The King's Bargain (Arsyn Morgan Book 2) by J.A. Stowe

Author:J.A. Stowe [Stowe, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

Eighteen

TO MY SURPRISE, Cyrus let me go. He stalked behind me as I walked along a cracked pathway to the decrepit glass building. His aura was a sharp presence at my back, urging me to move quickly.

The pathway led to a grand arch into the conservatory. Dry heat assaulted me once inside, prickling my skin. Gray sunlight filtered through the dirty glass panes, illuminating the dead garden inside.

A tree towered above us, stretching to the tall ceiling from the center of the large space. Its gnarled, bare canopy spread across the glass dome, casting tangled shadows over the wilted underbrush. It must have been incredibly old. It would take three of me to encircle its trunk with my arms.

Crumbling stone benches lined the overgrown walkways, and the dry remnants of a lake was filled with broken branches and gray leaves. Worn statues spotted the garden beds, their features overgrown and unrecognizable.

It was eerily still here. No birds. No butterflies. Not even the breeze outside could reach this place.

Cyrus took it in. The muscle of his jaw ticked behind his neutral expression. “Hurry. I doubt we’ll be alone for long, even with the masking runes.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to be here any longer than necessary. I could already feel myself weakening.

In the vision, the flower was close to the base of the tree. I traced the wild paths until the overwhelming beat of power vibrated through the stagnant air. It was the same mana that fueled the touchstone. It was rich and ancient. It shimmered with innumerable shades of purple and vibrated through my body like a thousand beating hearts.

There. A single purple lily grew at the trunk of the tree, the only sign of life. It flowed with potent mana, drawing it up from the parched soil.

I bet Daev hadn’t expected the Aether to change like this. The flower may have blended in when he cast the curse, but now it was glaringly out of place.

I knelt and carefully reached out to the flower. When I poked the soft petal, its mana lashed out. I braced myself. This time, I would be ready for the power.

Closing my eyes, I kept my barriers up against the torrent of mana and investigated the anchor. I couldn’t simply draw the mana into myself. I’d learned my lesson. I had to attack the problem at its source and stop the flow.

Deep in the ground, its roots fed from the mana of this world. Daev had tied the curse to something living. To break the spell, I had to kill it.

I focused on one branching root, shallower than the others. I reached out with my magic and strangled it, pulling its remaining mana into my blood. It clawed at my insides as my raw mana tried to dismantle the curse.

I opened my eyes to the blurry outline of purple in front of me. I’d siphoned too much. I took a few deep breaths and willed my stomach to settle until I could focus enough to assess my work.

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