Blackbird Broken (The Witch King's Crown #2) - Keri Arthur Page 0,4
moment of resistance and then the spurt of liquid across my neck. The weight fell away, but others leapt closer, eager to take its position. I swore and whipped the lightning around the canyon, cindering every one of the bastards. As their ash fell around me, I sucked in a deep breath and thrust fully upright again.
Another scrape of sound … I spun around, daggers at the ready. Saw a shadow, then the gleam of a blade, and flicked the lightning toward it. Then awareness surged. I swore and recalled the bolts.
This was no demon or dark elf.
It was my goddamn brother.
Chapter Two
I sucked in a breath to steady my nerves and then said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“What the fuck do you think I’m doing? I’m certainly not here to enjoy the damn scenery.” His expression was a mix of annoyance and concern. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Lots of bites and cuts, but I’ll survive.” I shoved the daggers back into their sheaths. “How the hell did you know we were here?”
“How the hell do you think I knew? I met the Blackbird at what remains of our bookstore.” He paused. “How did that happen?”
“Long story short, we were attacked by a Darkside-raised witchling with the ability to raze buildings. And Luc couldn’t have known where we were, because the last time he saw us we were flying toward King’s Island.”
“Why were you flying there?”
“Because we feared the maniac who’s been killing off heirs might have gone up there to draw the sword.”
“And had he?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, fuck.” Max swept a hand through his short dark hair. Unlike me, he was full De Montfort in looks. The males of our line all had black skin and hair, while females tended to be brown, but both genders had blue irises ringed by gold. Sadly, I’d been born with Mom’s Okoro coloring—though not her gifts—and had white skin, pale blonde hair, and black eyes. Strangers rarely ever guessed that Max and I were twins.
“To put it mildly, yes,” I said. “Hence our frantic flight up here and the wall Mo’s raising.”
His gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “One that almost appears to be a mix of personal and elemental magic.”
“It is, and that will hopefully mean it’ll take the bastard with the sword longer to break through it. And you didn’t answer the question.”
He raised an eyebrow, though amusement lurked in his eyes. “What question?”
“How could Luc have told you where we were when he didn’t know?”
He gave me the look. The one that suggested I was being an idiot.
“Put together a missing sword and the fact you two weren’t home, and it’s not hard to come up with the correct answer as to where you’d gone. He’s not dumb, Gwen, even if he is an annoying prick.” He glared at me for a second, and then added, “Why am I getting the third degree? If you don’t want my help, just say so. More than happy to fly back to the evening’s entertainment. He’s keeping a nice bottle of champers on ice for us.”
I raised my hands. “Okay, okay, sorry. It’s just been a stressful few days.”
Which technically wasn’t true, as I’d actually been unconscious for the last three days; it was hard to be stressed when you were oblivious to everything that was happening around you.
“Yeah, well,” he growled, “there’s no need to take it out on me.”
I was tempted to bite right back, but resisted. Anger wouldn’t get me anywhere; it certainly wouldn’t get me answers. I’d learned that a long time ago. I trusted my brother—I really did—but we now believed someone within our small circle was passing information on to Darkside, and Max had to be a suspect. Maybe Darkside had infiltrated his circle of friends, or maybe one of his lovers was being paid to gather information. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time they’d tried that tactic. They’d hired Tristan Chen—who’d been my first boyfriend, and someone I’d remained close to even after we’d broken up—to get information not only from me, but also from the sister of at least one heir. Of course, Tris was now dead, killed by a single shot to the head when his usefulness had ended. I didn’t want the same thing happening to my brother, however peripherally or unknowingly involved he was in this mess.
“This man you have waiting for you … are you sure he’s okay?”
He gave me another of those looks. “I always use condoms, Gwen.”