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  “What would you know about it? The only way you could get a woman into your bed was through magic.” Just as Aimery expected, Isran’s lip curled in fury. “Did I make you angry?”

  “I can see I was wrong about you. You aren’t the warrior I want by my side when I take over the universe.”

  “If you take over the universe,” Aimery corrected.

  Isran growled and took a step to the left. Aimery moved with him. They circled each other, each waiting for the other to strike. Aimery wasn’t sure what kind of magic was inside him, but he knew it was strong. Possibly strong enough to defeat even Isran.

  “You know I’m going to kill you.”

  Aimery shrugged and halted. “Maybe. Maybe not. I’m ready to find out.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Aimery used his magic and called a sword to each hand and swung them around himself.

  The blades glowed blue and sung as they sliced through the air.

  “Impressive,” Isran said with raised brows. The next instant he held two swords with flames as blades. “Where did you get the magic?”

  “It’s a secret.”

  “One I intend to discover.”

  Aimery shook his head as they began to circle each other again. “That was always your problem, Isran. Everything you wanted was in your grasp, you just didn’t want to work toward it.”

  “Why work for it when I can get it for free.”

  “Because the cost is your soul.”

  Isran threw back his head and laughed. “Do you think you can kill me? The Fae you called brother?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  Aimery ducked as Isran stepped toward him and swung the sword at his head. Aimery straightened and pivoted, slicing downward. He grinned when Isran yelped in pain and blood ran down his leg from the cut across his thigh.

  “Does it hurt?”

  Isran’s lips peeled back in a sneer. “You will pay for that.” Aimery brought his left arm up, using his sword to block a downward swing from Isran’s weapon. His right arm jerked up to halt the thrust of Isran’s second blade, but still the point of the sword penetrated his thigh.

  “An eye for an eye,” Isran said as he stepped back.

  Aimery’s leg felt as if it were on fire. He glanced down at the tear in his breeches and grimaced when he saw the scorch marks on his skin and clothes.

  “Does it hurt?” Isran mocked.

  In answer, Aimery lunged toward Isran. One arm blocked Isran while the second thrust into his side. Isran howled in pain and spun away from him. Aimery barely had time to raise his swords to stop Isran’s blades. Aimery jerked his arm out and, with a flick of his wrist, nicked Isran’s wrist so that his sword went flying to clatter on the stones across the tower.

  Isran attacked, his sword a blur he moved it so deftly. Aimery hissed as he lost one of his swords. He ducked and rolled to his feet when Isran swung at his neck. As Aimery stood, a bolt of pain ran through his arm. When he looked, he saw Isran’s blade sticking through his arm.

  Isran knocked Aimery’s second sword from his hand, his laughter filling the tower.

  “I thought you might last longer.”

  Aimery jerked his arm off Isran’s blade and faced him. Isran thrust his blade, but Aimery gripped his wrist, stopping him instantly. Aimery turned and elbowed Isran in the face. The crack of bone shattered the silence. It felt so good Aimery did it a second time before he backhanded Isran.

  Isran crumpled to his knees, blood pouring from his nose and lips. It wouldn’t be long before he began to heal. Aimery reached for his sword and grasped Isran’s shoulder.

  “I did call you brother, but you must pay for your crimes.” Aimery knew the likelihood of getting Isran back to his realm was almost none. His punishment must be carried out now and, though Aimery was loath to do it, it was his duty. He reared back his arms as Isran’s eyes widened. Before Isran could gather any magic, Aimery plunged the blade into his heart.

  Isran clutched at Aimery’s arm as his life faded from his eyes. He fell to the side, his gaze now on the egg. Aimery didn’t want to watch him die, not someone he had thought of as family.

  He wanted back in his realm, with Kyndra in his arms.

  He walked to Kyndra and laid his sword on the altar. Just as he reached for the fire that surrounded her Isran began to laugh. Aimery turned his head to look at him. There was a loud crack, and Aimery whirled around to see the egg shatter, spilling the yolk on the stones.

  A glance at Isran confirmed that he was indeed dead, but Aimery wasn’t about to take any chances. He rushed to Isran and tossed him onto the altar so the yolk couldn’t touch him.

  Then he faced Kyndra.

  The sphere of flames didn’t diminish with Isran’s death. Aimery gazed at Kyndra suspended in mid ‐ air, her long, dark locks floating through the flames as if they were water. She had sacrificed everything. For him.

  And he would do the same.

  Aimery took a deep breath and stepped into the sphere. The flames licked at his skin, scorching him with burns that laced across his body like whip marks. He gathered Kyndra in his arms and hugged her to him.

  “I’m sorry, my love. So sorry I failed you.”

  Aimery stepped out of the sphere and closed his eyes as he thought of his realm. In the next breath he found himself standing in a corridor of the palace. He smiled as he took in the beauty of the Fae. They had made it.

  “Aimery?”

  He looked up to find Theron and Lugus running toward him.

  Lugus was the first to reach him. “What happened to her?”

  “I’ll explain everything once she’s settled.”

  “Is she dead?”

  “Nay.” Aimery could still feel her heart beating in her chest. It was power he had never had before, power he had never thought to experience.

  “Come,” Theron said. “There’s a chamber for her.”

  But Aimery shook his head. “She’s going to mine.”

  Theron and Lugus followed him to his chamber. After Aimery had her on his bed and covered, he motioned them out and closed the door behind him. He leaned his head against the door and sighed.

  “You look like hell,” Lugus murmured.

  Aimery snorted. “I feel like it.”

  “Are those burns?”

  He turned to Theron and nodded. “They are. Let’s leave Kyndra in peace. I’ll tell you everything over a feast and a case of wine.”

  An hour later Aimery pushed his platter away and leaned back in his chair with a goblet in hand. “That’s all of it.”

  “By the gods,” Theron murmured.

  Lugus shook his head sadly. “She did all of that and still managed to survive? I thought once someone turned to the dark they were forever lost.”

  “Not all,” Rufina said as she came into the chamber. She took the chair next to Theron and smiled at Aimery. “Kyndra didn’t go willingly to black magic. It was forced upon her and, by what you’ve told us, it was love for you that kept her from turning evil.” Aimery wanted to believe Kyndra loved him, but he wasn’t sure. He knew he loved her and that she cared for him, but was it love? “What will happen to her?”

  “Nothing,” Theron said. “She did exactly what you told her to—stay alive.”

  “Even though she used black magic.”

  Rufina sighed. “The use of black magic will be like a scar that she will carry the rest of her life.”

  Aimery was tired, both mentally and physically. His need to be with Kyndra had made him antsy the past hour, but he had owed Theron an explanation. Now that it was over, he couldn’t stay away from Kyndra. He drained his goblet and rose. “I want out of these clothes and a hot bath.”

  He walked from the chamber, grateful none stopped him.

  Chapter Twenty‐Five

  Kyndra took a deep breath and stretched. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at cerulean blue sheer bed hanging that draped around the four posts of the bed as well as through the canopy. She didn’
t have to ask to know that somehow Aimery had won, and it was his bed she was lying in.

  Tears gathered in her eyes and fell from the corners. She had expected to be left on Thav as her punishment. Instead, she had been brought home where the magic of the dragons pulsed and thrived in the beautiful realm.

  Kyndra rolled to her side and gazed out the window that looked over the mountains. In the distance she could see a dragon soaring through the air. Its call could be heard, even from that distance.

  She longed to go to the Blues, to ask their forgiveness for failing them. She hadn’t brought back Isran for them to punish nor had she brought back the egg. She didn’t know what happened to the precious treasure, but she was sure Aimery would have brought it had he been able.

  Yet she couldn’t go to the Blues, nor could she go to the Order. She had forsaken all of them, betrayed her vows. It was not something the Order took lightly. Not to mention she had used black magic in ways that made her stomach roll just thinking about it.

  She was glad she was alone, because she needed time to herself before she faced anyone, least of all Aimery. Kyndra rose from the bed and ripped the hated crimson gown from her body.

  She tossed it into the hearth before she walked to the bathing chamber and readied her bath.

  On a chair next to the tub was a long, flowing gown of the palest blue and embroidered with silver thread along the hem and cuffs with the knot work of the Fae. Lying atop the gown was her cuff. She brushed away new tears and climbed into the tub.

  After scrubbing her skin raw and washing her hair twice, she rose from the water and dried off. She wrapped the towel around her and sat on the small bench before the opened doors that led to the terrace as she combed her hair. How long she sat there, she wasn’t sure. She had gotten lost in her thoughts of the dragons, the Order, Thav and Aimery. Despite everything, she didn’t regret giving herself to Aimery. What had happened between them had been more than lust. Dare she call it love?

  But it was lost to her now. Everything was lost to her now. As much as she loved her realm, she didn’t belong there. She had done the ultimate sin by practicing black magic. That could never be forgiven. Never.

  She sighed and set down the comb. Then she rose and let the towel drop to get dressed.

  She slipped the gown over her and let her fingers trace the knot work of silver along the curved neckline. She slipped on the shoes, but ignored the cuff. With a sigh, she turned to find the queen in the doorway. Kyndra started to curtsey, but Rufina halted her.

  “There’s no need for that,” Rufina said with a smile. “How are you?” Kyndra glanced away from the queen and her flaxen hair that hung over one shoulder to drape across her belly swollen with child.

  “I cannot imagine what you went through, Kyndra. I can see the pain in your eyes.

  Aimery told us what happened.”

  Kyndra turned her head away. She wanted to leave the room, but no one left the king or queen without permission.

  “He’s been by your side these three days that you’ve slept. Only when we’ve made him has he left you. He cares a great deal about you, and I know he’ll be ecstatic to learn you’re awake.”

  She wasn’t ready to face Aimery. What could she say? He had seen her at her worst.

  “Will you tell me what happened?”

  Kyndra shook her head. “There isn’t much to tell, your highness. I used black magic and sided with Isran.”

  “Aimery tells me you did it for him.”

  She knew Aimery would say what he could to save her, but there was nothing that could save her. Not now. “Aimery doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

  “Is that so?”

  Kyndra whirled around to face Aimery who stood on the terrace. Gone were the black clothes Isran had made him wear, and in their place were dark blue breeches and a white tunic with dark blue knot work down the front from his shoulders to the hem.

  “I’m not ready for this,” she said and backed away.

  “Ready for what? To see me? To hear that you did what you had to do?”

  “Aimery, please. Stop.”

  He shook his head. “Nay. You could have plunged the dagger in the egg, but you didn’t.

  You used it on the seal of the missive. How did you know there was magic in it?”

  “I saw it glow blue.”

  “You saved me,” he murmured. “You saved the realm.”

  She wanted to run, but she was trapped with Aimery in front of her and Rufina behind her. Every time she tried to use her magic to leave the palace, she felt Theron’s magic stopping her.

  “I’m not the person you think I am.” She shrugged. “I willingly joined Isran.”

  “If that’s so, why did you bring me back from the madness again and again? Why didn’t you crack the egg? Why did you help me?”

  She saw the love shining in Aimery’s eyes, and she longed to rush into his arms and feel them around her, sheltering her from everything. But she couldn’t do that to him. He deserved someone who hadn’t killed, who hadn’t delved deep into the darkness.

  “I wanted the power for myself. I wanted to take Isran’s place. I had no idea the power would go to you.”

  “That’s not true,” Theron said from beside his wife. “Aimery got the magic Lugus and I put into the missive because you wanted him to have it.” Kyndra closed her eyes and tried again to leave. She wanted to be alone, to leave the realm forever. When she opened her eyes Aimery stood breaths from her.

  “Deny it all you want, but your body knows.”

  She opened her lips to argue, but was silenced when Aimery’s mouth covered hers. She couldn’t stop the moan as he ravaged her mouth. One hand cupped the back of her head with the other wrapped around her, molding her to his hard body. Kyndra was powerless to do anything other than give herself up to the kiss. She had dreamed of his kisses, yearned for them as a Fae would yearn for magic.

  He ended the kiss and smiled down at her. “Tell me your body doesn’t hunger for mine.

  Tell me you don’t dream about the nights we had together. Tell me you don’t love me.” She couldn’t. And he knew it. “Don’t do this. You should never have returned me here.”

  “What was I supposed to do, leave you in Thav?”

  “I might not be able to control my body, but I can prevent you from making a mistake.”

  “My love for you isn’t a mistake.”

  She blinked back more tears. “You might not think so now, but you will. When people refuse to meet my eye on the street, no one will talk to you because I used black magic, or the Order stands against me you will regret it.”

  “Never.”

  But she wouldn’t let him find out. She turned to face Theron and Rufina. “Please, let me leave. I cannot stay here.”

  “Where will you go?” Rufina asked.

  “I need to be alone.”

  Theron gave a brief nod, and she hurried to leave before Aimery could stop her. As she faded from the palace, she heard him shout her name.

  * * * * *

  “Damn you, Theron,” Aimery bellowed. “How could you do that?” “She didn’t want to stay, and you cannot make her.”

  “I could have made her see that she was wrong.”

  Rufina touched his arm, her smile sad. “Kyndra needs to see that on her own. Give her the time, Aimery. If it’s meant to be, she’ll come back to you.”

  “What if she doesn’t?”

  Rufina glanced at Theron. “Only time will tell.”

  Aimery ran a hand through his hair as the royal pair left his chambers. He walked to the terrace and stood in the doorway. He couldn’t follow Kyndra now. Her magic was gone from the palace. She could be anywhere in the realm—or out of it. He had seen the fear in her gaze, the look of a trapped animal that seeks escape.

  “I’m sorry, Aimery.”

  He shrugged, not bothering to turn and look at Lugus. “It went against everything in me to let her go. I fear I might have lost her forever.”
r />   “Do you love her?”

  Aimery nodded and faced Lugus. “I’d die for her.”

  “Do you believe she loves you?”

  “I do. She showed me with everything she did on Thav.”

  “Then give her time, my friend. “

  “Would you have returned to Ahryn when you ran away?”

  Lugus ran a hand over his chin. “I hadn’t planned on it. I figured she would be better off without me, just as Kyndra feels toward you. She’s giving up any happiness she might find to ensure that you don’t regret being with her.”

  “What made you return to Ahryn?”

  One side of Lugus’ mouth lifted in a grin. “She did. She didn’t give up on me.” Aimery nodded for now he knew what he had to do.

  Chapter Twenty‐Six

  Kyndra brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She had always loved the view from the top of the mountains. She dare not go near the Quay of Skulls and the blue dragons, but she was close enough that she could watch them.

  She was glad to have left the palace. It had been nearly a week, and she had expected each day to get easier without Aimery. When in fact, it had gotten harder. To make matters worse, a part of her had longed for Aimery to come after her and drag her back to the palace. In the end, she knew she had done the right thing for them both.

  For now she would stay in the realm, but she knew she would have to leave eventually.

  There were some Fae who made their homes in the mountains far away from others, but Kyndra didn’t know how long she could stay away from the dragons. To live without them seemed impossible, but it was something she would have to do.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into the wind.

  The wind began to pick up, and she rose to her feet. She had spent all morning watching the dragons. There was a temple for the Order not too far from where she was, and she longed to visit it, to see Julieth and apologize for everything. But to go to the temple would be a death sentence to her.

  Kyndra left the top of the mountain to travel the rolling hills. The grass stood to her waist, blowing gently in the wind, and the sun was high in the cloudless sky. Another perfect day in the realm.