I was too stunned to say anything back to my uncle.

  Rishka crossed the room to me and looked up. "I'm not entirely sure she is the one yet. She wielded earth magic very well and healed her friend, but that's not enough. She could just be a powerful wielder of magic."

  Barbos removed his riding gloves and stuffed them into his back pocket. "I assure you, it's her."

  "How can you be so certain?"

  He walked over to her, and they stared up at me as if they were spiders eyeing their captured prey. "Because of the prophecy at her birth. The King thinks no one knows of it, but I was there, hidden within the walls when Folina had prophesied it."

  Hidden within the walls? What the hell was he talking about?

  Rishka lowered her gaze to his. "How is my old friend?"

  "Crazy as ever." He chuckled. "The King keeps Folina busy in the library far beneath the castle, so she doesn't bother anyone."

  "A fitting place for her," she agreed.

  I couldn't remain silent anymore; the betrayal was too deep. "Why, Uncle?"

  He paused a long moment, then answered. "Because it should be me ruling. I know how best to protect Loreen, not my foolish brother. He thinks he can win this war against Sodon, but I've been to far away Kingdoms that he and his beasts have destroyed. There's no winning. There's only joining. It's the only way to save our people."

  My mouth turned so dry that I barely had enough saliva to say, "You can't be serious?"

  "I'm very serious. You would make the same choice if you saw what I've seen." Fear flashed in his eyes.

  I regretted not asking more about his travels at that moment. Maybe it would help me understand why he would make such a move against the very family he claimed to love. "If what you say is true, then why kill me? You can still rule whether I live or die."

  He shook his head sadly. "You misunderstand me, Princess. I'm not going to kill you. I'm ensuring you live through all this by giving you to Sodon to be his bride."

  My face paled. I couldn't believe my own uncle could do such a thing.

  Rishka snorted. "Sodon's high price for her helped too."

  I glanced at Barbos, feeling my heart breaking.

  Barbos ignored me and shifted his gaze to Flint. "What about this one? I want him gone for good."

  "That may very well be his fate," Rishka answered, "but it's not for you to decide. Let's see if the Princess cooperates so at least one of the people she loves can live."

  Cooperate? Like hell.

  Hearing enough, I lifted my gaze to the gaping hole and focused on breathing in and out slowly while also focusing on my vision.

  Rishka and Barbos began speaking below me. Plans on how to get rid of Flint or Rose's bodies and how to explain my disappearance so my father wouldn't be suspicious. Several times I wanted to interject my disgust, but I remained focused, breathing in and out as much air as my tight lungs would allow. Soon, my vision became like a tunnel that amplified everything I saw. My gaze settled on a blade of grass coated in the moon's silvery light. A faint breeze gently rocked it back and forth. That's what I wanted. Wind.

  Even though I had yet to meet Bayu, the ancient man who possessed the ability to control air and be trained by him, I felt I might be able to still channel that power within me. Just thinking his name seemed to make something inside me come alive.

  Back and forth, the blade of grass moved almost as if the air were breathing it in and out. I wanted that same breath, wanted to magnify it.

  I whispered his name. "Bayu."

  The sound of his name moving past my lips lit a fire inside me, one that felt similar to when Flint touched me but different. Almost colder and softer.

  "What did she say?" Rishka asked, but my focus was so great that I barely heard the words.

  My breathing now matched the back-and-forth movement of the grass outside the home. I could feel myself becoming one with it, feel it whispering to me, speaking of ancient power, connections and love. Some of the words scared me, but I couldn't break my concentration. Flint and Rose's life depended upon it.

  My vision began to expand again to take in my surroundings, but it was different somehow. Colors more vibrant, sounds more crisp. And the air? It shimmered with specks of gold and silver and swirled around spiral-like patterns, and when it brushed past my skin, it continued to whisper but in an ancient language. Yet, somehow, I was able to understand it.

  Air, one of earth's five elements, had given itself to me to wield it. And wield it, I would. A smile teased the corners of my mouth. Time to make them pay.

  "Why is she smiling now?" Rishka asked, still staring up at me.

  Barbos retrieved his riding gloves and slid his hands into the black leather. "As soon as a decision is made, I'll have my men dispose of the body."

  Rishka looked away from me and all around the room, almost as if she could see the glimmering specks of gold, but I knew she couldn't. "Something's happening."

  Barbos glanced around. "What?"

  "I don't know, but I can feel it." She walked to the ruined window. The wind had picked up and blew into the house, stirring the air around her. Her long, black hair and black gown twisted and snapped around her body.

  My smile grew. So did the wind.

  Within seconds, the breeze grew so furiously that it brought in bits of dirt and sand.

  "Is it an approaching storm?" Barbos asked. He walked to the window and peered into the sky. His men stood in the distance, trying hard to control their nervous horses.

  "Not a storm." Rishka's voice had deepened. She turned around and eyed me. "But the girl."

  "How is that possible? She hasn't met Flint's brother yet."

  "I don't know, and I don't care." She stomped toward me. "Time to go to sleep, Princess. And when you wake up, you'll be in the loving embrace of your soon-to-be lifelong companion, Sodon. May he destroy everything about you."

  Flint expelled another great breath. So he was listening.

  Before Rishka put me to sleep, I sucked in a deep breath, trying hard to ignore the tightening around my chest. The action made the wind more fierce than anything I'd ever felt before. It rushed in like a massive cyclone seizing anything it touched, including Barbos and Rishka. They spun through the air, tumbling end over end. It was enough to disrupt whatever hold the witch had over me, and I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

  The cyclone continued to grow, taking out walls and cabinets. I ducked as a floorboard flew past my head. One of them crashed into Flint.

  I winced, realizing that I didn't know how to control this power, not even close. "Sorry!"

  Barbos screamed as his body whipped past me and slammed into a soaring wooden beam. If I didn't do something quickly, the whole house would rip into shreds, taking me with it.

  Doing my best to regain my focus, I blew air past my puckered lips and mentally ordered the air to settle. It took a few seconds for the centripetal motion to slow. Items dropped from the air and fell into the cellar where massive holes had opened up or onto loose floorboards. Barbos landed inside the basement with a heavy thud. Several boards landed on top of him.

  Rishka, however, gracefully maneuvered herself to a more solid section of the floor. "I will kill you for this!"

  She rushed toward me in a giant leap and used magic to carry herself across the gaping hole and over to me. I scrambled backward, trying to draw air back into me, but it just wouldn't come. I didn't have enough time to focus on it. But earth. I was connected now—

  Rishka slammed into me. We barely missed Rose's unconscious body as we slid across the floor and into the wall. Rishka wiggled faster than me and managed to get on top, where she straddled my waist.

  "Sometimes it's more fun to get my hands dirty," she said, then punched me in the face splitting my lip.

  I looked up at her and smiled while I tasted blood. I may not know how to use magic effectively yet, but I did know how to fight with my fists. I'd been training since I was a little girl. "I couldn't agree more."

  Her balled hand flew toward me again, but I knocked it to the side and bucked my hips upward, making her fall to my side. I scrambled on top of her and slammed my tight fists into her face several times before she used magic to toss me away. So much for fighting fair.

  I hit the ground hard and slid to the edge of the wide, jagged hole that dropped into the basement. I flipped on my belly and moved to jump back to my feet. At the last second, I caught sight of my uncle lying unconscious beneath a pile of broken floorboards. Good. I'd deal with him later.

  I spun around and nearly lost my balance when Rishka swung a leg toward my face. I barely managed to duck and move to the side of her before she kicked at me again. I blocked this one, then dropped to the ground and swung my foot at hers. I hit both her legs, effectively knocking her on her ass. I lifted my foot to stomp on her head, but she rolled out of the way with me relentlessly pursuing her.

  I caught up to her and kicked her again so hard that her body flipped over in Flint's direction. She attempted to come to her knees, but I leapt into the air with a closed fist and landed an explosive punch across her nose. Blood from an instantly broken nose arched through the air. Fevered energy surged through me, and I wanted to see more of that crimson color.

  I hit her repeatedly, over and over, letting my hatred of her and everything she had done to Rose and Flint rage into my blood and bones. With it came a strange new kind of power that made me feel invincible. I saw this new energy as smoky black tendrils that streamed through the air just behind my fist. It encouraged me to hurt her more as if it wanted to get in on the action.

  Grabbing Rishka by the hair, I lifted her face and drilled her again. I expected her to fall back to the floor, but she stayed upright. This made me think of the dagger at my hip. Stabbing her would feel really good and would ensure she goes down.

  She laughed, but the action also made her cough. Blood spurted from her mouth. "You like it, don't you?"

  I hesitated from throwing my next blow. "What are you talking about?"

  "The dark magic coursing through your bloodstream. Keep gobbling it up, Princess. And who knows? Maybe if you get enough of it, we might even become friends."

  Her words startled me. Is that what I was feeling? I tried to swallow, but the lump in my throat was too big. I glanced up at Flint, wishing he were awake to help me control this darkness inside me, for I did want more of it. Every part of me wanted to continue beating Rishka, take my time with her while I drained her blood and broke every bone in her body.

  Earth magic. It would fix this dark feeling, but I didn't feel strong enough to access it. Flint. If only I could touch him, but Rishka stood between us.

  I moved to shove her to the side, an action that should've been easy with her on her knees and face swollen, bloody, and bruised, but her hand latched onto me so quickly I didn't have time to react. She jerked my arm downward with such force that my entire body slammed into the ground. Pain ignited every part of me.

  "My turn, you pampered little bitch." Her fist crashed into my face, and I heard my jaw break just before a line of searing pain raced across my face and down my neck. I lifted my arms to block her next blow, but I couldn't quite see her as my eyes were full of tears. I blinked to clear them, just in time to see her foot smash into my head. Stars exploded in my already blurry vision. I moaned and rolled into a ball with my hands covering me as she kicked me repeatedly. A finger broke, then another. My hands could only block so much.

  "Time for me to do what I do best," Rishka said, then laughed.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Six

  ~ AVANI ~

  Rishka raised my body into the air. I struggled against the invisible grip, kicking and fighting, but I only hit the air. Calm down! I ordered myself, but too much pain echoed throughout my body, preventing me from clearing my mind.

  In a horizontal position, face-up and several feet from the floor, I slowly began to spin. Rishka watched me pass by several times before she said, "I think Barbos was right. You are the one. But should I really give you to Sodon?"

  I remained silent, staring daggers at her at every rotation while trying not to show the pain my body felt.

  "If I give you to him," she continued, "I may lose my prestigious position by his side, but if I don't and he finds out I've killed you, then he'll surely kill me." She paused. "So, life or power? It truly is a puzzle."

  "With a face like that," I said, "you should choose death." I shouldn't encourage her to kill me, but I hoped by antagonizing her, she might release me from this hold, and I'd have a chance at getting to Flint.

  Her eyebrows lifted, and she pointed at her face. "Oh, this? This is nothing." She waved her hand across her face. In an instant, it healed and returned to normal. "Do you really believe you could hurt me without me allowing it?"

  Sudden fear turned my insides cold. "You let me do that to you?"

  "I had to see if your body could tolerate dark magic," she explained. "For many, the darkness is too great and can render the user unconscious. But not only did your body tolerate it, but it also craved more."

  "That's not true," I said, hoping to infuse strength into my words, but they came out too soft, too weak. I closed my eyes and again tried to focus on the wind hoping to draw it to me one last time, but nothing came.

  "It won't answer your call," Rishka said as if she'd read my mind. "The elementals don't respond to dark magic, a power still clinging stubbornly to your subconsciousness."

  Hating that she was right, I glanced at Flint as my body continued to rotate. Somehow I had to get to him, but how? The elements wouldn't come to my aid, but what about dark magic? I could embrace it again and use it to get to Flint. But then, why not just use it to fight her too? The memory of my hand smashing her face had me drawing in an excited, hitched breath.

  I looked toward Flint and remembered his words. "Dark magic can't be wielded. It wields you." I cursed inwardly, knowing I should avoid that option.

  Maybe I could try something different altogether. Inhaling slowly to calm the spinning in my head, I said, "If any more harm comes to me, it won't be Sodon you need to worry about. My father, the King, will hunt you to the ends of the earth until he has your head on a spike."

  She scoffed. "Really? That's what you threaten me with? A mortal King is no match for me."

  "He is more than mortal."

  Rishka shook her head, smiling. "I've encountered his wolf a few times before and was not impressed. Besides, it won't be long before your father's also eliminated, so I will not waste any more words on him."

  Panic surged through me, making me lose my focus. "What do you mean eliminated?"

  She walked to the splintered floor and stared into the gaping hole below me.

  "Answer me, witch!"

  With a twist of her hand, my body flipped in the air onto my stomach. The rapid motion after spinning for so long nearly made me vomit.

  "He has already put our plan into motion," Rishka explained.

  "He?" Below me, the broken floorboards began to lift and then fall. My uncle must be coming to. "If you're referring to Barbos, he would never kill his brother. He loves him too much." Even though the words sounded hollow, there was truth to them. Barbos had always admired and looked up to his brother. They had fun together and had spent countless nights hunting and fishing for years. Barbos may be envious of him, but I couldn't imagine how that jealousy could turn into such hatred that Barbos wanted him dead. Imprisonment? Possibly, but not death.

  "Love is a weakness and can be easily manipulated, especially when one also has a love for power and riches."

  I jumped when the pile of debris flew off my uncle, revealing a side of him I'd never seen before. The largest gray coyote I'd ever seen stared up at me with cold and cruel eyes. He growled and snapped his jaw at me. Barbos could shift?

  "Surprise, Princess," Rishka drawled. "Your daddy isn't the only one with magic running through his blood." She lowered her gaze to the coyote. "Go. I'll take care of the girl as agreed upon. Enough time has been wasted."

  Barbos made a sort of barking sound and then bounded into the darkness.

  "No!" I cried after him. "Please, uncle! Spare him!"

  Only Rishka's laughter responded. "You're losing everything, and I love it."

  I sucked in a hitched breath, expecting sorrow to overwhelm me at her words, but I couldn't, wouldn't accept that reality. Thrashing as hard as I could, I fought against the strange magic holding me in place.

  "You can't win," Rishka said. "Don't you see that?"

  Feigning exhaustion, I let my head lob forward with my hair falling to the sides of my face into empty air. After several deep and exaggerated breaths, I asked, "Will you let me say goodbye to him?"

  She thought about my request as she looked up at him. A slow smile crept up her face. "That could be a delicious kind of torture for him as he can hear everything we are saying but is helpless to do anything about it. Go ahead, Princess, say your goodbyes," she paused. "I've decided to give you to Sodon, after all. Killing you isn't worth my life. Not yet, anyway."

  Rishka lifted her hand and mentally guided my body toward Flint. "My dear, Flint. Before I finish with you, I want you to imagine how Sodon will touch your fated mate, how he will invade her mind, and how he will make her hate you and your brothers. She will be the death of them, and you know this."

  My mouth fell open. Fated mate? Why would she say something like that? Not only that, but I could never hate Flint, nor could I hate or harm his brothers, whom I've never met. Not like any of that mattered, for I had no intention of ever going to Sodon.

  Rishka stopped my momentum and straightened my body upright, so I was eye to eye with Flint but still hovering in the air. I reached my hand to touch him but was an inch out of reach no matter how hard I stretched.

  "Flint?" I wish his eyes would open. He was so close!

  Rishka tilted her head, watching me with mild amusement. "It's torture, isn't it? Being close to the man you love but unable to ease his suffering."

 

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