Shadow Heir

These thoughts flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye. Before I could act, Pagiel fell to the ground, eyes wide. The magic supporting mine abruptly stopped. Pagiel clasped his neck, gasping for air. For a moment, all I could think was that air magic was suffocating him ... except, there was no one who could wield it here except me and him.

“Pagiel!” Jasmine hurried to his side, where he was twitching and flailing on the ground. Still keeping my hold on Kiyo, I joined her and fell to my knees. Pagiel was no longer making a sound, which was a bad sign. He was clearly still desperate for breath, and I could see now that his face and throat were swelling, like some sort of anaphylactic shock.

I tried to steady him, frantically wondering what I could do. But I possessed no healing magic, no modern EpiPen. His face was turning a weird purplish-pinkish color, and I knew we were losing him.

“Dorian?” I asked. He had joined us and looked down at Pagiel, anguish all over his face.

“This is beyond me,” said Dorian. He lifted his head and gazed around the clearing. “There’s someone else here.” He got back on his feet and began to make the ground ripple and shake, in the hopes of scaring out whomever we couldn’t see.

But despite his efforts, it was a little too late. Pagiel had stopped struggling for air. Pagiel had stopped struggling altogether.

Storm King’s heir was dead.

Chapter 27

“No!” screamed Jasmine. Tears ran down her face as she shook him. “Can’t we do CPR or something? Use the air! Give him some!”

I stared mournfully down at the boy. His face and neck were so swollen now that I knew there was no way I could force air into him, not when all the passages leading to his lungs were so blocked. I couldn’t control the body.

A smooth voice suddenly came from the woods. “I’m right here, Dorian. You might as well stop with the showmanship.”

Maiwenn appeared, gliding forward in a silvery blue dress that seemed out of place in this scene. Her golden hair cascaded down her back, and she looked like the California girl I always thought of her as. Dorian did stop the earthquake, but I could tell from his rigid stance that he held his magic at the ready. She released a tree she’d been holding onto.

“How did you do that?” I asked. “Your magic ... it’s healing magic.”

She gave a small shrug. “It’s all part of the same system. My magic understands the way the body works. It’s as easy to hurt as to heal.”

I was appalled at how casually she could speak about it after what she had done. Dorian had no such qualms. “Will it be easy,” he asked quietly, “to sleep at night knowing you’ve killed an innocent boy?”

“There was nothing innocent about him,” Maiwenn replied bluntly. “I’ve saved both of our worlds a great deal of trouble. You should be grateful. Now, if you’ll release Kiyo, I’d be much obliged. I’d like to be on our way.”

“Grateful?” I hissed. “Grateful ? I’ll show you gratitude!”

In an instant, I pulled the charges in the air together and created a bolt of lightning to send straight toward Maiwenn. Just before I released it, I heard Jasmine scream behind me. I had no idea what had happened, but I was just able to barely divert the lightning in time so that it struck a tree inches from Maiwenn instead. Thunder cracked deafeningly around us, and the tree exploded in a spectacular show of fire and wood. My ears hurt, and Maiwenn’s were probably bleeding from the noise.

I immediately turned toward Jasmine and saw her writhing on the ground. Her face was contorted in pain. “It’s like ... pins and needles ... like my body’s on fire... .”

“Damn it!” I glared at Maiwenn. Dark clouds rebuilt up above, and the wind swirled restlessly around us. The elements answered my anger. “I should’ve let it hit you! Let her go.”

“No. You were actually wise to spare me,” Maiwenn said. “I’ve already worked the spell. Her body’s right on the edge of tearing itself apart. Only my control right now keeps it in check. Kill me, and the spell will seize hold with nothing to stop it.”

“Damn it,” said Jasmine through clenched teeth. “Why ... am I ... always ... the hostage?” I watched her worriedly, but thus far, the spell mostly seemed about pain. She didn’t seem in danger of dying as Pagiel had just done—yet.

“Now,” continued Maiwenn. “Please don’t make me ask again. Free Kiyo.”

Without Pagiel’s added pressure, Kiyo had simply been trapped in my misty whirlwind. Inconvenient, but not lethal. Angry and frustrated—but out of options—I let him go. He was still in giant fox form, his fur soaked in water. His eyes assessed the situation quickly, and then he trotted over to Maiwenn’s side. She rested a hand on his head. He stayed in fox form, and I knew from past experience that the larger the fox, the longer it would take him to switch back.