Immortal Reign(41)
“This must have been what I felt,” Lucia whispered. “This darkness . . . this feeling of death surrounding this ring. I don’t like it.”
“Perhaps not, but without this piece of dark magic, your brother and I would both be dead,” the king said solemnly. “Magnus, I’m very glad you arrived today. I plan to give a speech at midday tomorrow to show that I am again in power here and that Amara has abandoned her new kingdom. I need the citizens of this city to believe in me.”
“First time for everything,” Magnus countered.
“I want you by my side. And Lucia as well.”
“Of course,” Magnus said without hesitation. He turned to Lucia. “We will talk more soon.”
“Why not now?” she asked.
“I need to find Cleo. Where is she?”
“Currently? I have no idea. But she can’t be far.” Lucia appeared as if she wanted to argue against his plans, but she closed her mouth and nodded instead. “Go find her.”
Magnus was already halfway out the door.
CHAPTER 14
CLEO
AURANOS
If Lucia couldn’t—or wouldn’t—help her, then she had to help herself.
Cleo decided to scour the library for more books on Kindred magic and on any record of the goddess Valoria in particular. The goddess had water magic within her. By all accounts, she had been considered the embodiment of this magic.
Cleo had come to learn that Valoria had been a greedy Watcher, one who’d stolen the crystal orbs from the Sanctuary. By touching them with her bare hands, she’d become corrupted by them.
Corrupted, Cleo thought as she studied the squiggling lines on her left palm. What a strange word to use for being possessed by an elemental god.
Valoria and Cleiona were enemies, and in a final fight to gain ultimate power, they had destroyed each other. At least that was how the legend went.
She studied an illustration of the goddess drawn by the scribe of the first book about Valoria she’d taken from the library.
The symbols of earth and water magic were on her palms. She had dark flowing hair, a beautiful heart-shaped face, a glowing crown upon her head. The gown she wore in this picture was low enough in the front that it showed off half of the spiral marking on her chest. It wasn’t the same spiral that Taran bore that linked him to the air Kindred; this was different, more complex in shape. Cleo now knew this marked Valoria as a Watcher before she’d become a goddess.
As she flipped through the pages, she glanced down at the goblet of peach cider Nerissa had brought her.
“I froze the guard, I can make it rain, I can coat walls with ice,” Cleo whispered to herself. “Surely I can do something with this cider. Simple magic. Something to show me I have a chance to control this.”
Her heart now pounding, she held the goblet in her hand and focused on the liquid within. She willed it to freeze within its container.
She concentrated until perspiration broke out on her forehead, but nothing happened.
Finally, she slammed the goblet down on a nearby table and let out a small shriek of frustration as its contents splashed over the side. But her scream was cut short by a sensation she’d become entirely too familiar with.
That of a wave of water flowing over her, covering her eyes, her nose, her mouth.
She was drowning.
“No . . .” She staggered backward until she felt the cool stone wall at her back. She pressed her hands against it as she forced herself to take slow, even breaths.
This wasn’t real. She was fine, she wasn’t drowning, she wasn’t dying.
Cleo looked down at her hand to see that the water magic symbol glowed with blue light, and more vein-like lines branched out from the ones already there. The marking now wrapped around her entire hand and forearm.
A chill of dread went through her at the sight of it, and she had a sudden, painful realization of what it might be.
The water Kindred, slowly working its way to the forefront of Cleo’s consciousness.
Fighting Cleo for control of her own body.
Cleo burst from her room, needing to be somewhere, anywhere else. She moved down the hallways of the palace so swiftly she nearly got lost as she tried to find the exit back into the courtyard.
Finally outside, she managed to take in great gulps of fresh, sweet air.
Something moved beyond the trees, and she heard the sound of metal clashing. Alarmed, she drew closer to see what or who it was.
She let out a sigh of relief.
Jonas and Felix were practicing their swordplay under the shade of the arched pavilion in the center of the courtyard.
“You’re getting rusty,” Felix said. He was bare-chested, his muscles flexing as he thrust his sword forward. “Haven’t fought in a while?”
Also shirtless and with his back to Cleo, Jonas managed to block the move with a grunt. “Not with a sword.”
“You’ve been relying on your new girlfriend to save your arse with her fancy magic. It’s making you soft.”
“Princess Lucia is not my girlfriend,” Jonas growled.
Felix smirked at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t challenge you for her. I’m through with complicated women with too much power to wield. She’s all yours.”
“I don’t want her.”