Brennus pulls a sea of high and low energy to us that forces me back. It makes the sound of a wave, rushing in my ears. “Reed,” I pant in confusion, wildly looking around the room for a means of escaping my own self before I’m drowned in it. Brennus no longer controls just low energy. He controls it all...and he’s much better at it than I am.
Reed’s fingers dig into my chin, forcing me to focus on him again. “Evie, don’t be his toy! Expel him like a clone!”
A wicked smile spreads over my lips. “I told ye dat I’d come for her. Do ye fancy some blood sport, aingeal?” My chin pulls away from Reed’s grasp.
Brennus controls me, making me lunge sidelong for the dagger on the bedside table, the one Reed used to pledge his loyalty to me yesterday. Grasping the heavy hilt in my palm, I pivot back toward Reed. My wings spread wide to use their force to outmaneuver him. He tackles me, wresting me back onto the mattress. Involuntarily, I struggle against him as Brennus inside of me holds the dagger just out of Reed’s reach with one of my hands.
Reed’s knee digs into my chest as he pins me, and subsequently Brennus, down on the bed. He reaches for the ancient blade in my fist to pry it away. Brennus hisses and snarls, struggling beneath Reed’s weight. The undead faerie inside of me manages to free my other hand. Raising it, Brennus hurls deadly energy from it. Hit by the hellfire, Reed explodes off of me. He crashes into the wall, scattering books from the shelves. My body crawls forward over the mattress. Red wings snap and wave behind me as pennants in the wind. Brennus uses my body to stalk Reed around the room. We engage in a stealthy dance. Whistling swipes of the knife cutting through the air makes Reed turn away in order to avoid being shredded.
Brennus! Stop! I scream in my mind, but no words form on my lips. Brennus ignores me entirely, choosing to focus his attention on Reed instead.
Reed refuses to fight back in any way, knowing that if he does, he’ll be hurting me. I struggle harder within the prison of iniquity; the wickedness swirls around me in paralyzing waves. I follow it down because Brennus has me by my heart.
“Wake up, Evie,” Reed says, searching my face for any sign from me.
“She’s na asleep,” Brennus enlightens. “She made me stronger and she gave me her blood so dat I could find her ta face her black future wi’ her. Ye’re in me way. I plan ta keep her all ta me.”
“Too. Late! She binds to me. Always to me.”
“So ye must die so dat she’ll be moin alone.”
Reed strikes quickly, backhanding us. My face jerks sideways. Brennus licks the blood that collects at the corner of my mouth.
“Mmmm, she tastes like whah I imagine daylight would taste like—da sweetest flame.”
Reed growls and shifts to avoid the dagger thrust from Brennus that would’ve cut him in half.
“I tought ye were going ta kill me,” Brennus taunts.
“Jump out of her body and it’s done.”
“Dere’s so much power within her. More dan I realized. ’Tis as if I have da world at me fingertips. I’ll have ta teach her how ta harness all dis power.”
Brennus lowers my brows over my eyes in a razor-sharp look. My lips move in strange ways, forming words that have never before twisted my tongue. Brennus puckers my lips, as if I’ll blow Reed a kiss. Glittering breath emits from my mouth; it sparkles like particles of rock dust, floating and spreading wide. Reed ducks away from the winking light reflecting in the cloud, dodging it. It catches his arm and the swirling mist shreds his skin with tiny glass-like shards. Blood wells up in tears from him.
When Reed glances down at his forearm, Brennus reacts quickly, throwing the dagger in my hand in Reed’s direction. Reed’s green eyes track it. He sidesteps the blade, evading its sharp point. The dagger shoots by him. Then, the ancient blade pauses. Instead of embedding in the wall behind Reed, the dagger chooses to turn abruptly, pursuing Reed with a relentless persistence. My outstretched hand tracts Reed, directing the dagger with a magical spell that Brennus murmurs from my swollen lips.
I use all my strength to shut my gob, hoping to break Brennus’ magic, but it does nothing. Brennus still shifts the dagger to slice at Reed, missing him by inches. Reed blurs around the room at supernatural speed, trying to avoid death.
Zephyr appears at the threshold of our room, watching in confusion as I try to kill Reed. His blue eyes pierce me. He shivers when he sees the darkness within mine. His light brown angel wings launch from his back in a flurry of feathers. They spread wide and serrate with aggression. His confusion is written on his face. He senses danger, but he doesn’t know from where it’s originating.
The dagger Brennus magically wields cuts Reed’s shoulder; blood spurts and stains his charcoal wing with speckles of red. Zephyr growls and barks, “Evie?”
My face turns toward Zephyr momentarily. Brennus lifts my other hand and the door between us immediately slams and seals shut. Muffled bangs and yelling from Zephyr can be heard on the other side, but he’s unable to break through it. I hear him yell to someone, “FIND RUSSELL.”