Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1)(102)

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

Blinding golden light filled me. A scream pounded in my ears, an inhuman cry of agony, and then the darkness that had been inside me snapped free, like a clothesline that had been cut, sending all the sheets whipping into the wind. I would have fallen, but Arcus held me upright, pulling me against his chest.

 

The Minax hovered above us. It tried to seep back into me, but I filled myself with every loving thought, keeping the light steady and bright.

 

The shadow beast flickered from opaque to transparent, clearly struggling to keep its solid form. It shivered forward and retreated, as if wanting to come back to me but knowing it couldn't.

 

Movement caught my eye. Rasmus had smashed through the ice and was crawling across the floor toward us. He was trembling, his face a sickly gray, his eyes pure blue and filled with pain. "Come back to me, Minax," he said hoarsely.

 

He looked so weak I had no sense of fear of the once powerful king. "You can't let it merge with you," I said. "I've felt its full power. If you invite it in, it will erase who you are completely. You can't survive."

 

He shook his head. "I'm dying anyway." He raised his arms. "Come, Minax, my only friend. Return to me."

 

The shadow beast only hesitated for a moment before moving toward Rasmus. Arcus leaped toward him. "Raz, no!"

 

Even as Arcus reached for his brother, the darkness had filled Rasmus, turning his eyes black once again as he breathed a sigh of relief, his lips curving in a shaky smile. "Nothing matters but power," he whispered.

 

Then his brows drew together, and he threw his head back in agony. Veins stood out against his light skin, the blue turning black, like oil. The veins spread out like tiny tributaries and streams, connecting and swelling. Rasmus screamed and clawed at himself, staring at the ceiling as if searching for some hope of rescue. He convulsed violently, then fell limp against the floor as the Minax flowed back into the air, hovering above us again. It looked stronger, more opaque and solid. It moved toward Arcus, and I threw myself in front of him, my hands out.

 

"Sage, protect us," I said under my breath.

 

The Minax shook in a way that mimicked laughter. "I don't need this one, the king who fought my influence when he took the throne. I have fed on another king. That will sustain me until I can find my next host. Though you are my true vessel, Daughter of Darkness. When despair fills you, when everyone you love is gone, we will be one again. Remember me with this."

 

Something seared the skin near my left ear and then I felt the presence of the Minax leave.

 

The world spun and righted itself. I sucked in a painful breath. I was on all fours on the stone floor. I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry and shredded.  

 

I opened my eyes and found myself staring into twin chips of ice, a myriad of colors from a warm summer lake to a cold winter morning.

 

"Is it you, Ruby?" Arcus said my name quietly, a caress of breath.

 

"Yes, the Minax is gone," I said. "For now."

 

"Thank Tempus you're all right!" He gathered me into his arms. I tucked my head into the space between his neck and shoulder. After a few minutes, his head turned toward his brother's still form. His breath shuddered against my neck. "He was my brother."

 

"I know. I'm so sorry."

 

For months I had dreamed of killing Rasmus. But Arcus had wanted me to cure him, and I hadn't been able to. I held Arcus as tightly as I could while he trembled, his tears cold against my collarbone. For long minutes, I just stroked his hair. I was amazed at Arcus's capacity for love, even after such betrayal. When he grew quiet, I pressed my lips to his cheek.

 

The sun had slipped behind the mountain. Weak light filtered into the throne room, making the dust motes dance. The shadows were growing longer, but they were just shadows now. The room felt different. The evil presence in the throne was gone.

 

"There are things that must be dealt with," said Arcus, blowing out a long breath. "My forces won the battle, but there are those who will look …  unfavorably on what happened here. They could accuse me of killing my brother to take power."

 

I didn't mention that there was a moment in the arena when I had thought the same, that Arcus had been after the power of the throne.

 

"But you didn't kill him."

 

"They won't necessarily believe that," he said. "And I need to convince those loyal to my brother that they owe me allegiance. It'll be no easy task."