Kissed by a Dark Prince(97)

Olivia had read that many warlocks and witches born with darker magic were easily seduced by the power it gave them, strength far superior to neutral witches and even those who bore light magic.

“Did you ever love Vail?” Olivia couldn’t hold that one in. She had thought Loren’s brother insane and evil, but now that she knew he was a puppet belonging to the woman before her, she almost felt sorry for him.

Kordula laughed again, giving Olivia the answer to her question. She hadn’t.

“Princess Kordula has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” She leaned back into the armchair and smiled down at Olivia. “You must admit that you were rather enchanted that your elf was a prince, in control of a whole kingdom, were you not?”

Olivia couldn’t deny it, because it was partly true, but she hadn’t desired Loren purely because he was a prince and ruled a kingdom. That hadn’t mattered to her heart. It had only mattered to her head. She had been enchanted by the thought that a prince desired her, but she had moved past such shallow feelings when she had discovered the man behind the title, and how wonderful he was.

Kordula hadn’t moved past it at all. That was clear. She had done as many women in Olivia’s world did, seeking to gain power by capturing the heart of a male who had power. She had targeted Vail, and Vail had believed her to be his ki’ara and had fallen for her trick.

“Why Vail? Why not one of the demon kings?” Olivia glared at Kordula, hiding none of her hatred. She despised this woman and all who sought to sleep their way into power, using their beauty as a weapon to enslave a man.

Kordula’s smile faded, her pale blue eyes turning frosty once more. “Loren did not tell you of Vail’s prediction? It was well known in Hell, and I heard of it when I was a young girl, living in squalor in an adjoining kingdom. Prince Vail had been told that his fated female was a sorceress.”

Olivia frowned. Kordula had played on that, using it to her advantage. Luring Vail into her trap.

“I grew up in a wretched land, with little food and even less light. It was rotten and festering, and I saw my chance to elevate myself to a position I deserved.” Kordula curled her lip again, the disgust in her voice telling Olivia just how much she had hated where she had grown up. Still, Olivia wouldn’t accept it as an excuse to use a man, to drive him insane and torture him.

Olivia stood on trembling legs and clenched her fists at her side. “You could have done something about it.”

Kordula smiled, her red lips curving slowly. “I did... I ventured to the edge of the realm where I knew Vail to be with his army and threw myself on his mercy. He took one look at me, a filthy, starving, wretch, and turned his back on me. I cursed him and used the last of my strength to hit him with a spell that sent him flying through a score of his men. When I came around, Vail was tending to me.”

And the evil edge to her smile told Olivia that she had known she had succeeded. But Kordula’s desire had been gaining power, not just gaining a male and a war. Something must have gone wrong, and Olivia had a feeling she knew what had happened.

“Vail wrecked your plan... you asked him to do something that sent him mad and he attacked his own people to stop it from happening. He made an enemy of himself in order to protect Loren and stop you from seizing power over his country.”

Kordula shot to her feet, the air around her darkening and crackling with red bolts of energy. Her lips twisted into a sneer and her eyes bled into crimson. “He ruined everything!”

The witch launched her hand forwards and a bolt of red energy struck Olivia hard in her chest. Heat ricocheted through her body and she flew across the room and slammed into the wall. A cry of pain ripped from her lips, lightning arcing across her back and burning through her bones, and she dropped to the floor, hitting the parquet hard.

Olivia expected the agony to render her unconscious but the pain faded as she breathed, and she swore she could feel her bones mending and damaged flesh knitting back together. The bond had made her stronger. It had made her immortal.

She lay on the floor, buying herself time to recover fully and fearing another blast of that power might just test the limits of her new regenerative abilities and knock her out.

Poor Vail. He had done the only thing he could in order to stop Kordula from killing Loren and establishing herself as ruler of the elf kingdom, turning on his own beloved people and turning his brother against him, and he had been paying for it ever since. Kordula had been using him to attack the elves, and other kingdoms, and Olivia had no doubts that he had fought Kordula every step of the way too, only bringing more of her wrath down upon him.