Trial by Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #1) - Linsey Hall Page 0,53

to appear in great numbers if you get too close. It will be a true fight.”

“How did the incursion start?” I asked. “Did the obelisk just appear one day?”

“Yes. Several months ago, the stone appeared in the King’s Grove,” Tarron said. “It plunged up through the earth. At the time, the dark magic wasn’t as strong. It takes time to grow. For a while, we didn’t know where it came from. It was Arrowen who was able to see what the Unseelie Fae were attempting.”

“They are attempting to destroy our kingdom and all of the Seelie Fae,” Arrowen said. “The obelisk compels any who approach it to kill their brethren.”

“And it worked,” I said. “Considering that ten percent of your population disappeared. But why would they want to kill you?”

“We don’t know,” Tarron said. “For a long time, we existed in harmony. We never liked each other, but we’re two sides of the Fae coin. Light and dark, good and evil.”

“But it’s never as cut and dry as that,” I said.

“True. They have some good qualities, and we have some bad,” Luna said. “Recently, one of their bad qualities is that they are launching a quiet attack on our realm.”

Tarron nodded. “But we now have a way to stop it. We’ve been working on it for the last month, and we’ve gotten the final piece of the puzzle.”

He had to mean the Wish Stone. But no one mentioned his brother, I realized. He would have been king when the stone first appeared. Had Tarron used his brother’s distraction over that as an opportunity to kill him and take his throne?

I studied the Fae.

He was ruthless. He could be cold.

But somehow, I doubted it.

Tarron walked to a small table against the wall and retrieved three objects. He returned to Arrowen and set them on the table—the carved rock that was the Wish Stone, the amplification charm that I’d made in my shop not so long ago, and a brilliant red orb about the size of a baseball. Crimson light flashed within, looking like lightning. “These are the tools that you commanded we find.” He looked up at me. “They are the key to destroying the stone and cutting off the Unseelie Fae from this realm.”

Arrowen leaned closer, an intent look on her face. She raised a delicate hand and hovered it over the Wish Stone first. A satisfied expression crossed her features. “Yes. This will allow you to make a dozen people immune to the Unseelie obelisk’s dark power.”

“It’s too weak to wish the power away?” I asked.

“Not too weak, exactly.” Her pale blue eyes met mine. “The obelisk is created from dark Unseelie magic. The Wish Stone is made of light Seelie magic. They counteract each other.”

“Ah, too bad.”

She moved her hand to the glowing red ball and hovered it over the top. She raised her other hand and let it rest on the amplifying charm I’d created.

She frowned, her gaze flicking up to Tarron. “Not strong enough.”

“What?” His eyes flashed. “It’s the most powerful magical bomb in the world. With the most powerful amplifying charm.”

Ah, so that’s what he’d wanted my amplifying charm for.

“Still, we knew it was a risk,” Arrowen said.

“What’s the problem?” I asked. “My charm isn’t strong enough?”

“The bomb isn’t either,” Tarron said. “We knew it wouldn't be, so we hoped to amplify its destructive magic.”

“It will do great damage,” Arrowen said. “But I'm afraid that unless you can destroy the entire obelisk, some of the dark magic will remain.”

I remembered how powerful that magic was. The compulsion to kill had nearly eaten me alive. If it hadn’t been for the thorn wolf dragging me out of there, I might have succumbed.

“Two bombs?” Luna asked.

“There’s only one like that in the world,” Tarron said. “I had to steal it from the Underworld.”

Ah. A memory pinged. Aeri’s boyfriend, Declan, had been sent by the High Court of the Angels to find the stolen bomb. Apparently he hadn’t found it, probably because it was protected in this realm.

“We could get more bombs,” Luna said. “Smaller ones, but lots of them.”

“That wouldn’t do it.” Tarron frowned, studying the collection of objects in front of Arrowen. “The big bomb would absorb the power of the smaller ones. We need one enormous explosion from one source.”

“And amplification is the only way to do it.” I held my hand out to Arrowen. “Am I strong enough?”

She flicked her gaze up to me, then gripped my hand. Her magic flowed through me, feathery