I tried fighting it, but it was enveloping me, taking me. Its kiss was like sweet molasses that coated my throat in its deliciousness, and from there it spread. But it was poison, not molasses, burning its way through me. And its power was growing. I wanted more. I wanted all of it, and for it, I was willing to do anything that was required of me.
“Give yourself to it,” Endrick said.
I closed my eyes, and the corruption embraced me, filling me with warmth that burned away what had been ice before. How foolish that was, to believe the ice was power. No, this was power, and the more of it I absorbed, the more I wanted. I pulled it into myself until I was the corruption. Soon, I knew, I could not separate from its grasp without splitting myself in half.
Never sacrifice more than half of yourself, Loelle had said. Then the poison asked me to surrender my other half, and I obeyed.
At Endrick’s command, I opened my eyes and saw how pleased he was with what he had accomplished. But he did not trust me yet. Instead, he gestured to the Olden Blade still in my hands and pointed at Harlyn. “Kill her.”
I smiled. The idea of killing was so simple now, so pleasurable. Even the thought of it sent a rush of the purest joy through me. Lord Endrick walked me over to Harlyn, his hand on my back.
“Prove yourself,” he said. “Show me that you can do this.”
I could do this. I wanted to do this.
Harlyn shook her head, her eyes widened in a desperate fear that added to the heat within me. “Please don’t, Kestra. You’re not yourself.”
“Isn’t this exactly who you’ve accused me of being?” I countered. “Am I not now the very person you believed I would become when you shot me with that disk? If I will be accused of being part of the Dominion, I’ll do better—I will be the Dominion itself. And for that, I must kill.” I raised the blade, but rather than bring it down on Harlyn, I twisted and thrust it directly into Endrick’s chest.
He gasped; his eyes grew in alarm and horror. I only smiled at him in return.
“You are mine,” he said. “I made you.”
“And I shall replace you,” I said.
He grabbed my wrist holding the blade, sending fire up my arm and leaving a burn on the back of my hand. I withdrew the blade and he staggered away, but the wound I had created was expanding from its center, creating a dark mass of smoke and blood. His eyes widened in disbelief and he clutched at his body to try to hold it together, but that only seemed to make the wound spread faster.
“I curse you—” he shouted at me, but got no further before what remained of his body faded into a thick black smoke that tightened into a small ball before it suddenly pulsed in, then exploded. The force of it was so strong it shook the earth beneath my feet, and chunks of the ceiling fell around me. The explosion was loud enough that I heard it continue to echo as it spread from beyond the palace walls.
I had crouched low to protect myself, but when everything went silent, I opened my eyes and saw the smoke beginning to gather again. It rushed for me, nearly choking me at first for its thickness, but when I finally had to take a breath, I felt it enter my body, filling me with his powers. All his knowledge, all that he could do, all his understanding, became mine.
Harlyn stood, raising her sword as if that would matter at all. “Kestra, I can’t let you—”
“Silence!” I stood tall, sheathing the Olden Blade at my waist, then clutched my burned hand to my chest. I could heal it, if I took the strength from Harlyn. But I was repulsed at the idea of benefitting from her, even against her will. So I gritted my teeth against the pain in my hand and said, “I will spare your life for only one purpose, that you go and tell the people what I’ve done. They are free of Endrick, but they are mine. I have his powers, all of them. And I have the Olden Blade to keep control over my power, as he never could. Go now, for if you say a single word, I will change my mind.”
Harlyn stared at me for only a second longer before she dipped her head at me and ran.
I drew in a deep and satisfying breath, then ascended the steps to the Scarlet Throne. After running one finger along the arch of the chair, I rounded it once, then sat.
The Scarlet Throne was mine. I was the Dominion now.
Whatever happened inside the throne room was powerful enough to throw me off my feet and send both Darrow and Gabe careening against one wall. Only Trina was able to keep her balance but just barely. Anything not attached to something stable toppled over, including a
large marble bust of Lord Endrick that nearly hit Gabe.
In a nearby room, I heard what sounded like an enormous chandelier crash to the floor, followed by sounds outside of decades-old trees falling to the ground.
The destruction was followed by a minute of such absolute silence that it filled me with dread. Something terrible must have happened.
Echoing my thoughts, Gabe asked, “What was that?”
“It’s Lord Endrick,” Trina said warily. “Though I don’t know if it means good news or bad.”
“Kestra was in the throne room with him,” Darrow said. “Whatever just happened, she is involved.”
“Was involved,” Gabe corrected him. “It’s quiet now. Too quiet.”
“We have to find her,” I said. “Maybe we can help.”