V.E Schwab - A Darker Shade of Magic

Dark energy began to crackle in Rhy’s palm, and Kell braced himself, but Astrid couldn’t seem to control it, not with Rhy’s crude skills. The lightning shot to the left, striking the metal post of the prince’s bed.

Kell forced himself to chuckle thinly. “You should have picked a better body,” he said. “My brother has never had a gift for magic.”

Astrid rolled Rhy’s wrist, considering his fingers. “No matter,” she said. “I have an entire family to choose from.”

Kell had an idea. “Why don’t you try on someone a little stronger?” he goaded.

“Like you?” asked Astrid coolly. “Would you like me to take your body for a spin?”

“I’d like to see you try,” said Kell. If he could get her to take off the necklace, to put it on him instead …

“I could,” she whispered. “But possession doesn’t work on Antari ,” she added drily. Kell’s heart sank. “I know that, and so do you. Nice try, though.” Kell watched as his brother turned and lifted a knife from a nearby table. “Now, compulsion ,” he said—she said—admiring the glinting edge. “That’s another matter.”

Rhy’s fingers tightened on the blade, and Kell pulled back, but there was nowhere to go. The guards gripped him, visetight, as the prince strode over lazily and raised the knife, slicing the buttons off Kell’s shirt and pushing the collar aside to reveal the smooth, fair flesh over his heart.

“So few scars …” Rhy’s fingers brought the knifepoint to Kell’s skin. “We’ll fix that.”

“Stop right there,” came a voice at the balcony.

Kell twisted, and saw Lila. She was dressed differently, in a black coat and a horned mask, and she was standing atop the banister, bracing herself in the balcony’s doorframe and pointing her pistol at the prince’s chest.

“This is a family matter,” warned Astrid with Rhy’s voice.

“I’ve heard enough to know you’re not really family.” Lila cocked the gun and leveled it on Rhy. “Now step away from Kell.”

Rhy’s mouth made a grim smile. And then his hand flew out. This time the lightning found its mark, striking Lila square in the chest. She gasped and lost her grip on the doorframe, her boots slipping off the banister rail as she stumbled back and plunged into the dark.

“Lila!” shouted Kell as she disappeared over the rail. He jerked free of the guards, the cuff finally cutting into his wrist enough to draw blood. In an instant, he had curled his fingers around the metal and spat out the command to unlock the cuff.

“As Orense.” Open.

His shackles fell away, and the rest of Kell’s power flooded back. The guards lunged at him, but his hands came up and the men went flying backward, one into the wall and the other into the metal frame of Rhy’s bed. Kell freed his dagger and spun on the prince, ready for a fight.

But Rhy only gazed at him, amused. “What do you plan to do now, Kell? You won’t hurt me, not as long as I’m wearing your brother.”

“But I will.” It was Lila’s voice again, followed instantly by the sound of a gun. Pain and surprise both flashed across Rhy’s face, and then one of his legs crumpled beneath him, blood darkening the fabric around his calf. Lila was standing outside, not on the banister as she’d been before, but in the air above it, feet resting on a plume of black smoke. Relief poured over Kell, followed instantly by horror. She hadn’t just walked into danger. She’d brought the stone with her.

“You’ll have to try harder than that to kill me,” she said, hopping down from the smoke platform and onto the balcony. She strode into the chamber.

Rhy got to his feet. “Is that a challenge?” The guards were recovering, too, one moving behind Lila, the other hovering behind Kell.

“Run,” he said to Lila.

“Nice to see you, too,” she snapped, shoving the talisman back in her pocket. He saw the weakness sweep over her in the magic’s wake, but only in her eyes and jaw. She was good at hiding it.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” growled Kell.

“No,” echoed Rhy. “You shouldn’t have. But you’re here now. And you’ve brought me a gift.” Lila’s hand pressed against her coat, and Rhy’s mouth curled into that horrible smile. Kell readied himself for an attack, but instead, Rhy’s hand brought the blade to his own chest and rested the tip between his ribs, just under his heart. Kell stiffened. “Give me the stone, or I will kill the prince.”

Lila frowned, eyes flicking between Rhy and Kell, uncertain.

“You wouldn’t kill him,” challenged Kell.

Rhy raised a dark brow. “Do you really believe that, flower boy, or do you only hope it’s true?”

“You chose his body because he’s part of your plan. You won’t—”

“Never presume to know your enemy.” Rhy’s hand pressed down on the knife, the tip sinking between his ribs. “I have a closetful of kings.”

“Stop,” demanded Kell as blood spread out from the knife’s tip. He tried commanding the bones in Rhy’s arm to still, but Astrid’s own powerful will inside the prince’s body made Kell’s grip tenuous.

“How long can you stay my hand?” challenged Astrid. “What happens when your focus starts to slip?” Rhy’s amber eyes went to Lila. “He doesn’t want me to hurt his brother. You best give me the stone before I do.”

Lila hesitated, and Rhy’s free hand curled around the possession charm and drew it over his head, holding it loosely in his palm. “The stone, Lila.”

“Don’t do this,” said Kell, and he didn’t know if he meant the words for Astrid or Lila or both.

“The stone .”

“Astrid, please,” whispered Kell, his voice wavering.

At that, Rhy’s mouth twisted into a triumphant smile. “You are mine, Kell, and I will break you. Starting with your heart.”

“Astrid.”

But it was too late. Rhy’s body twisted toward Lila, and a single word left his mouth— catch —before he cast the pendant into the air and drove the knife into his chest.

V

It happened so fast, the pendant moving at the same time as the blade. Kell saw Lila lunge out of the charm’s reach, and he twisted back in time to see Rhy burying the knife between his ribs.

“No!” screamed Kell, surging forward.

The necklace skidded along the floor and fetched up against a guard’s boot, and Rhy crumpled forward, the blade driven in to the hilt as Kell scrambled to his side and pulled the knife free.

Rhy—and it was Rhy now—let out a choked sound, and Kell pressed his blood-streaked fingers to his brother’s chest. Rhy’s shirtfront was already wet, and he shuddered under Kell’s touch. Kell had just began to speak, to command the magic to heal the prince, when a guard slammed into him from the side and they both went down on the inlaid floor.

Several feet away Lila was grappling with the other guard while Kell’s attacker clutched the talisman in one hand and tried to wrap the other around Kell’s throat. Kell kicked and fought and dragged himself free, and when the guard (and Astrid within) charged forward, he threw up his hand. The metal armor—and the body inside—went flying backward, not into the wall, but into the banister at the balcony, which crumbled under the force and sent the guard’s body over and down. It landed with a crash on the courtyard stones below, the sound followed instantly by screams, and Kell ran to the patio to see a dozen of the ball’s dancers circling the body. One of them, a woman in a lovely green gown, reached out curiously for the pendant, now discarded on the courtyard stones.