Crown of Moonlight (Court of Midnight and Deception #2) - K.M. Shea Page 0,59
to power the whole barrier.
“No!” I screamed.
I leaned into my palms, as if I could pour more magic in through sheer will, but my powers were starting to falter.
Just like it had in the parking lot at the market, magic flowed through my prism at a slower and slower rate.
“Come on—I need more magic!” I shouted.
The barrier shook under my hands, and the rumbling grew louder and louder as the black smog on the other side of the barrier pushed.
The magic wall shoved me back about a horse length, almost pushing me off my feet when I locked my knees.
“No! Not again! I’ve practiced so much—I won’t let it happen again!” I shouted, my voice hoarse.
The barrier vibrated, and it hurt my hands to touch it. Pressing my shoulder into it, I ignored the pain. I tried yanking on more magic, but it barely trickled through my prism now.
My purple magic had spread farther down the barrier, but it was a pathetic distance compared to what it needed to be.
No—no! I vowed I wouldn’t let this happen again! I can’t!
“Leila!”
Someone grabbed me by the arm and yanked me backwards. “We have to run!” It was Lord Linus. He dragged me off, pulling me away from the barrier.
“I can’t!” I shouted. “I can’t let us lose any more land! I have to support the ward!”
“You aren’t strong enough!” His callous but true words ripped my heart open.
“I have to try!” I argued.
“Not if it’s going to get you killed! Ready, Chase?”
I tried to yank my arms from Lord Linus’s grip, and even managed to elbow him in the throat, but he somehow managed to throw me up to Chase—who was mounted on Fax.
“Chase, put me down—now!” I snarled.
“Forgive me, Queen Leila, but you have to leave. It’s not safe.” Chase wheeled Fax around.
“But I’m the queen—I have to protect this realm!” I tried to wriggle free, but Chase, with his werewolf strength, had an iron grip.
I would have considered using magic on him, but when he’d become my director of security I’d outfitted him with every anti-magic charm, potion, and talisman I could find. The guy was practically a walking anti-magic blanket.
I looked back at the magic barrier and saw it tremble. The ground shook, and the wall started collapsing inward. “No!”
Chase heeled Fax, and the gelding took off, the night mares effortlessly surging around him.
The sun stallion was a blazing spot of light in the endless stretch of the Night Realm, as he fearlessly galloped on, illuminating everything around us.
We rode for what felt like forever, and the whole time the barrier shrunk behind us, giving up land to the toxic air on the other side of the barrier, which incinerated what little life remained in the realm.
We passed the ruined skeleton of a cabin—marked out by timbers, a half-caved in roof, and a door that hung off its hinges.
When the barrier passed over it and the toxic air on the other side touched it, it turned to dust and caved in.
I was crying by the time we stopped, my heart breaking.
I failed. We lost land—so much land.
I watched in misery as the ward finally ground to a halt behind us, the wall once again strong and bright.
But it didn’t matter. The realm hadn’t just lost a bit of land. The diameter of the barrier had shrunk horribly, and we’d lost acres of the realm.
I slipped off Fax’s back once Chase let me go and was only vaguely aware that Lord Linus circled around us, riding Twilight.
My knees gave out, and I sat down on the ground hard.
“I couldn’t stop it,” I whispered. “I was supposed to—I have to. And I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t do anything.”
“Leila, this isn’t your fault.” Lord Linus knelt in front of me. “The degradation of the Night Realm has been going on for decades—you can’t expect to come in and in a matter of months be able to hold up the wards!”
I slowly shook my head. “It doesn’t matter how much I practice. I’ll never be able to stop it. I’m not powerful enough, and my artifact won’t work for me.” I turned to the night mares, who were all ringed around us. “Why did you choose me? You should have chosen someone who could have stopped this!”
Chase dismounted Fax and stood near Lord Linus and me. “Yes, she’s unharmed—but she’s upset. Tell Rigel, and come as soon as you can,” he rumbled into his phone.