We? ”
“ You have to trust me. Let me help you defeat him .”
“ But if I give in to you— ”
“ If you don’t, Dev will be killed and turned into an undead. Do you want that? ” Her mouth went dry. What would she do if Dev became her enemy? He seemed to be her only ally in the craziness that filled her life over the last week. The seconds ticked by as she watched the four undead surround him and begin attacking. He and Cinder tried to hold them off, but fatigue labored his swings. He wouldn’t last long against them.
“ What do you have in mind? ”
“ There’s more than one way to kill an undead. Coat your hand with the blood on your sword and trust me .”
As she smeared the black goo across her palm, Dev’s voice cried out. One of his attackers’
blades sliced through his thigh, and her protector fell to the ground.
“ Give yourself to me now, Arden .”
She closed her eyes and surrendered to Loku. He seized control of her body. Magic like she never imagined coursed through her veins. Ice crystals coated her hand, and the wind whipped around her with renewed fury. All she could focus on was saving Dev. Her lips began to move, and words she’d never used before tumbled from them.
The power welled up inside her, threatening to explode. Fear gripped her. Her pulse raced in her ears. What had she agreed to do? The storm intensified. Sleet stung her cheeks. Her knees wobbled. How much longer could she bear this before it destroyed her?
“ Don’t worry, my Soulbearer. I could never harm you .” A pair of invisible, strong arms encircled her, keeping her hand up while Loku continued to cast through her. She leaned back against the warmth and security he offered and let the oblivion consume her.
She lost track of time. Seconds could have passed, or hours. When her consciousness returned, her body felt like all the life had been drained from it, leaving her a limp rag doll. She fell to her knees and slowly opened her eyes.
An eerie silence hung in the clearing. Even the rain had stopped. Tendrils of white fog swirled around her, parting to reveal the Necromancer encrusted in a block of ice in front of her.
She gasped, stumbling back into the mud. What had they just done?
The crack of glass shattering broke the silence. “The undead are frozen,” a voice shouted through the fog.
“Destroy them while you can,” Dev answered, and the tinkle of more ice breaking reverberated through the clearing.
“ We turned them into ice, Loku? ”
“ I told you there was more than one way to destroy undead .” Her eyes grew heavy, and her sword slipped from her fingers. They had beaten them. Dev was still alive. And the Necromancer had been stopped. She would have laughed in delight if she could’ve found the strength to do so. But all she wanted to do now was curl up into a ball and sleep. Her enemies were all ice sculptures now. There was nothing to fear.
A loud crack rumbled the ground under her, and something hard smashed against her temple. A red flash of pain filled her vision before the blackness descended upon her.
Chapter 13
When Dev saw the first cracks in the ice surrounding the Necromancer, he ran toward Trouble as fast as he could with his injured leg. Magic illuminated the fissures forming in the ice, and the resulting explosion catapulted fist-sized chunks through the air. He dropped his sword and dove for her, but he couldn’t get to her before one of the blocks connected with her temple. Her eyes widened for a second before they rolled back, and she collapsed into the mud.
He shielded her from the rest of the debris with his body and his magic, exhaling with relief when he felt her warm breath on his hand. He still couldn’t believe what he’d just seen.
Trouble, the little slip of a barmaid he’d rescued less than a week ago, had turned the Necromancer’s army into statues of ice. Of course, she didn’t do it alone. Her eyes glowed bright yellow-green while she cast, and her
“ You have to trust me. Let me help you defeat him .”
“ But if I give in to you— ”
“ If you don’t, Dev will be killed and turned into an undead. Do you want that? ” Her mouth went dry. What would she do if Dev became her enemy? He seemed to be her only ally in the craziness that filled her life over the last week. The seconds ticked by as she watched the four undead surround him and begin attacking. He and Cinder tried to hold them off, but fatigue labored his swings. He wouldn’t last long against them.
“ What do you have in mind? ”
“ There’s more than one way to kill an undead. Coat your hand with the blood on your sword and trust me .”
As she smeared the black goo across her palm, Dev’s voice cried out. One of his attackers’
blades sliced through his thigh, and her protector fell to the ground.
“ Give yourself to me now, Arden .”
She closed her eyes and surrendered to Loku. He seized control of her body. Magic like she never imagined coursed through her veins. Ice crystals coated her hand, and the wind whipped around her with renewed fury. All she could focus on was saving Dev. Her lips began to move, and words she’d never used before tumbled from them.
The power welled up inside her, threatening to explode. Fear gripped her. Her pulse raced in her ears. What had she agreed to do? The storm intensified. Sleet stung her cheeks. Her knees wobbled. How much longer could she bear this before it destroyed her?
“ Don’t worry, my Soulbearer. I could never harm you .” A pair of invisible, strong arms encircled her, keeping her hand up while Loku continued to cast through her. She leaned back against the warmth and security he offered and let the oblivion consume her.
She lost track of time. Seconds could have passed, or hours. When her consciousness returned, her body felt like all the life had been drained from it, leaving her a limp rag doll. She fell to her knees and slowly opened her eyes.
An eerie silence hung in the clearing. Even the rain had stopped. Tendrils of white fog swirled around her, parting to reveal the Necromancer encrusted in a block of ice in front of her.
She gasped, stumbling back into the mud. What had they just done?
The crack of glass shattering broke the silence. “The undead are frozen,” a voice shouted through the fog.
“Destroy them while you can,” Dev answered, and the tinkle of more ice breaking reverberated through the clearing.
“ We turned them into ice, Loku? ”
“ I told you there was more than one way to destroy undead .” Her eyes grew heavy, and her sword slipped from her fingers. They had beaten them. Dev was still alive. And the Necromancer had been stopped. She would have laughed in delight if she could’ve found the strength to do so. But all she wanted to do now was curl up into a ball and sleep. Her enemies were all ice sculptures now. There was nothing to fear.
A loud crack rumbled the ground under her, and something hard smashed against her temple. A red flash of pain filled her vision before the blackness descended upon her.
Chapter 13
When Dev saw the first cracks in the ice surrounding the Necromancer, he ran toward Trouble as fast as he could with his injured leg. Magic illuminated the fissures forming in the ice, and the resulting explosion catapulted fist-sized chunks through the air. He dropped his sword and dove for her, but he couldn’t get to her before one of the blocks connected with her temple. Her eyes widened for a second before they rolled back, and she collapsed into the mud.
He shielded her from the rest of the debris with his body and his magic, exhaling with relief when he felt her warm breath on his hand. He still couldn’t believe what he’d just seen.
Trouble, the little slip of a barmaid he’d rescued less than a week ago, had turned the Necromancer’s army into statues of ice. Of course, she didn’t do it alone. Her eyes glowed bright yellow-green while she cast, and her
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