Master of Desire (Merlin's Legacy #6) - Angela Knight Page 0,54

still there, but what if the thing that had been Liam was lying? The thought plunged her into such fury and self-hate, all she wanted to do was kill just to burn the agony off. And if one of them gets me, just as well.

She lunged and spun, hacked and stabbed, ignoring magical blasts that would have fried an ordinary human. At first the Sidhe tried to maintain their shields, but they soon realized she shrugged off magical attacks. They had to get in close with blades. One warrior conjured a bow and arrow, but Essus torched him before he got off more than a couple of shots. Nobody tried that again.

Conal’s dead. Liam killed him and I helped him do it. I killed him.

* * *

Siobhan might be a psychotic bitch, but she had centuries more experience than Conal, and the raw power to supplement her strength. Yet somehow his body seemed to know exactly what to do with the blazing power that filled him. He felt more like a nuclear reactor then anything from the Mageverse. It was intoxicating. Almost as intoxicating as the fear in Siobhan’s eyes.

What’s more, every time Helena killed one of Siobhan’s court, he felt another cool burst of power slide into him, feeding him, powering his muscles, so he grew stronger even as he fought. His hunger for revenge intensified, fed by the need to sear Siobhan’s black nightmare from his brain.

He ached to replace it with the memory of her death, the power he could feel burning beneath her white skin, seductive in a way her pussy never had been. Conal had known her too fucking well for real desire. At the end, Siobhan had been forced to use magic to make his body respond at all. But the whirling cool power in her -- that he wanted. I’d never be weak again. I could protect Helena, the twins, my people. No one would dare threaten anything mine. All I have to do is spill her blood, take her head…

What the fuck have I become? They slammed together, blade grinding on blade, sparks flying on the furious wind of their clashing power. Siobhan’s gaze met his in growing terror, and he realized she’d read his thoughts. Or maybe just his eyes.

“Monster!” She leaped back, disengaging to aim her blade into his face. Fired a thundering salvo of energy that splashed harmlessly off his instinctive shield.

He gave her a toothy, vicious smile, relishing her fear as she’d once relished his. “Yes,” he purred. “Yes, I am. Because you made me one.”

She screeched and brought her sword down in a hacking stroke, but he deflected it with an easy twist of his blade. He was no stranger to fighting Siobhan, and he knew her rhythms. She’d frequently taken on her entire court in “combat practice.” They’d all known her real purpose had been to demonstrate that none of them had a chance against her. Siobhan was far stronger than any ordinary Sidhe, male or female.

Which meant she wasn’t used to fighting anyone in her own weight class, with the possible exception of her mother. Who’d had a lot less reason to kill her than Conal. He rained blows and blasts on her, anticipating when she’d drop her shield to strike at him, then landing blows that staggered her. He could feel her burning through her reserves, even as his were renewed every time Helena killed a courtier.

“You’re not going to be able to beat me,” he told Siobhan, cool and vicious. “It took your mother and the dragon god to contain me the last time, and they only succeeded because I allowed it.” He bared his teeth. “Not this time. You’ve taught me what happens when I can’t protect my own.”

Siobhan stared at him, her face twisted and mad. “You want my power? Take it!” Leaping back, she fired a massive blast right into his eyes. He shielded, but the searing energy of it rocked and blinded him.

Helena! Liam/Lugh screamed in his mind. It’s a feint! She’s going to target Helena!

He couldn’t see a fucking thing, but he sensed the spear that appeared in Siobhan’s hand as she spun toward Helena, barbed point glowing with a spell designed to punch through any shield.

Conal, blind, threw up Darkbane and sent all the power he had blasting up its length.

In her frenzy, Siobhan didn’t even see it coming. This time it was her turn to slam through the nearest wall. And the next. And the next.