Dawn of Ash (Imdalind, #6)(115)

“Of course I can walk; I’m not a child. Edmund may think my magic is weak and broken, but he underestimates me all the time.” Her voice was snide, powerful, all fear of the temper I had unfurled on her gone.

I smiled, the need to destroy her decreasing with the confidence she held.

“Wonderful,” I cooed, moving right back to her. This time, she didn’t shy away. Her magic moved right to mine as she sensed the change. “Because I am going to need your help.”

“Anything.” He voice was light, her eyes dark.

Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned down to her, pressing my lips against hers as our magic flared in a powerful jolt. I felt her lips, felt her touch against my neck, the small pressure sending a feral growl rumbling from the back of my throat as I pulled away, my eyes wide.

She looked at me with a hunger I hadn’t seen before, her eyes bright, her loyalty clear.

I didn’t think I had ever enjoyed a kiss as much as I had in that moment. I guessed I would keep her around a bit longer than I had originally assumed.

“Good,” I replied, making her smile deepen. “Because we need to see your father.”

“My father?” The hunger in her eyes vanished in an instant, hatred taking its place as she pushed herself to standing, her motions still a little stiff.

“Yes,” I whispered, taking her hand as my magic flooded into her, moving right to her spine, soothing the still tender tissue in hopes of making it stronger, at least for the next few minutes. “I’m going to need you to take out his guard. Can you do that?”

She looked at me in query, but I offered her nothing else. I needed her loyalty without question right now, something that would be put to the test shortly.

She hesitated, her eyes boring into mine as the thoughts moved through her until, gradually, the smile returned. Her hand left mine as she moved to the tall wardrobe at the foot of her bed. She rifled through boxes before she reemerged with a small vile clutched tightly in her hands.

“I will make sure they are as useful to my father as Thom is to Ilyan now.” She shook the contents, the thick fluid moving brightly through the tiny space.

“Wonderful,” I said, my magic flaring in acceptance and calm.

She smiled at the pretense, even though she had no idea that what she had said was a perfect remedy for what was about to happen.

“What do you want me to do?”

“You are a smart girl, Ovi. This, I know you can figure out. Protect our lives, and everything else will fall into place.”

Saying nothing more, I moved toward the door, breathing deeply as I prepared for what I was about to do. My heart thundered in a mixture of excitement and nerves I had never felt before that moment. It was an oddly intoxicating sensation.

“Take me to him,” I whispered as I shifted into a cower, my body folding in on itself as I began to shake, pushing my magic back down inside my heart, knowing that, if Edmund felt even a whisper of what was coming, of what I really was, none of this would work.

Ovailia said nothing else as she flung the door open, her hand winding around my collar as she dragged me from the room. The guard who was stationed outside stood to attention, shock moving across his face at our sudden appearance.

Keeping my body hunched and broken, I turned my hand a fraction of an inch, letting a powerful attack move through the air and right into him. The stealthy spell sped up his spine, dislocating nerve endings and severing tendons. The man crumpled back into the chair as the magic struck his brain, the simple attack rendering him useless as it burned, his body already immobilized from the pain.

“Go,” I snapped, grateful when Ovailia moved down the hall without question.

Bouncing against the wall with a thud as Ovailia pulled me around a corner, I increased my feigned cries in mockery as she continued to drag my stumbling form beside her, a low grumble of irritation seeping from her lips.

“Silence,” she hissed, but I simply cried louder.

One of Edmund’s guards looked up from where he stood, his lips twisting at the sight of us shuffling down the hall. His confusion from seeing us there was evident, but it didn’t matter. His presence had told me what I needed to know. Edmund was inside.

All we needed now was to get past that door.

“It’s up to you now,” I hissed to Ovailia between my sobs.

Her shoulders straightened, her desperate need to impress me shining through.

“Ovailia!” the man yelled, his confusion evident as he approached us. “Sain! What are you—”

“We need to see my father.”

My soul shook at the power in Ovailia’s voice, everything rippling over me in pride and lust as she did as I requested. My desire for her intensified with the power she displayed, my magic trying to fuse with hers as she smiled, the attempted connection obviously not lost on her.

“We have news.”

The man looked between us, and I cried a bit more, letting the sound flow out of me in a pathetic rumble as I pled for my life. It was a sound, a move I had perfected, and with one look, I knew it had done its job.

The man stepped back in disgust before he disappeared behind the door, emerging moments later to swing the door wide in silence.

Silence was always a bad sign with Edmund.

I could feel Ovailia’s hand begin to shake from where she held it against me, the soundless warning not lost on either of us. At any other time, I would run, find another way, but that was no longer an option. This was the only path left.