Infernal Dark - Everly Frost Page 0,1

nothing you can do now.”

I’m not strong enough to stop Cyrian from hurting me. He warned me that I’m no match for his limitless dark magic. I didn’t believe him at first, but I do now.

Drawing on another trickle of my power to give me strength, I drag myself the final agonizing distance to Nathaniel’s side.

Cyrian doesn’t try to stop me as I lower myself to Nathaniel’s chest, curl my fingers around his hand, and press my forehead to his. I’m breathing heavily, nearly passing out. It took everything I had to make it back to him. I’m lucky that the Law of Champions stops Cyrian from killing me. If not, I’d be dead now.

Nathaniel’s palm and face are warm against mine, giving me the illusion that he’s still alive. The space between us glows just like it always did when we touched. I gasp air into my chest, trying to stay lucid, trying to contain my screams.

There was nothing I could do to save him. The Three Chances stopped me from using my power to influence the outcome of the fight between Hagan and Nathaniel. When the Vanem Dragon flew to Fell country to bind Nathaniel and Hagan to their fight, he warned both me and Cyrian that fae magic and dark magic couldn’t be used to interfere with the fight. Until dawn breaks, neither of us can touch Hagan or Nathaniel with our magic.

Despite that, I tried. After he was impaled, I pressed my hands over Nathaniel’s heart and flooded his chest with my power in an attempt to cauterize his wounds and stop the bleeding. Desperate to save his life, I dared the Three Chances to repel or even kill me. It didn’t do any good. My magic glowed, but Nathaniel’s breathing stopped.

Releasing his hand now, my arm shakes as I press my palm against his cheek. My hand comes away coated in gray dust. My power leaks between us despite my every effort to contain it. I’m shivering and in pain but determined to straighten his hair despite the blood and dust on his face.

Now that I’m touching him again, my control is breaking.

Everything inside me is breaking. My mind, my body, even the cavity inside my chest where Nathaniel’s death tore my heart apart.

Where is your heart?

I shake my head violently, trying to displace the question Cyrian whispered to me during the fight. He looked at me as if I’d suddenly been a mystery to him. The intrigue in his eyes filled me with fear. I didn’t have an answer for him because his question didn’t make sense. All I know is that I spent the last day as Nathaniel’s shield, protecting him from wolves, hunters—even Cyrian’s torture—but in the end, I couldn’t shield him from death.

Before I can finish my task, Cyrian bends over me, wraps his fingers into my hair, and yanks my head away from Nathaniel’s. My arms whip out, refusing to let go of Nathaniel’s shoulders even when the pain Cyrian’s dark magic causes me reaches the point where I can no longer function.

My thoughts are simple, reduced to a single, overwhelming instinct: Don’t let go.

Cyrian’s breath is hot against my ear as he kneels and curves over me, still gripping my hair.

“Hold on to him while you can, Aura,” he whispers. “The moment the sun rises, I will use my magic to tear Nathaniel’s body apart. I might leave you with his hand, but that is all.”

My whimpers turn into a scream—loud now that the arena is nearly empty. “Get away from him!”

Out of control, my power blasts between us, cold starlight sizzling through both of my arms—one outstretched to push Cyrian away, the other pressed against Nathaniel’s chest.

Cyrian jolts away from me.

The wash of dark magic surrounding his body protects him from the burning impact of my starlight—and I’m lucky it does. Until the final fight, I can’t hurt a human. The punishment for breaking that rule is my instant death.

Even so, Cyrian releases my hair so suddenly that my head whips to the side. I end up facing Nathaniel, watching helplessly as the power I released flows through his chest, bright streaks like lightning—a blast strong enough to stop his heart if it were still beating.

A sob rises inside me, but before I can release it, Cyrian backhands me so hard that my head knocks into Nathaniel’s. The impact cracks between us, a spark of starlight igniting across our faces. The flash is so bright, it’s as if