The Bride Tournament (Hexed Hearts Book 1)(52)

Anger simmered in Ellie’s core. “You’ve been hexing the competition.”

“So fragile, the human immune system,” Dame Lange butted in with a malicious grin.

“Why not hex us?” Ellie asked, searching for an escape.

“You can still move if I hex you, and run and warn the kingdom about me.” Lady Olivia tsked and stalked forward, gold and blue sparks erupting from her fingers. “Besides, you seem to be immune. I’ve tried to hex you, twice.”

“How are you cursing the contestants?” Meera asked, eyes alight.

“My little friend in the frame does it for me.” Lady Olivia dipped a slender hand into the pocket of her olive gown and pulled out the mirror Ellie had been looking for. “I whisper a name and poof! The poor girl falls ill.”

“How did you even find out our names? The whole tournament’s anonymous.” Ellie scrambled for clarity.

“My little birdies told me.” Lady Olivia smiled mockingly, her fingers fluttered in the direction of the crows that dotted the trees. “They followed everyone home, spied for me, saw things no one wanted seen.”

Ellie’s stomach twisted, had Olivia seen her and Gerard together?

“That’s dark, evil magic.” Meera gasped.

“Obviously.” Lady Olivia rolled her eyes. “I’ve become quite the expert in old magic. The dark stuff is the most helpful. I called forth an ancient spirit to help me win the tournament.”

Ellie mulled that over. Maybe the old magic pendant made her immune?

“Give me the pendant,” Lady Olivia said, reading Ellie’s thoughts. “I don’t have time to take it from your dead body. I have a date with a prince.”

“Never,” she said and gripped the warm pewter ring tightly. It glowed as brilliantly as the moon tonight, beams of light flicking out between the cracks in her fist.

“Fine, kill Ellie and the old hag if she gets in the way.” Lady Olivia snapped her fingers. Her body spun faster than eyes could register and disappeared. Suddenly a single crow burst from the darkness, barreling straight for Ellie.

Ellie flung her arms up as a shield, releasing the pendant. The giant bird crowed and clawed at her chest. Wings beat her face and arms as she tried desperately to reach for the pendant. The chain snapped and the raven flew off, the glowing orb dangling from its claws.

“What the?” Ellie gasped, pain lanced across her breast. She glanced down to see a semi-deep slash across her breastbone. The necklace was gone. She had to get to the castle. “Meera, run!”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Dame Lange raised her glowing hands and shot sparks at Ellie and Meera.

They flung apart. Ellie smacked into the stone gate, back hitting with enough force to knock the breath from her lungs. Gasping, she looked for Meera. Horrified, Ellie crawled toward the older woman. Meera slumped against a boulder. Blood poured from a wound to her head.

“Meera!”

“I’m fine,” she rasped and sat slowly. Pain etched her wrinkled features. “Lange. You’re dead.”

Meera raised her hands as Dame Lange did. Sparks smacked into each other in midair. A force like a firework exploded outward and rained pinpricks of embers over the forest. Without thinking, Ellie flung herself at the portly frame of the dame. They toppled to the ground in a heap of skirts.

She beat her fists into Dame Lange’s face, anger fueling her strength. Pain screamed up her arm as she collided with one of the older woman’s teeth and it cut open her knuckles. She ignored the pain. This woman had injured Meera.

“Ellie, watch out!” Meera cried.

Silver glinted and sliced down Ellie’s arm. Dame Lange spun her dagger around, coming back for a second jab. Ellie bolted backward and tripped over her gown. Dame Lange jumped to her feet in a blur of motion, too fast to be human. Blood poured from the nose Ellie had broken.

Dame Lange gripped the bone and snapped it back into place. She smiled through the flow of crimson covering her teeth; one of the front ones had cracked under Ellie’s onslaught. She ripped off her ornate headpiece. A lumpy, bald, gray-skinned head reflected light from the sconces.

“What are you?” Meera hissed. The two women circled the clearing like predators looking for a weak spot.

“A servant of my Lady Olivia.” Dame Lange tossed the dagger back and forth.

Meera flung a small rock at the other woman. Smack! It rammed into her cheek, gouging out skin. The inside of Dame Lange’s mouth was visible through the decimated flesh, and Ellie fought a wave of nausea. Dame Lange didn’t seem to notice the gaping hole in her face.

The dame lunged for Meera. Ellie lunged for Dame Lange. The three hit in a flurry of fabric, glinting steel, and scratching hands. Meera was knocked from the fray and Ellie used every last dirty trick in the book to fight Dame Lange. Her paltry experience rough-housing with the stable boys as a child was nothing compared to the strength in the older woman’s fists as she pummeled Ellie’s stomach.

Air whooshed from her lungs and she fought for breath.

“No!” Meera screamed as a heavy body landed on Ellie, pressing her into the damp earth.

She needed air. Black forked over her vision as the weight of the body pushed against her ribs. With her last reserve of strength, Ellie shoved the form off her and gasped to fill her lungs.

“One down, one to go.” Dame Lange’s voice broke through the fog. Her silver dagger flashed in front of Ellie’s face. “You might want to check on your friend, little girl.”