Fireblood (Frostblood Saga #2)(94)

A razor-sharp chill skittered over my body, raising every tiny hair on my arms and the back of my neck.

“You’re mad,” Arcus breathed.

“Not mad. Tired. Tired of having to behave like a ninny to fulfill my father’s expectations for what a lady should be. Tired of being underestimated by you and the court. Tired of being passed over. Tired of pretending to be so much less than I am.”

“What are you planning to do?” I asked.

She moved gracefully toward Arcus, whose whole body tensed.

“Arcus, you’re going to step away from Ruby,” she instructed with a small, chilling smile.

“No,” he said firmly.

She moved closer. “You’re going to move away from her now.”

“No!” He lifted a hand to stop her approach.

She stopped inches away. “If you hurt me, if you knock me out, the Minax will merely be free to do as it wishes. You know what follows. Death. Pain. Madness. It will inhabit whomever it chooses and you will have no control over it. I, however, control it perfectly. As you have seen. And by the way, Prince Eiko can stop right now or he will be the first to die!”

She swiveled suddenly, catching Prince Eiko just feet behind her.

“Get back to the wall,” she ordered.

The prince moved to the wall, the rage in his eyes spitting green fire.

“I don’t need you, Arcus, or you, Prince,” she said with a flap of her hand. “You can both leave.”

They didn’t move.

“I can see you’re not taking me seriously.” Her jaw hardened. She pointed at Prince Eiko and the Minax seeped into the air again, then flowed into his body. This time, he gave an earsplitting shriek of agony that echoed off the cavern walls. He dropped to his knees.

I sensed the exultation of the Minax, both of them, as they absorbed the joy of his suffering.

Marella said, “Return to me,” and the shadow arced toward her and disappeared into her veins. “Now that you know what I’m capable of, I suggest you leave. Or should I just kill you?”

Prince Eiko grabbed the wall and hauled himself to his feet, then turned to face Marella again.

“Go, Prince Eiko,” I said pleadingly.

“I brought you here. I won’t leave you.” He brought his hands up, palms tilted at Marella to attack. She watched him, poised. A snake about to strike.

“You can’t fight this with fire, Prince Eiko,” I said. “Please, go now.”

The corner of Marella’s mouth twitched up, as if she enjoyed his indecision.

“Just go,” I repeated. “Please!” Hearing the urgency in my voice, he backed toward the door and, with a reluctant glance, left the cavern.

“Now you, Arcus,” she said calmly, tilting her pert chin toward the entrance.

He shook his head. “Only if Ruby leaves with me.”

Marella closed her eyes, and the Minax came for him, its onyx talons outstretched. He put up his forearm to block. I waited for that sickening moment when the tendrils would penetrate his skin.

Instead, it recoiled visibly, jerking back as if rebounding off an invisible barrier.

Not that one, it whispered, shaken. I felt its revulsion and pain. Shock rippled through me.

Marella’s eyes were narrowed to slits as she examined Arcus, who stood with his arm still raised as he watched the Minax return to her.

She shuddered as it disappeared into her fingers. “I guess I’ll have to let you stay for now. But I think I’ll close that opening, in case anyone else decides to join us.”

Her arm shot forward and frost surged out to strike the ceiling with the force of a battering ram. A deluge of rock shook the floor, clogging the opening. When the ground stopped trembling, she smiled, self-satisfied. “Didn’t think I could do that, did you? The Minax lends me power.”

Arcus and I shared a brief look. She truly was unstable. Weeks of possession by the Minax had tangled the threads of her mind.

“I’ve dreamed of this day for so long.” She smiled benignly. “To reunite them both. I can hardly believe I’ve done it.”

“Why would you want to?” I asked, wondering if her reasons would make any sense to me.

“The frost Minax and fire Minax are like twins. Not only did the frost Minax feel the constriction of its own bonds, it could feel the pain of its twin in the fire throne. The fire Minax was isolated here, kept from its true host, the queen. The best it could achieve was a partial bond, blocked by rock and castle stone. How do you think that felt, Ruby?”

The bond had been strong enough for the queen to execute any Frostbloods who didn’t agree to servitude. I couldn’t imagine what a full bond would look like.

Marella’s eyes were shrouded by shadows, but somehow they managed to glow with a restless fervor—nearly fanaticism—that terrified me almost more than the Minax.

“I could hear it,” she continued. “The Minax speaking to me from the frost throne. My mother’s family worshipped Eurus, the creator of the Minax, though I only found out after her death. My father wouldn’t let me speak to her when she took ill, probably because he knew she’d tell me secrets about the Minax before she died. But I’ll never know for sure, will I? Thanks to his small-minded fear of power.”

“Small-minded fear?” I breathed with disbelief. She spoke as if exposure to the Minax were no great risk.