I caught my sister, before locking in on the bitches again. I gasped. One of the twins held a weapon. Did that just appear from the compass? Was this the weapon? The scepter was aptly named, looking exactly like the ones held by ancient rulers. Gold, with a giant stone on top, sort of like an opal, shot through with many different colors, the other end tapered down to a point. While I was examining it, Lemon leaned herself back and slammed the opal right into the center of the vibrating compass symbol.
A blast of energy shot us all back; it took all of my strength to keep hold of Mischa. My entire body was aching as I reached up to push my hair from my face. The rod remained lodged in the center of the compass symbol, the vibration increasing, the walls around us shaking. Lemon had fallen next to me.
“What have you done?” I screamed over the noise.
She smiled, her teeth a little bloodstained, but her joy apparent. “We freed the king.”
“What?” My whisper was lost in the noise. “But we still have a few days.”
She heard the last part, flashing those bloody teeth at me again. “That thousand years had nothing to do with Larkspur, and everything to do with you.”
I know I was straining to hear her over the noise, but did she just say it was to do with me?
“Just before he was captured he sent out his energy to touch one shifter. To be his mate. Your blood was the key to him rising.” She dropped her head back with a clunk. “We fulfilled our calling. Larkspur will rule again.”
Larkspur? Why had no one ever told me that was the king’s name? I thought for sure his first name was “dragon” and his last “king,” since that was the only way he was ever referred to. And seriously, was I really supposed to believe that the thousand year thing was about me?
I coughed as the burning on my stomach continued to thrum. It was painful, but I also knew it meant my family was on their way. I just had to hold out long enough until help arrived.
The grinding rumble grew louder, and my odds of holding out had just dropped dramatically. The compass emblem was spinning, in a blur of speed too fast for me to track. Within seconds the mark was unrecognizable. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this compass was a doorway to somewhere else. I was just praying the damn king didn’t step through. I’d hold on to the faint hope the bitch twins had made a mistake.
The portal opened and natural light flooded over the dirty stone floors. I was transfixed, staring into the land which lay on the other side. It reminded me of the otherness of Faerie, but not the Faerie land I had been to. This one was desolate, barren, dead. The heat which had been alternating with the cold winds was now more pronounced than ever. The small section I could see … flashes of black glinted off the red planes, and then … roars exploded across the hall. Oh God, it was so loud, my eardrums felt as if they were about to explode.
The hole in the wall was widening, the landscape beyond becoming clear. I could see out into the fiery world of red rock and lava falls.
“Where the hell is that?” I bit out, not really asking anyone in particular.
Lemon answered. “That’s the land between, the dead zone. It is the place of banishment for those too evil for the prisons.”
What the actual freak? I swallowed loudly. “You’d better shift your ugly old ass up and get that shit closed. What sort of creatures will you be letting in?”
“We only allow the king. He was called.”
Our conversation was cut off when Orange dragged herself across the floor, halting beside Mischa. She reached out a hand and touched my sister’s ribs. In a rapid movement I shot out my free hand and gripped her around the throat.
“What, the eff, are you doing?” My voice was low, soft. I was already planning her murder in my head.
“Sealing the wound,” she choked out around my hold. ”I’m tired of slipping in her blood.”
I tightened my grip enough to leave a decent bruise. Orange said nothing. Eventually I had to let her go; I wanted Mischa repaired. I kept a close eye, making sure she did nothing but close the wound.
She was fast, her power leaving tingles on my tongue as it coated the room. But she did as she said, the wound was sealed. My sister was deathly white as I reached out and felt for her pulse. It was weak, erratic. I hoped she would be okay now that her blood was staying on the inside. Plus she was marked, she couldn’t die from blood loss, could she?
I must have murmured something about that out loud, because Lemon snorted. “The king is free, all marked can now die.” She took great delight in telling me this.
Say what? What happened to our immortality? And more importantly, if the marked could die…
“I guess that means you both can die now too.” I gently set my sister aside, standing in a smooth motion. Shit was about to get real.
I was preparing to launch in their direction when a deep voice shattered the room. “You might be my beloved, but I cannot have you hurt my daughters.” The powerful timbre echoed off the rock and froze my feet to the spot.