His illusions wouldn’t be long in dying, but I didn’t have time to wait.
I ignored him, stalking forward with my weapons intact. Penny and Emery were right behind me, in it to win it. I heard Callie and Dizzy following us. After we made it through, I blocked off the door so the elves couldn’t follow. They were standing between us and the fae anyway.
A red carpet ran down the middle of the space, columns on either side of it, and the golden dome above us had to be over two stories high, with pictures painted on the ceiling and an enormous chandelier hanging down from the middle. There were ten rows of seats to one side, filled with spectators who’d shown up to watch the proceedings. That wasn’t ideal. In front of me, five steps led to a wide, raised area on which sat two golden thrones. The king and queen both had long, straight white hair, rustling in a nonexistent wind, and wore matching cream-colored robes. I honestly couldn’t tell them apart.
“Question—is it normal for elf royalty to marry their twin?” I stopped in front of them, feeling magic take shape around me. The natural dual-mages were readying for an attack. “Because you two look almost identical.” I snapped my fingers. “It’s a narcissistic thing, isn’t it? That’s what this is about. You love yourself so much you want to see yourself reflected back to you. Dude, that’s gross. You need someone around that will actually tell you the truth from time to—”
“Silence,” the one on the right said, and power curled around me, stronger than anything I had felt before, pressing into my flesh and crawling along my scalp. It forced my mouth shut and pressed compliance into my limbs.
Which pissed me off.
There was a lot I could handle, but being compelled to do something I didn’t want to was on the short list of hell fucking no.
Power rocked through me, sweet fire licking at my skin. Ice crackling the air.
I sent out a shock wave of it and shook free of the oppressive magic weighing me down.
“Nope,” I said, no humor in my tone. In my body. “What do you want with me? Speak quickly, because I’m about to leave.”
The elf on the left surveyed me with narrowed eyes. “You insolent scum,” it said. “You dare—”
“Yeah, look.” I pushed fire into the pew-like seats on both sides behind me, and shrieks crowded the air as flames raced along the base of the structure and licked up the backs of the seats. Power swirled in the room. I increased the potency of the fire, forcing everyone out of their seats, lest they be burned. A spell washed through after my efforts, incredibly powerful and horribly vicious, intending to melt skin from bones. Penny felt the danger and was not fucking around. She’d nabbed that spell out of my most advanced spell book at some point and managed to make it even worse. “I’m not here to be kicked around by a couple of narcissists with a hair complex. You’ve been looking for me. Here I am. What do you want?”
The elf on the left tapped its fingers against the golden arm of the throne. “You are Lucifer’s heir. I can feel the disgusting slide of your magic over ours.”
“We had so hoped she would be born of a high-level demon,” the one on the right said, with slightly shapelier brows and thinner lips, looking over at its partner, “so that we might kill her along with her friends. Sadly…”
“Yes, I agree,” the first said, and unfortunately, I didn’t hear any thoughts. “We cannot hope to pass her off as less than the heir. We must…reflect.”
The chairs burned wildly behind me. People pushed against the walls to get away, because the elves had invited their social elite to witness our “interview,” not their fighters. Not anyone who could subdue us.
“You fuckers are sure arrogant,” I said, which brought their focus back to me.
“Your manners are fitting of your origins,” said the elf on the left.
“Thank you. Honestly, that is a huge compliment.” I hooked a thumb behind me. “What is your plan for the Rogue Natural? Do you intend to honor Romulus—the Second Arcana—”
“First Arcana,” Emery corrected me.
“Right, right. Do you plan to honor the First Arcana and give the Rogue Natural a fair trial?”
Bodies crowded the busted doors, some trying to get out, the guards trying to get in. I felt their magic pulsing into the room.
We need to get out of here, Emery thought. Penny and I are working on something.
I knew that. I could feel it collecting above our heads, spicy and intense. It was taking shape slowly. I needed to keep talking for a moment.
“The fae are eager to resume their rightful role and help get your kingdom back on track,” I finished.