“Yes, I am,” I agreed.
“Then kill me, spare me the prisons or a death sentence,” he begged, the first evidence of fear darkening his light blue eyes.
“No,” I answered in response to everything he petitioned. His face flickered surprise for only a brief moment before I reached for his magic with mine and then it turned to fear. He fought to hold on to his magic desperately. Unlike everyone before him who fought me while trying to hold onto their electricity, Dmitri concentrated solely on his life’s blood.
At first, his tactic seemed effective. He held onto his energy with surprising strength, clutching it to his body with a vise-like grip. My resolve began to waver whether it was necessary to take his magic after all when I felt the shove of Avalon’s magic in my own blood. He made himself known without a word spoken between us, the silent offer of help end this man.
I let his magic join with mine in a concerted, focused effort to drain Dmitri of what he did not deserve. With Avalon’s magic aiding mine, Dmitri didn’t stand a chance, his magic fled from his body and absorbed into mine like it had always belonged with me. He fell to his knees, helpless and defeated.
“You won’t be able to kill him alone,” Dmitri whispered in a raspy voice, clinging to the last edges of awareness. He referred to Lucan. His words rang with truth, and for the first time I saw him as a desperate man, trying to save his people in his own twisted version of morality.
“I won’t have to. I have a twin brother,” I confessed dramatically and then sent a wave of magic at him that finished his already waning consciousness. He crumpled to the ground with the rest of his men.
Thank you. I whispered internally to Avalon. I dropped my arms to my sides in sudden and overwhelming exhaustion. The room, quiet from the after effects of my destruction, reminded me painfully of the evil side to my magic, the side that craved vengeance and justice at any cost. I remembered the dark months after Amory died, the good part of my soul that seemed lost forever and wanted desperately to mourn that lost innocence.
Eden, we will do what we have to, so that one day we don’t have to do evil anymore. Avalon reminded me, his voice resounding in my head with truth.
You’re right. I conceded.
Go to Kiran. He commanded and I obeyed.
I stepped over the stilled bodies carefully, feeling shaken and disoriented. I noticed the onyx necklace lying across Dmitri’s table and I grabbed it, slipping it over my head before I walked down the stairs. I leaned heavily against the railing all the way down and then stumbled to the front door that hung half off its hinges from the men who fled not minutes before. Kiran and his Titans were in the middle of a tactical effort to surround the cottage. Kiran seemed to be leading the attack, moving stealthily across the front lawn and toward the house.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying not to be amused as I stepped out onto the front porch.
Kiran stood up from a semi-crouched position and looked around confused. He made a swirling motion with his fingers to his men and then walked toward me with renewed purpose.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he called out, “Coming to rescue you.”
“You’re too late,” I half-laughed from hysteria.
“I can see that.” He met me on the grass at the bottom of the porch stairs. His turquoise eyes were eager and searching as he stood over me and then whispered in a rush, “These men believe you are my fiancé.”
With that warning, his arms slid around my waist and pulled me gently, very gently against his chest as if I were delicate and breakable, as if I hadn’t just taken the magic of six men. His mouth moved against mine before I could protest in soft, anxious movements. He sighed longingly when his arms pulled me closer against his chest and my fingers tangled in his hair. I let him kiss me, thankful for the touch of a lesser evil and resting in the strength of his arms.
When finally he removed his lips from mine, he held me closer still, burying his face in my hair and keeping his arms locked around me. I sensed the Titans removing the drained men from the farmhouse and loading them into the van that followed the three sedans here. I pressed my face into Kiran’s chest, not wanting to be reminded of my actions, of my seemingly constant fight for survival.
After a while, the sounds around us died down. Kiran, still reluctant to let me go sighed when I lifted my head to look around the quiet farm. The Titans stood at attentive alert, watching the van, the horizon and the house waiting for more bad guys to appear from nowhere.
“You play a very convincing part,” I mumbled into Kiran’s chest.
“What do you mean?” Kiran asked lightly.
“You’re all worried and tense,” I mused, rubbing my hand against his flexed bicep.
“Believe it or not, I was actually worried,” Kiran admitted thinking I should be absolutely shocked. “Whether you love me or not, you’re still my friend and I left you alone to be kidnapped by the most vile, disgusting creature-“
“No, please, stop,” I begged. “I don’t want to think about him anymore, I don’t want to think about this anymore….” I pleaded, lifting my fingers to his lips, quieting his protests.
“For now,” he relented, “but I will need to know what happened.”
“Later,” I promised, smiling bravely at him.
“Are you all right, Love?” Kiran asked sincerely.
“Yes, I am. I’m fine, really.” I pulled away from him and started walking toward the car. I didn’t know how much longer Kiran wanted to stay here, but I was anxious to get back to the castle and shower. I was covered with dried blood from my chest wound and dirt from the hole they tried to keep me in. “I just got shot in the heart, but really, no big deal.” I tried to laugh it off, but the joke sounded unnatural coming out of my mouth.