Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,70

of the gate, a ghostly figure watching as dark forms spewed from the portal. Their weight shuddered through the ground, through me, and their screams rent the air, a sound so loud it hurt my ears.

But not all those screams were distant. Some were way too close.

My attention snapped back to the here and now. The demons were so close now, I could smell them; if I didn’t stop the bastards in the next few seconds, they’d be on me.

I reached for the earth’s might and flung it at the tunnel. As the ground began to shake with the force of her response, I called on the lightning. I expected little more than a splutter, but instead got something entirely different. Something that wasn’t just lightning but rather a storm of heat and fury that swept down Elysian’s blade and chased the earth’s wave of power through the ground. As huge cracks appeared in the ceiling, walls, and floor of the tunnel, multiple forks of lightning erupted through the gaps and targeted the demons. By the time the tunnel collapsed, there were none left.

I dropped to my knees and leaned heavily on Elysian, wishing I could move but physically unable to do anything more than breathe. And even that hurt.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the sword’s hilt. The gentle pulse of her power caressed my skin but gave me no strength or healing. I needed Vita for that, and she was simply too far away.

And yet, had Nex been here, I might not have needed Vita’s help, because I would have been able to channel the power of the storms through her rather than my body.

How I’d been able to do that was certainly something I needed to talk to Mo about. But to have any hope of doing that, I had to get up, had to move. I couldn’t stay here, no matter how much my body and brain hurt. I might have temporarily stopped the demons, but I had no doubt they’d find a way around the blockage. If they hit me again, it would be the end.

And yet, despite the pulsing need to get the hell out of here, I just couldn’t force my legs to move.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before I became aware that the earth was again shuddering. I frowned and opened my eyes. Elysian’s light was muted and the earth under my toes still.

A squawk had my gaze jumping to the channel. A familiar black shape emerged. I blinked and wondered if utter exhaustion had made me delusional.

I wasn’t. The shape was real.

My heart leapt. Mo.

Tears stung my eyes, and a sob escaped. She swept into the tunnel, did a quick circle, and then shifted shape in front of me. I dropped Elysian and fell into her embrace, shuddering and crying with relief.

“Hush.” She wrapped her arms around me and held me close. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

“Mo, he betrayed me.” It came out broken, full of hiccups and tears. “My own fucking brother willingly handed me over to Darkside.”

“I know.” She brushed a kiss on the top of my head. “I know.”

“I hate him.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I am going to kill him.”

“Yes.”

“I have no choice.”

“No. Not now.”

I didn’t say anything else. There was no need to. She knew. She understood.

I wasn’t sure how long we knelt there in the dusty gloom, but it must have been a while, because the daylight was fading fast by the time I pulled back.

She touched a hand to my cheek, her smile understanding. “I’m so sorry, darling girl. I’d truly hoped it would work out differently, that he would at least hold true to you if no one else, but I guess that was not to be.”

Tears stung my eyes again, and I brushed them away resolutely. They were nothing more than the shattered remains of hope and love. My brother had proven himself unworthy of either up on that bridge.

“How long was I missing?” I asked.

“Just a day, but it was the longest day of my life.” Her gaze scanned me. “Let’s get you healed and out of here. You need a feed and a bath, and not necessarily in that order. You, my girl, stink.”

She placed her hands on both my temples. The warm, golden heat of her healing energy flooded my body, fixing the myriad of wounds and chasing away the worst of the pain and tiredness. The deep ache remained in my head, but I suspected at