There was yelling and screaming. I looked up in alarm as Tomac ran down the stairs into the room. He was bleeding from numerous wounds and had a murderous look in his eye. I cringed. I was not expecting to be cut down by the prince’s own brother.

Tomac began to babble nonsense. “Death, death. No one can outrun death. And destiny does not play favorites.”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the sword that Tomac held in his hand. The tip was covered in blood, and I couldn’t help but wonder whose blood it was.

A black form slid silently out of the shadowed stairwell and flew into the room. The pain in my mind was so intense, I cried out, but I was overjoyed, because I knew who it was—Kael.

Kael entered like hurricane, a sword in one hand and a smaller knife in the other, spinning and dancing. His face was a mask of unreadable expressions as he gave Tomac a wide berth. Even with the distance between them, his eyes never left Tomac. He stalked his prey, looking for an opening in which to try and kill him.

I couldn’t drag my gaze from him—his tall muscled form, the dark hair that fell slightly into his face obscuring his vision. His eyes were an intense, stormy blue that changed to a darker color when he was angry, like now. His chin wasn’t smooth but showed a few days worth of growth, and his skin had a sallow tint to it. His expression was fierce. Quite a few rips and tears marred his shirt and blood dripped down, almost indiscernible among the black fabric.

I waited for him to look at me, to catch my gaze. But he was intent on trying to get Tomac away from us. He feinted, trying to get Tomac to attack him, but Tomac stood firm. Tomac stood rooted in front of us, leaving us his back and refusing to rise to Kael’s baiting.

Stone scraped against stone as Sevril slid the door over to the side. I heard the rushing of water and couldn’t help but look down into the dark hole. The thunderous sound grew louder and my heart froze. Sevril put his arms under my armpits and scooted me toward the door.

“No!” I squealed and tried to kick.

But he kept pulling.

Kael’s head snapped to me and I called out his name. He darted to the right around Tomac. A second later, his hand went into his vest and a knife sliced through the air at me.

Sevril yelled and yanked me to the left. The knife clattered on the floor, just beyond the spot where I had stood.

“Kael?” I asked in confusion. That’s when I caught his dead expression. His head bent at an odd angle and I whimpered in realization. I looked carefully and could make out the dark purple thread controlling him.

That wasn’t Kael.

And I couldn’t believe Tomac was protecting us from him. Tomac, who now babbled even louder, saw the intent of Kael’s throw and screamed in fury. He lashed out right and left with his sword, attacking the SwordBrother and sending him on the defensive.

Kael was backed into a corner. For all of his intense battle skills, there was no training against a mad man that follows no pattern.

Another knife appeared between Kael’s fingers. Seconds later, Tomac grunted and slid to one knee, the knife buried in his shoulder. Tomac’s shaking hands reached up and pulled out the knife, grunting as a fresh flow of blood poured forth. He staggered to his knees, gripped his sword in the right, the knife in the left and backed up.

Once again, Tomac put himself between the SwordBrother and me.

“Run!” Tomac hollered over his shoulder at us. “For all that is holy, run.”

I couldn’t look away as Tomac engaged Kael again, in an effort to help our escape. Never would I have imagined that I would see Tomac sane, nor that he would become my ally and Kael my enemy. It must’ve been the fighting and deadly battle that cleared his Siren mind. For once, he was being useful.

Sevril pulled me back toward the hole, my feet now dangling in front of me into the darkness. “It’s an underground aqueduct. It leads out of the castle and into the river. It is the only way out.”

“I can help. I can fight.” I tried to get up but fell again.

“No, our only chance is for you to escape, to heal, and to return and save us,” he argued.

I could tell from the way he kept looking over his shoulder that he wasn’t going to come with me. He was only partially paying attention to me. The rest of his focus was on Tomac’s struggle to protect us.

“Come with me?” I begged.

He shook his head. “Tomac was right. Our destiny has come, our time is now. This is our home to protect, not yours. It’s not your time yet. You’ll know when it is. Our kind know when our end has come.”

He was saying goodbye.

“He’s a SwordBrother, and he won’t stop,” I whispered, glancing over to Kael. He winced as Tomac’s knife found purchase and stabbed him deep in the side. Kael growled out in pain but continued to fight, backing Tomac toward the wall. “I love him, and he’s bound to me so he can’t be killed.”

Sevril bit his lip and his eyes crinkled in worry. “Well, that doesn’t look like it’s going to stop him.” He quit arguing with me and pushed me into the hole.

I fell forward and screamed. My fingers grabbed the edge as I dangled in the darkness. “No, pull me up. Let me help. I can fight him,” I cried out, my voice echoing around me. The rushing water sounded from far below.

“You can’t take him like this.” Sevril turned back and his face paled. I couldn’t see, but I heard a curdling cry of pain and I knew that Tomac had lost. “Go!” Sevril demanded. He kicked at my hands and I lost my grip. I screamed, fingers burning, as I fell into the dark abyss.

I landed with a splash and was surrounded by cold darkness. I kicked in the direction that I thought was up, but it was hard to tell. All I knew was cold, dark, and stinging pain all over my body.

An eternity later, I surfaced with a gasp, as lovely air filled my lungs. I tried to fight the current and swim back to where I could see the light from overhead, but I was tired and sore. I hardly had enough strength to keep me afloat.

I looked up toward the light just as it began to disappear.

Sevril closed up the hole and I was swept away with the water.

Chapter 34

I awoke choking and coughing. Light blinded my eyes and my stomach started to spasm. I rolled over as water expelled itself from my lungs. My body heaved until there was nothing left to purge. I settled onto my back and stared at the stars overhead, each twinkling brighter than the next—so large in the sky they looked like they were only feet away.

My hand reached forth and I tried to catch one, but it danced away. I watched as my burning stars morphed into reality—lightning bugs. I couldn’t move but continued to lie there on the river bank in a small inlet away from the rushing river. My very breath, each and every one, felt like a glorious miracle. And I savored them—because I was alive.

When the coldness wore off and feeling returned to each of my toes, I pulled myself into a sitting position, then a kneeling one. Minutes later I stood and stared at my reflection in the water from the moon lit sky.

I was unrecognizable. My eyes were still silver, but my hair had lost its luscious darkness and was now a silvery white which only made my complexion seem paler. My skin no longer had the spattering of a few freckles. It seemed to glimmer and glow with power.

Which I hoped would wear off.

My hands seemed to be constantly buzzing. I reached forward and touched the water. Without any effort at all—with only the thought of cold—the water crackled and froze into a solid sheet of ice. My body hummed in response, eager and pleased with itself. Curious as to what else I could do, I reached toward a small plant and touched it. I was able to make it grow three feet in a few seconds. With a change in thought, I made the plant wither and die, crumbling to the ground. I now had both extremes of the gifts, healing and death. The power was both intoxicating and infuriating. I wanted to scream out my frustration to the only person listening—the woman in the moon, but I knew she probably wouldn’t hear my pleas. This was too much power for one girl, and it scared me.