“Talon,” I lowered my voice. “This is not about sides. This is about right and wrong.”
His eyebrows lowered, those fierce eyes moving between mine.
“Looks like your woman has the ability to lead Umbral better than you,” Xylos mocked.
My eyes screwed shut as an exasperated breath escaped me. My hands landed on Talon’s upper arms, but he stepped around me just as the room fractured around him.
The spirits screamed as Talon crossed the space between them, shadows tearing loose in his wake. Xylos barely had time to turn before Talon’s fist met his jaw, the impact snapping his head sideways with a sound that echoed the empty space.
Neya shouted, leaping forward to grasp Talon’s arm to yank him back.
Before Talon could stagger a step, my wrist flicked out. A shadow tore from the storm and drove toward Neya with a shriek. Landing on her forearm, it wrapped around her wrist in a tight band and pulled her away from Talon finger by finger. She stumbled with a gasp, her glowing eyes turning on me with confusion as she rubbed at her reddened skin.
“Hands off,” I growled.
“Lack of control remains your weakness, I see,” Xylos spat as he straightened, his hand rubbing at his jaw. “And now, you teach your lady the same.”
“Keep her name out of your mouth,” Talon hissed, stepping forward until he was toe-to-toe with him.
Xylos did not flinch. “You do not deserve to have reign over my kingdom.”
“It was never going to be yours,” Talon snarled. The spirits writhed behind him, stretching into jagged half-forms. “Our law is clear, Xylos: he who kills the leader inherits the throne. You were much too cowardly to raise a hand to your father.”
Shadow surged around Xylos as he moved, fast enough that my eyes barely caught the shift. His strike came out of the dark, knuckles crashing into Talon’s temple with a crack that snapped my breath short.
“Xylos!” I shouted, moving forward, Vesuva mimicking my strides. “Get your hands off of him.”
Talon reeled a single step, more from surprise than damage. The cold fire in his eyes ignited fully as he straightened.
Neya stepped closer, her hand coming down to clamp on Xylos’s shoulder, but she moved far too slow.
Talon’s fist drove upward into Xylos’s chin with a force that lifted him clean from the ground, the impact echoing through stone and bone alike. The spirits screamed as one, spiraling violently around Talon’s body as Xylos hit the floor in a tangle of black cotton and blood.
Neya cried out, dropping to her knees beside Xylos’s collapsed form. Her pale hands landed on his cheeks as she maneuvered his head into her lap. “What did you do?”
I lunged forward, stepping into Talon’s path, but his eyes remained locked on the injured man as his chest heaved with uneven breaths.
My hand cupped his warm cheek, stroking the sweat-slicked surface. “Talon, you must back off.”
His wide eyes darted to me with such speed, they took a moment to focus. Betrayal pulled tight at his lips, his eyes rounding in disbelief.
“You cannot ask anything of me right now, little flame.”
I shook my head, my fingers gripping his jaw tighter. “These are your people. You are meant to protect them, not crush them. You cannot bend beneath the twisted demands of the High Court.”
His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. My fingers dropped from his cheek as he pulled me forward until my chest pressed up against his. “You defied me, Kaelia.”
“I know,” I whispered, my eyes dropping to the ground. “Please, leave him free.”
His grip tightened around me, causing me to hiss in shock. My eyes lifted to meet his, which were narrowed into frozen slivers. “You are in no position to command me.”
“I understand,” I pleaded, my knees finally beginning to buckle under his disapproving gaze. “But I am asking you.”
His grip slackened as his eyes softened in dismissal. “Leave.”
I glanced at Xylos, who was slumped half against the wall and half against Neya’s folded legs. He offered me an antagonistic smirk, dark blood coating his lips and teeth. “Thank you for my freedom, Lady Kaelia.”
Talon growled and moved around me, but before he could land another hit on Xylos, I stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his heaving chest, pushing him a step back.