Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) by Christina E. Rundle Page A

three blades and knelt on the ground, ready to lunge when she was right behind me. Someone like her would be cautious, so I needed to give her a reason to lower her guard. The black piece of fabric on my arm caught my attention. Utan smelt my blood and immediately reacted to it. It was a long shot believing Kelaino would react the same way.
    No prepping was needed for this one. Utan left me with a number of cuts that not only stung, but still bled. That should be enough to cause concern and maybe she’ll by-pass caution to see if I’m okay. I gripped the blades and turned my back to the doorway, which meant I was stuck facing the strange mirrors. Now I know why I hated those mirrors, they didn’t reflect. As much as I dreaded this final confrontation, I wanted Kelaino to hurry so I could leave this room.
    Nails clicked over stone and my heart leaped. I wasn’t getting use to these adrenaline bursts. My hands shook so hard, the blade was slipping in my sweaty palm. I knew the moment she stopped in the doorway because the hall grew quiet. All I could smell in the air was my own sweat and blood.
    “What are you doing down there?” she asked with suspicion.
    “I ache. Some of my injuries are severe and need to be sewed.”
    Her toenails clipped the floor as she entered the room. A few more steps and she would be directly behind me. Sweat dripped from my forehead, burning my eye. I swallowed hard feeling the bruises Utan left me. It took a lot of energy to make sure the blades didn’t clink in my hands.
    “If you’re so injured why didn’t you wait in your room?”
    Good question. I knew this was going to be hard. I licked my lips, wondering if I should moan. My long pause was enough. Her nails clicked again as she neared. I felt her presence the moment she stepped into the circle. The energy consumed her like it did me, making a barricade from the outside world. She was so close; I could feel her aura rub against my shields.
    My thoughts slipped into dark space as I lunged. Blades flashed. One in the hip, the second barely grazed her chest before I flew across the room, whacking the wall with such force that every bone in my body rattled. My mind was buzzing. I had to get up. My feet swayed and when I stuck my hand out to balance myself, there was no wall to push against. I fell.
    Within seconds, she was there, applying just as much force to my neck as Utan had, but something was different. She was holding on. The world was sucking at me, trying to pull my skin from my body. The pain went beyond bone deep. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t do anything.
    Red mist twisted around my face making it difficult to see Kelaino though she was only a few feet away. It felt like ants were marching under my skin, itchy and painful at the same time. There were voices too; millions of them, crying and screaming. Their pain was so intense and it pulled at me, threatening to fray my conscious. I’d never be whole again if she let go.
    She yanked hard and my skin snapped into place as we landed on the floor. My body was too heavy to move and Kelaino was already getting up. My knives were scattered, teasingly close and not even my fingers twitched to touch them.
    “You should have let the Underworld have her,” Utan said.
    I had to get up. I couldn’t be this weak in front of him when he wanted me dead. It took everything to tighten my jelly muscles. It felt like someone took me apart one layer at a time and reassembled me. Was this what a spirit felt like when pushed into the body of a Free-String Walker?
    “The mirrors haven’t opened like that in four hundred years,” Kelaino said. Was that longing in her voice? “She might be the one. I won’t lose my chances.”
    “She’s a wild card. She tried to kill you.”
    “Show her the deal,” Kelaino said.
    I was on my feet, but that didn’t mean I could walk. With the tip of Utan’s gleaming sword pointed at my throat, I knew there was no sympathy for what just happened. He