Heir of Broken Fate: Chapter 25

Knox keeps my promise, striding into the study the next day. Hazel appears oblivious to what happened last night as she talks animatedly with her hands. “There’s more books! The ones we found in the abandoned library are part of a set.”

Knox stands behind the couch, his hands on his hips. “You think it’s someone’s personal collection?”

Hazel nods vigorously, pacing in front of the wooden desk. “They’re all mismatched. Some are volume three, others one and six…Six books about how to manipulate demonic creatures!”

“It could be random,” Knox considers. “The priestesses could have confiscated them from various Fae.”

Taking a seat on the sofa in front of the fire, I add my own thoughts. “What if a spell was cast to watch over the books because it’s someone’s personal collection? They could have separated the series of books to make it appear as if they were placed at random.”

“Someone orchestrated this entire horrific ordeal all those years ago, and with the number of demonic creatures that roam the courts along with the missing Fae…They’re still using dark magic.” Hazel lowers her voice. “It’s no longer just an entrapment spell.”

“You can’t return to the library. The priestesses might already be suspicious of the books you’ve taken, and we can’t draw any more attention.” Knox meets my gaze. “Considering someone sent those demon hounds after me, I’d say we’re getting a little too close to finding how the spell was cast.”

I breathe a sigh of relief at his white lie.

The last thing I need is to make Hazel worry. I don’t want to burden her any further.

“I still have five books to read in the cellar. None contain entrapment spells but they hold information on how black magic works. That’ll be helpful to destroy it when the time comes,” Hazel says, finally taking a seat in front of the fire.

“Any hints as to where the other books could be hidden?” I ask.

“Other than the witches’ altar, nothing so far,” Hazel says solemnly.

Silence descends around the room, each of us thinking about different locations as to where the remaining dark magic books could be.

“What if the books were burned?” I ask.

Hopelessness fills my chest. We might be running around searching for a book that may no longer exist. The mermaid’s first riddle turned out to be true, yet what if this is an elaborate game to them?

“They can’t be,” Hazel says confidently.

Knox’s eyes grow wide with surprise as he reads her mind.

“They’re all connected; if one burns, the others in the set die too.” Knox shakes his head. “No wonder dark magic is clinging to the books. The books themselves are dark magic.”

I lift my brows as I lean forward. “You’re saying dark magic is sitting on this property right now?”

Hazel winces. “Yes.”

“You knew and didn’t tell us?” I ask in disbelief.

Hazel’s head shoots up, her eyes clouding with worry. “I knew the moment you realized they were dark magic themselves, you would tell me to stop. I didn’t want to be coddled.”

I blink. I don’t mean to coddle her, I just don’t want her to get hurt, especially because I’m the one who dragged her into this situation. Hazel has suffered enough pain as it is—she doesn’t deserve more.

However, Hazel is right. She’s a grown woman. “I’m sorry,” I say softly, sincerity lacing my words.

She waves a hand in the air, dismissing my apologies. “It’s fine, but what you can tell me is what really happened last night.”

I open my mouth. Not knowing what to say, I close it again.

“You’re wincing more than usual, and you didn’t train this morning.” She grins. “Call it intuition.”

A surprised chuckle escapes me. Knox stands beside the sofa, staring at Hazel with an impressed spark in his eyes.

“Perhaps you should be a spy, Hazel,” he drawls.

Hazel shrugs. “Too much drama.”

“I got hit by two arrows, but I’m fine now,” I blurt, recoiling when Hazel’s head snaps toward me, her red hair flying across her face. “They weren’t tracking Knox…They were tracking me.”

Hazel’s mouth pops open, fear flashing across her ocean blue eyes before they harden. “I’m glad you’re okay. Don’t keep anything from me from now on,” she demands, giving me the same stare down she gave Knox earlier.

I lift my hand in the air. “I promise.”

Raising a brow, she turns to Knox. “Now that that’s settled, where do we go from here?”

“I’m going to track the remaining demon hounds tomorrow, see if they lead me to who’s ordering them to hunt Delilah,” Knox says.

“I’m coming with you.” I cut him off before he can argue. “I can take care of myself.”

His brow arches. Can you?

I narrow my eyes in return. Yes.

“I’ll be more prepared this time. Besides, I’m not letting you go alone,” I say flatly. My heart pinches at the memory of Knox surrounded by the demon hounds.

“I’m one of the most powerful Fae in this kingdom.” His grin is pure arrogance. “It would take a lot more than a few demon hounds to take me down.”

I shrug. “Great, then you can enjoy my delightful company.”

“More demon books for me,” Hazel says, a small shiver wracking her body. “They truly are horrendous creatures.”

Yes, and whoever is sending them into these lands is more disturbed than they are.

Widening my stance, I prepare for the assault. All afternoon Knox has been training me, teaching me how to combine my sword and defense training with magic. Where my sword strikes, my magic protects, and when magic attacks, my training instincts defend.

I must admit, my morning training sessions have been slower than usual, taking me more time to adjust to my new body than I thought. I’m stronger, faster, and can see moves coming before an opponent does thanks to my sharp senses. My body has had to adjust to the faster, more violent movements it can produce.

Knox says combining them will be more lethal than relying solely on my magic. I could burn myself out and have to rely solely on my past training or be in a compromised position where magic isn’t available.

I can’t let my magic become a crutch.

Locking my gaze on Knox’s sapphire eyes, I lift my hands, awaiting his assault. I’ve tried making the first move countless times in the past few hours, to no avail. He’s been training far longer than I have, his techniques sharper, more focused and far deadlier.

His right foot moves, and then he’s lunging forward, his sword swiping for my arm. I spin before his sword connects, rolling into a crouch. I swing my leg out, knocking Knox off his feet. I strike before he can, thrusting with my right hand, my sword barely an inch from his heart.

I soak up the shock that lines his features. “I win,” I purr.

A grin tugs at his lips. In a flash, the sword is knocked from my hand, his own flying across the grass, as his legs wrap around my waist. Rolling, he takes me to the ground and pins his knee into my back.

“Arrogance gets you nowhere,” he growls.

I groan, shoving him off my back as I mutter curses under my breath. Walking away, I take a break, drinking from my water.

“I think we need to work on your mental blocks,” Knox says casually before drinking from his own waterskin.

“I don’t have mental blocks.”

Knox chuckles. “You most certainly do.”

I fist my hands on my hips. “What mental blocks do I supposedly have?”

“You tired yourself out the other night at the library. You have a lot more power than simple cloaking magic.”

He tips his head back as he takes another drink, the sun shining on his tan skin as water runs down his chin, over his exposed neck. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.

I suddenly need a lot more water.

Knox wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’ve put up a mental block, you’re not fully accessing your power.”

“How would you know if I have more power?” I ask defensively.

Knox shrugs. “I can feel it.”

I chuckle. “You can feel it?” I ask dubiously. When I see that he isn’t laughing, my own humor dies. “How?”

“You sometimes, unknowingly, send your magic toward me.”

I slam my mouth shut. How did I not know I was doing that?

“I—”

I have no words.

“Why are you afraid of magic?”

I blink. “I’m not afraid of magic.”

Knox’s eyes flatten. Really?

I’m not consciously afraid of magic. I love everything there is to do with magic and I love these lands. If you take away the beasts and entrapment spell, it’s a beautiful place to live in. I would love to—

Knox clicks his tongue. “You don’t want to get attached.”

The smug bastard needs to stop invading my mind.

“My mental shields are up. How the hell did you read my mind?”

His lips twitch as he takes a step back. “I didn’t, but I love to be proved right.”

I glare at him. “You insufferable bastard!”

Knox walks off, chuckling. Turning, his face grows serious. “No matter where you end up, Delilah, the magic and Fae body aren’t going anywhere.”

My heart begins to race. Even if I end up going back to the human lands, back to my people…my father will kill me on sight the moment he sees me with elongated ears and magic. My father and his abuse appears to have wiggled into my head further than I thought. I shake the thoughts of my father away.

“How do I access my full powers?” I demand.

Knox crosses the grass and slowly leans in, the warmth of his breath tickling my cheek as his lips brush the shell of my ear. His dark rumbling voice makes my stomach fill with liquid heat. “Accept it, Angel,” he whispers.

I grit my teeth at the shiver that runs down my spine.

“Accept what?” I ask, taking a step back, needing as much distance from him as possible.

Knox takes a deep breath, his jaw clenching before he relaxes his body, settling into cool indifference as he slides his hands in his pockets. “Whatever it is that you’re afraid of feeling.”

I’m afraid of getting comfortable in this world knowing I’ll have to go back the second the entrapment spell lifts. I never want to go back to that palace; it was only home because Easton was there. I think I’d kill my father if I ever saw him again.

My breathing picks up, my chest rising and falling faster as my thoughts spiral out of control, making fire build inside of me.

“What are you afraid of, Delilah?” Knox pushes.

His voice sends the thoughts in my mind into overdrive, each fear flooding my mind.

I’m afraid of losing the people I love, afraid of getting close to anyone in case they get taken away from me again, afraid of what it will feel like to return to the palace without Easton. I’m afraid of what my father will do to me now that Easton is gone.

I have no one to shield me from my father anymore.

Fire erupts.

My eyes burn as fire explodes around me, shooting out of my hands and encompassing my entire body, yet the heat doesn’t harm me.

Knox’s icy air brushes against my flames, soothing them before they turn his garden to ash.

“There she is,” Knox breathes, taking a step forward. “Show me the gold magic.”

His voice is like a command. A soothing golden light envelopes me, replacing the fire. This power feels different from the flames, more serene.

“Interesting,” Knox murmurs, walking around me.

His magic probes mine, as if to say hello. Involuntarily, my magic strokes up against his, as if it’s a cat.

“What power is this?” I ask.

Knox’s brows furrow as he stops in front of me. “That…I don’t know.”

My jaw goes slack. “How do you not know?”

My panic makes my magic flare in response. Light pulses around us before Knox’s power strokes a tendril down my back, the black shadow containing his essence soothing me and my magic.

I squirm away. “Stop that,” I hiss.

Knox shrugs. “It works, and I don’t feel like finding out what power you possess by being incinerated with it.”

I smirk, spreading the gold light toward him. “Scared, Knox?”

My power slams into an invisible shield, so strong it makes me stumble backward from the force of it.

“Not for a second, Angel,” he purrs.

My magic retracts as he drops the protection shield.

“Can you create shadows?” he asks curiously.

“Where do the shadows come from? What element?”

“Fire. From the light and darkness created in the embers of a flame.”

I close my eyes, imagining long black talons creeping from behind me. I flutter open my eyelids to see swirls of darkness have consumed me. I send them scattering for Knox with half a thought.

I click my tongue. “Apparently.”

As the magic builds inside of me, I imagine water flowing through me, calming me, washing away the magic I let escape. The shadows dissolve entirely. It feels easier this time, as if I’m able to access my magic faster. Knox was right—I was blocking it.

“You truly are an essence Fae,” he says in awe.

Wicked delight shines in those beautiful sapphire eyes. With that look, I begin to tentatively back away, getting no further than two steps before a vine slithers up my right leg, halting my movements completely.

“Do you have earth magic?” He smirks.

The smug bastard thinks he’s found something I don’t have; little does he know Hazel already helped me tap into my earth magic.

Quicker than Knox can blink, two long green vines shoot out of the earth, wrapping around his hands and feet. His eyes widen before a burst of shocked laughter falls from his lips.

I use my own magic to unravel Knox’s vine from my leg. Stalking toward him, I stop so close my shoes touch the tip of his.

He’s making magic fun for me instead of something to fear. I squelch the tenderness that arises from his kindness.

“Have any more tricks? Your Highness,” I teasingly add.

He leans his head down, whispering in my ear, “Your wish is my command.”

My vines around him wholly disappear before he snakes his arms around my waist, his wings exploding behind him. He takes off into the sky so quickly I yelp. Wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, I cling to him for dear life. His pulse thumps rapidly against my forearms. With nowhere to look but those sapphire eyes filled with an emotion I can’t decipher, I concede that Knox wins this round and possibly every future round. Considering if this is his power after it’s been dwindling for nearly one hundred and fifty years, I’d be terrified to go against him at his full strength. What a sight that would be.

Electricity hums through my body. Feeling every inch of his glorious body makes liquid heat pool in my stomach.

“You win,” I breathe, not daring to break eye contact.

A slow grin spreads across his lips, making him even more gorgeous. “That’s what I thought,” he says roughly.

Flying us back down to the garden, Knox gently sets me on my feet, my body instantly cooling at the loss of contact.

My heart’s beating so fast I’m afraid Knox can hear it. “I’ll see you at dinner,” I rasp, leaving Knox alone in the garden.

I kill the feelings he’s eliciting in my body, shoving it into a box and throwing away the key.

Stupid, useless hormones.