I do it again, and this time I hold nothing back. I’ve never tested the limits of how much aether can flow through me, but today I’ll find out. With a cry to the sky, I fully open that mental valve that has always kept the aether flowing into me at a trickle, allowing myself to become the conduit through which the aether flows. The second it slams into me, I gasp. I collapse to the ground as the aether threatens to consume me. The torrent is overwhelming, hard to redirect, but with another infernal cry, I coax it into Krantz, drowning the black mass until nothing but the usual glow of red surrounds him. Then I grit my teeth and close off my access to the aether once more, my body trembling with the effort. I lie there on the ground, eyes closed, too shaky to stand. It takes me several minutes of deep breathing to recover, and I’m grateful Thorne and Fionn have the fight so firmly under control, or I might not have been afforded the luxury of laying still for so long.

Finally, I open my eyes and stand, and the cacophony of the battle slams into me all at once. Fionn has left my side and is fighting Krantz hand to hand a few paces ahead of me. Krantz seems frantic to get to me, eyes wild and more animal than fae.

“Bitch,” Krantz spits. He knows what I’ve done to his magic. Fionn sends a dagger flying into Krantz’s gut, and blood pools out of him, the smell foul despite the disappearance of his vile magic. I wrap his arms in cords of light, bringing him to his knees. He struggles against the bindings, but without his secret magic, he’s no match for me.

“Go help Thorne,” I order Fionn, who immediately follows my command. They take out the remaining dozen rebel soldiers together with ease.

“It’s over Krantz,” I tell him, and he spits at my feet. I sigh loudly, then check my nails. “You have two options. I can kill you slowly, torture you with water and plants in your lungs—it’s a specialty of mine—before I force the information from you anyway with the aether-voice.” I give him a wink. “Or, I can kill you quickly, which I’ll only do if you tell me who on my Council you’re working with. Your choice.”

“I won’t tell you anything,” he growls, and I shrug.