Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,37

perhaps. Things are not so clear now.” His mouth twisted, though it was as far from a smile as you could ever get. “Fate and an old goddess are very intent on controlling the narrative, aren’t they?”

“Old women—goddess or not—do tend to like getting their own way.”

“Mo being the perfect example of that.” He shook his head and continued on. “Where did you find Elysian?”

I filled him in on everything except for the discovery that I’d inherited Mo’s mage genes, and then added, “Will you be able to hide Elysian in much the same manner as you hide Hecate? Mo believes it best if I keep her with me at all times, but Darkside can’t know that.”

“Then why tell them she existed at all? It might buy us some time while they attempt to uncover the truth of that, but in the end it will only intensify the attacks on you.”

“Yes, but I can defend myself.”

“The lightning takes a severe toll on your body and your strength and, if they swamp you, you will eventually be overrun. Besides, they can’t actually touch Elysian.”

Which was something we knew thanks to the fact that after Uhtric’s horse had been cut from beneath him and the sword had slipped from his grasp, the dark elf who’d tried to claim it had been instantly incinerated. “And that’s the whole point—the only person who possibly can is Max.”

“So you made yourself bait? And Mo agreed to this madness?”

“It’s the safest way of drawing Max out of the shadows.”

“The safest way would be to use his hair or something similar to make a tracker.”

“Something we may yet be forced to try, but the thing is—he’s well aware of Mo’s capability in that regard. He’ll have arranged some way to counter it.”

“And if he does take the bait?”

“I’ll have a decision to make.”

Did I try for reason and hope, or did I simply accept, once and for all, that the brother I’d grown up with only existed as an outer shell? That the real Max—the one I loved and who had loved me—had died long ago, replaced by greed, madness, and the need to conquer and rule.

“He’ll hardly come alone,” Luc said. “Not now.”

“I know. But I have Elysian, Nex, and Vita. I can counter anything he throws at me.”

“Anything except a bullet—and don’t think he won’t resort to that.”

“Others might. He won’t. He’s done what he can to protect me thus far, Luc. He’ll keep doing that until the bitter end.”

“I think you’re leaning too heavily on your memories of your brother, rather than the reality.”

“Possibly, but he’s my brother and I owe it to him.” I poked him in the chest. “And you know damn well you’d do exactly the same thing if it was one of your siblings.”

Sadness briefly washed through the connection between us, and I silently cursed. The last thing I’d intended was to remind him about his sister.

“She’ll be okay,” I added softly. “It’s not the first time the displacement team has encountered a wraith infestation, and Mo was pretty damn sure they could get it out of her.”

“I hope so.” It was bleakly said, suggesting he wasn’t so certain. “Back to the shield—do we leave it where it is, or try to detach it?”

I turned my gaze to the arch up ahead, though it was little more than a vague shadow in the darkness. “I don’t think we can risk leaving it—not if it is somehow connected to one of the witch kings and the sword.”

“You’d think we’d fucking know,” he grumbled. “If Mryddin ever does emerge from his cave, we Blackbirds are going to have some serious words with him.”

I smiled, as he’d no doubt intended. “According to Mo, Mryddin takes about as much notice of other people’s opinions as a duck does rain.”

“I’ll just note here that he’s not the only mage with that particular gift.”

I laughed. He walked under the arch, then turned around. The flicker of red once again ran around the edge of the shield’s cross, its rhythm matching the beat of my heart rather than my steps.

But this time, magic stirred through that pulse; it was very different in feel to the force I felt through Elysian and my knives.

“Whether or not this shield was ever used by a Witch King,” Luc said, “it’s definitely magically active.”

Surprise flickered. “You can feel it? Not just see it?”

“Yes, but I rather suspect it’s simply a result of the not-quite-telepathic connection that seems to occur whenever we’re