Falsified (Tarnished Book 2)

31 Grove King

He stood there grinning madly in excitement with his dark flame orbs in his hands. I let him get what he asked for. The Grove King walked over to me, but now all the crest bearers could see him for what he was. He lost his element of surprise thanks to me, but he was right, I was too late.

"You can hide your beast, sweet prince, but I see it ready to pounce at me." He threw one of his orbs and I leaped back.

My stomach cringed. There he goes again trying to tear me down with my sins. "I won't play your game anymore."

He stopped a few yards from me. "Oh, but I had so many more surprises in store for you little wolf. I can make you play my game, or did you forget what happened last time you said I was just a bad dream."

I gulped back the knot that formed at his words. "And I told you I will pay you back ten-fold if you take from me again."

"It was entertaining that fool chose to fight a pawn knowing he would taste defeat. That mother of yours could not even summon the strength to fend me off. I know why you did not run because you needed to see it. You wanted to see it."

My nostrils flared and I summoned my own fireballs. I threw my fire at him and he swatted it away with his hands.

"Oopsie, I forgot one more thing. How did it feel to watch it play out in Pythagoras too?" His grin widened. "Have you learned the lesson about the weak or maybe you need another reminder," He glanced at Simon and Kay.

"What's with this guy?" Simon asked.

"Don't know but he sure is not pulling punches."

Sighing, I glared at him. "I refuse. I am neither the child you tormented or the pawn you played with for fulfillment." I trudged toward him. With each step, I felt my feet grow heavy. "We both know the truth about how this will end, and how you unleashed my ire by using others to do your work for you."

He continued to smile. "It makes for a better show to see how quickly they turn on each other. However, you know that better than anyone, little wolf."

At the suggestion in his words, I summoned the ice blades. "And you know better than most it was your manipulative words that drove them to turn their swords at each other." He knew how to get me angry, but this time, I need to unlock the possibility I can control this magic inside me. I held on tight to my blades and coated them with my gift to break through his flesh. "You touch what belongs to me, then the price will be high." I lunged at him, but he batted my sword away with a touch of his hand. I kept my hand firm on the hilt while redirecting to strike at his stomach like he had to my brother.

"Ooh, trying to hit me with the same attack that did in that foolhardy brother of yours." His eyes hardened like a hawk and he punched at the center of my blade. For a moment, there was nothing wrong until it cracked and fell in two. "Someone has a temper when he should blame himself for not saving the fool."

I threw my other blade at his head. "Don't even suggest it, I loved him even though I was jealous of his strength in battle. He was way more skilled than you will ever be,"

The Grove King chuckled manically. He dodged the ice sword and gripped the hilt. "Attachment to fools like him keep you powerless, my dear prince. These people plague every shore and reduce it to just land to be plowed and built on." He twirled the blade checking its weight in his hands. "They destroyed the magic of this world with their hands, so I will bring it back at every cost."

I released the magic of the blade in his hands and it soaked him when it melted. "You think anyone wants magic after how you abuse it for your own ends?"