A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(55)

“Please, Lore. You have to believe me.”

“No, I don’t.” I couldn’t look at her anymore. I’d gotten what I’d come for. Dain was right. She was the witch with the deathly magic.

And I was the one who’d let her into the kingdom.





21





Sia



* * *



I watched Lore walk away, a fierce pain stabbing me in the chest.

The betrayal in his eyes…

It had nearly broken me.

He thought I’d done this on purpose. That I’d played a long con on him.

I sank to my knees, unable to believe how wrong this had gone. We’d misunderstood everything.

And now I was locked up in the prison from hell. My poor friends were locked up, too, in a place that made Lore’s prison tower look like the Ritz.

This was a nightmare.

“It’ll be okay.” Meria’s voice sounded from down the hall.

“Yeah,” Eve said, but I could hear the doubt in her voice.

I turned so that I could prop my back against the door. A shudder ran through me, followed by a sob. I bit it back. My friends were clearly trying to make me feel better, which was above and beyond the call of duty considering the fact that I’d landed us in here.

“I’ll get us out,” I said. “Somehow.”

“I’m not sure about that.” The soft voice sent a rush of fear through me.

I turned to the corner of my cell. Vusario stood in the shadows, his dark cloak hanging from his shoulders, and his cold eyes on me.

Surprise flashed inside me. “How did you get in here?”

He ignored the question and waved a hand. Magic sparked on the air. A pleased smile crossed his face. “There. Now no one can hear us.”

Fear chilled my skin. There was something definitely off about Vusario. I had never really liked him, but now I was downright afraid of him.

“Why are you here?” I demanded. “Surely not to help me.”

He laughed, a cold sound. “No, I’m not. You have made this very difficult indeed, Queen Sia.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’ve been trying to do this the easy way. The mercenaries I sent should have been able to do the job, but alas.”

The mercenaries. My stomach lurched. “It was you all along. You’re the one who wanted me dead.”

“Not dead.” He smiled, and suddenly, he reminded me of a snake.

I drew in a wavering breath. “Right. It was never about killing me. You wanted them to steal my magic.”

“And give it to me, of course. I would have preferred you not know my role in this.” He shrugged. “But they were incapable.”

“Why the hell do you want my magic? You have your own.”

“Oh.” He whistled low. “Your magic is capable of great things.”

“Terrible things, more like.” I glared at him. “Does this mean you knew what I was all along?”

He nodded. “I did indeed. Long ago, I came upon the prophecy about you. The Truth Teller, honest as she is, didn’t realize all of it. Neither did I, at first.” He gave a soft, ugly laugh. “Until yesterday when the maze blew up, I had no idea how little I understood.”

“You’re speaking in riddles, and it’s annoying as hell.”

“I knew that I wanted your magic, silly girl. I didn’t know that you didn’t fully have it yet. That you wouldn’t get all of it until you were here. I knew it would be easier to steal if you were away from the protection of the Court of Starlight and Darkness, but I didn’t realize I would get so much more if I just waited.”

“So you bungled up your plan, but it worked out in the end?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“I don’t think it is.” I tried to draw my sword from the ether, but nothing came. Damn it. I tried again. Still nothing.

“Trying for a weapon?” He smiled like a snake.

“Whatever.” I slumped back against the wall. “Maybe I should just let you have the damned magic.”

“Excellent.” The look in his eyes was positively reptilian, and I shuddered.

The witch with the deathly magic.

If my magic was really that dangerous, should it go into the hands of a guy like Vusario?

No.

He was clearly evil.

And what Eve had said was right. Just because the magic was dark didn’t mean I had to be. I could choose to be better. To do better.

If he had it, who knew what kind of destruction he could wreak. “Why do you want it, anyway? It has to be for bad reasons since it’s basically just destructive garbage magic. Whom do you hate so much that you would want to destroy them?”

“King Lore, or course.”

Oh, shit.

This had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. “But why?”

Now I wanted answers. Bad.

Slowly, I rose to my feet. Without my sword or access to the stars, I didn’t know how I’d defend myself against him. I had new magic, but no idea how to use it. And it was such an ugly power that I was scared to try.

“This is becoming tiresome,” he said. “I’ve answered some questions, which is more than kind of me, but I’m not about to waste my time or give away too much information.”