Lux
The dull gray winter landscape went by in a blur, but Lux didn't see any of it despite facing the window. Her eyes were glued to the slightly blurry reflection of her former friend. A small spell sharpened the image, but there wasn't much to see. Just a tired, aged version of the girl whose heart Lux used to think she knew as well as her own.
Kitty had said little since dropping the bomb on them, but what she had said had been enough to convince Lux and Declan to bring her along, even if they were more than a little suspicious of her motives. It wasn't a stretch to imagine the girl was the one sending the Dreams to Lux, hoping she could use them and their former friendship to manipulate Lux into letting her close, which is why they required her to submit to a physical and magical search for bloodstones before agreeing to let her come along.
But Kitty was either genuine or not stupid enough to wear a bloodstone in such proximity to them. Either way, she was now sitting just inches away from Lux, and it was torture to not be able to reach over and hug her.
"I can feel you watching me," Kitty said at last, twisting her neck to peer at Lux. Amusement mingled with wariness in her eyes.
"Just waiting for the inevitable death threat and doom and gloom prophecy."
She stretched her legs and rubbed her hands over her knees. Lux followed the movement and sucked in a breath. Her weight loss had been obvious, but standing her baggy clothes gave the illusion of weight. Now, she could see how thin her legs were, and her knees were sharp points beneath the denim.
"I've put the death threats on hold for the moment, but the gloom and doom is very real."
Lux dropped her head against the seat and huffed. "Did I ever pretend otherwise?"
"You bound my powers."
"Because you were intent on killing me."
The car swerved a bit, and Lux looked up to find Declan's brown eyes filling the rearview mirror. He ached for her—she could see it in the reflection and feel it in her chest, but he also hurt for himself. As the First Circle's sorcerer, Kitty was his to protect, and he believed he'd failed her.
"I told you that was a last resort. I asked you to bind your powers."
"And called me an abomination."
Kitty coughed into her hand before smoothing back her tangled hair, bits of faded blue poking through her fingers. "Okay, that's fair."
"And you want me to believe you've suddenly changed your mind about all of this? That after years of using bloodstones—"
"Lux—"
"Do you deny it?"
"No—"
"And you have the nerve to call me an abomination!" She screamed, her gray eyes going silver as she let her magic rise to the surface. Kitty drew back in shock, no doubt remembering similar incidents happening when Lux was without a channeling stone, but this was no accident. She was in complete control, and it was time Kitty saw who she was: Priestess Most High.
"I did what I had to," Kitty wheezed, tears dripping from her chin. "And I will continue to do what I have to. This life isn't some fairytale where everything works out because we want it to, or because you're the hero. That means you can be selfish and still save the day. Daphne showed me Visions—"
"Daphne," Lux repeated, wishing they weren't in the car so she could throttle Kitty properly. Maybe a magical lobotomy was the answer. She could remove every ounce of foul influence her ancestor had exerted on the girl. "Again, why would you rather trust that woman than me?"
She thrust out her hands. Lux wrinkled her nose, looked at them, and then back at Kitty. "What do you want me to do with those?"
"Look into my mind and see what I've Seen."
"Lux," Declan said, a clear warning in his voice.
Her request sounded simple enough, but there was a reason they'd refused to look before. Whatever magic Daphne used to put those Visions in Kitty's head could be dangerous. It could have traps and tripwires for anyone who went digging, and no one had felt confident enough to perform the spell. That was a long time ago, and Lux was far more skilled and knowledgeable, and she desperately wanted to See what could be bad enough to convince Kitty to turn on all of them, even if it was all lies.
"I know you think the Visions are fake, but they're not."
"Lux!" Declan shouted when he saw her reach for Kitty, and the last thing she experienced in this world was tires squealing as the car swerved toward the side of the road.
Then she was standing on a hill, staring across a barren wasteland. Raging fires burned every few yards, bodies were piled on top of each other, and a red sun simmered low on the horizon, turning the sky bloody. Without trees or buildings to block it, the wind blew in great, howling gusts that fanned the flames and whipped her hair across her face. Her nose filled with the acrid stench of smoke and something sickly sweet.
"Bring him," a voice boomed from her right. A voice that sounded very much like her own in tone and pitch, but there was an aged quality to it. No southern lilt, just harsh and commanding eloquence.
Lux knew before she turned, but it didn't stop her from gasping. There—just yards away—stood Morgan le Fae, and at her side was a woman who resembled Lux in every way. Except for the white stone hanging around her neck and the frosty glint in her eyes.
Behind them was a cage. Two women Lux didn't recognize sat at the bottom. One had ink black hair and turquoise eyes, and there was a strange iridescent hue on her cheeks where tears might have fallen. Her ears were lightly pointed, hinting at Fae ancestry. The woman next to her had her eyes closed and her head pressed against the bars. Her matted hair hung over her shoulder, hints of honey glimmering in the brown strands, even in its filthy condition.
No one could see her, but she still walked as silently as possible toward the duo. Fae creatures she'd only ever seen in storybooks—goblins, redcaps, kelpies, and banshees—cheered as they dragged a man up the hill, a hood over his head, his knees buckling with almost every step. He raised chained hands to the edges of the hood and tugged on it, but a goblin slapped his hand away, the spikes on the ends of his fingers leaving red welts on the man's skin.
Morgan and... Lux swallowed. Morgause. It had to be Morgause inhabiting her body. They waited with ill-concealed excitement as they shoved the man to his knees before them, and only then did they remove his hood. And Lux's heart broke as Declan's face appeared. He looked years older—bearded and battered until more skin was bruised than not, but she would recognize him anywhere.
"It is over at last, Sorcerer," Morgan called. "Why do you not make things easy on yourself and give us the key."
Declan grinned. His swollen lips peeled back, exposing white teeth, and then he spit at their feet. The Fae Queen did not move, but Morgause snatched back her skirts and glared at the man. Green lightning fractured the sky.
"Why must you always go the difficult route?" Morgause fumed.
"Would you enjoy your victory otherwise?"
Morgan drummed her fingers together. "So you admit I've won?"
Lux's love laughed and turned to look over his shoulder. He pointed at the destruction with his bound hands. "Won what? You are queen of nothing. Humans are all but gone, and the lands are so ruined you could not grow a single crop, even with all your magic poured into it. What will your Fae eat?"
"That's why you need to give me the key," Morgan implored, lowering herself to Declan's level. Desperation and concern played across her ethereal features, and it was almost enough to convince Lux she truly cared. "My sisters have power over life. They will restore the balance to this world, but they cannot travel here unless the gateways are opened."
"Liar," the black-haired woman shouted from the cage. She curled her fingers around the bars and shook until it groaned. The sleeves of her tunic slid down and revealed cuffs around her slim wrists, and Lux knew at once they bound her powers somehow.
"Hush child. You will serve your purpose soon enough," Morgan said, rising to her feet.
"I'm not an idiot," Declan said. "You do not need to silence anyone. I know your dirty secrets. Your plots and plans. You want to storm into Avalon to take revenge, and our home was collateral."
Morgan shrugged. "Blame the Avalon queens for hiding the men my sister and I need to punish."
Morgause wiggled her fingers, and white flames danced atop their tips. "If Merlin was not such a coward, I would have dealt with him here and been glad of it."
"Lux, please. I know you're in there," Declan begged, lunging toward Morgause's feet and receiving a booted to the face for his efforts. Blood sprayed across the dead grass, and he dropped to his side, rolling to his back with a deep groan.
"You," Morgan screamed, the last of her composed facade slipping as she bent forward and grabbed Declan by his hair. "I have slain the werewolf king and toppled the Guardians in their home in Camelot. What chance does one pitiful sorcerer stand against the Fae Queen? You don't even have the power of a witch anymore without your precious lover."
"Then kill me," he spat. "Add me to the dead, and you can find the damn key yourself."
She released him so hard his head bounced against the ground. Rising, she brushed invisible dirt from her silvery skirts, and gestured at Morgause. "Do it."
"With pleasure," Morgause said, and those dancing white flames engulfed Declan.
"No!" Lux screamed, coming back to the present with a jolt.
"Shit," Declan cursed, banging a fist on the back of the driver's seat. "Never do that again, Lux."
Her head was in his lap, and he helped her sit up slowly. The car Percy and Calum drove was parked behind them, and the Guardians stood on either side of an anxious Kitty. She twisted and caught his mouth in a kiss, grabbing one side of his face, relishing in the smooth, unblemished perfection of his skin. No wounds or scars or dirt caked his beautiful face. She lowered her other hand to his chest and sought his beating heart.
"You Saw it," Kitty said.
Declan and Lux clung to one another a second longer before breaking apart. With a trembling inhale, Lux stood and nodded, putting out a hand to stop Declan from drawing her back into the car.
"I did. It was terrible." Her voice broke. "Your descriptions did it no justice."
The men exchanged looks, and Declan spoke up. "But it's all lies Daphne created to get Kitty on her side."
"No. It's true."
Everyone gaped at Lux, but she knew it was true. Knew it the way she knew the phone was about to ring or someone would get a flat tire. She knew it the way she knew Corinne Bailey was dead years ago. Everything Kitty had been Seeing was true, but it didn't mean she was right.
"We have to get to Elaine and find out everything we can about Morgause," Lux said, getting back into the car and buckling her seat belt. No one moved, so she shouted, "Now."
At once, they all scrambled back to their places, engines roaring to life and gravel spinning into the brush as they pulled back onto the highway. Kitty sobbed in her seat. Her face hidden behind her hands as her shoulders shook.
"It's not me," Lux told her. "Not really."
"I know that now," Kitty heaved, "But it's still the future. She's in your body, and she has your powers. It's almost worse than I imagined."
"Is it?"
The girl nodded. "Yes, because a part of me always struggled with believing you could truly do anything so terrible. Your heart is too pure, Lux, and I guess as long as I held onto that, a small part of me held onto hope. A very, very small part."
"And now?" Lux sat on her hands to stop herself from pulling her friend into her arms. Kitty had done so many awful things. Likely even murdered others. Even if it was to stop the destruction she saw in the Visions, Lux didn't believe two wrongs made a right.
"And now... Now I'm fucking terrified because that woman has all your powers and none of your morals. If she takes over your, we're finished." She licked her lips and closed her eyes. "The world as we know it is over.