “Will it be easy,” he asked quietly, “to sleep at night knowing you’ve killed an innocent boy?”

“There was nothing innocent about him,” Maiwenn replied bluntly. “I’ve saved both of our worlds a great deal of trouble. You should be grateful. Now, if you’ll release Kiyo, I’d be much obliged. I’d like to be on our way.”

“Grateful?” I hissed. “Grateful ? I’ll show you gratitude!”

In an instant, I pulled the charges in the air together and created a bolt of lightning to send straight toward Maiwenn. Just before I released it, I heard Jasmine scream behind me. I had no idea what had happened, but I was just able to barely divert the lightning in time so that it struck a tree inches from Maiwenn instead. Thunder cracked deafeningly around us, and the tree exploded in a spectacular show of fire and wood. My ears hurt, and Maiwenn’s were probably bleeding from the noise.

I immediately turned toward Jasmine and saw her writhing on the ground. Her face was contorted in pain. “It’s like ... pins and needles ... like my body’s on fire... .”

“Damn it!” I glared at Maiwenn. Dark clouds rebuilt up above, and the wind swirled restlessly around us. The elements answered my anger. “I should’ve let it hit you! Let her go.”

“No. You were actually wise to spare me,” Maiwenn said. “I’ve already worked the spell. Her body’s right on the edge of tearing itself apart. Only my control right now keeps it in check. Kill me, and the spell will seize hold with nothing to stop it.”

“Damn it,” said Jasmine through clenched teeth. “Why ... am I ... always ... the hostage?” I watched her worriedly, but thus far, the spell mostly seemed about pain. She didn’t seem in danger of dying as Pagiel had just done—yet.

“Now,” continued Maiwenn. “Please don’t make me ask again. Free Kiyo.”

Without Pagiel’s added pressure, Kiyo had simply been trapped in my misty whirlwind. Inconvenient, but not lethal. Angry and frustrated—but out of options—I let him go. He was still in giant fox form, his fur soaked in water. His eyes assessed the situation quickly, and then he trotted over to Maiwenn’s side. She rested a hand on his head. He stayed in fox form, and I knew from past experience that the larger the fox, the longer it would take him to switch back.

“We’re going to leave now,” said Maiwenn. “I can hold on to the spell a fair distance and will nullify it once I feel secure. If I see any sign of you following me before then, I’ll release what’s holding it back. The only good thing that will happen then is that she’ll die quickly.”

“When did you become such a monster?” I demanded. It was hard to believe she and I had once been friends and allies. “Both of you? What you’ve done is worse than anything Pagiel could have accomplished. Even if you escape today, do you really think I’m going to let you get away with this?”

“What will you do?” she asked, with an amusement that made me want to rip her hair out. “Declare war on my kingdom?”

“I certainly could,” said Dorian coldly. “You’ve killed one of my subjects within my borders. That’s certainly an act of war by most people’s standards. In fact, you sent a force of armed men on my land just hours ago.”

“Perhaps,” she agreed. “But are either of you ready to plunge yourselves into war again? None of us have the resources for that, not after the blight. And I doubt you’ll find many allies, not even from those who supported the prophecy. Pagiel thankfully hadn’t established himself enough for anyone to pursue revenge on his part.”