The Beast And The Blessed

Fifty-Three: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

His body rose. The oversized, wooden chair fell backward with a loud crack as his feet lifted off the floor. Guards, including Tobias, quickly removed Natalie and Killian from the table. It was his job. But as I watched Cyrus rise until his knees were aligned with the top of the table, possessed by an unknown force, I had one second where I wished Tobias had rushed to my rescue instead.

I scoffed at that thought as quickly as it came to mind. We both knew that I could handle myself, even if I were feeling under the weather.

I'm sure Natalie could too, but I had way more experience with magic than her. She was strong and good with light magic, but I knew light and dark magic thanks to my time with Talia. This... was dark magic.

Cyrus's scream cut off as his head was thrown back. His veins bulged from his body, and his already pale skin turned a sickly shade of grey.

I stepped toward him. Tobias's chair between us had been pushed several feet back during his rush to get the queen out.

My hand lifted, and I slowly approached Cyrus, wanting to feel the magic at play, to taste and familiarize myself with it.

The air was thin until I reached the wall of magic, and while chaos surrounded us from the packed dining hall rapidly emptying, I couldn't hear anything beyond the angry gurgling coming from his mouth.

The magic around him was thick and suffocating. Yet, I wasted no time jumping on the table and trying to force his head down to free his airway. A thick bloodstream spilled from his mouth before the pain-filled yell erupted again. The horror in his voice was haunting...familiar.

Aurora approached from his other side, holding her hands onto his body as she began chanting under her breath.

As usual, the rest of the council had been eating in either their chambers or the private dining room, leaving us to combat this evil on our own while we waited for someone to fetch them.

Cyrus shook, his body convulsing as fat tears slid down his cheeks. His arms were out to his sides, and he flinched as if he were fighting against restraints. His arms and legs were spread, his wrists bent so his palms were forward.

I was very familiar with the position he was in.

His pale yellow eyes were squeezed tightly shut as he gasped for breath." No! No!"

A force shot from his body, sending me flying through the air. I flipped once before hitting the ground on my side.

shot through me and then used the air to push me right back up. Several Lycans stood at

tall and proud, defensive as they waited for his next move. But it wasn't him doing it. It

I had been hunting was so close, yet I felt like they

croak from the lanky man made my

the table, I dumped the food onto the floor before

dark magic, she would have to face me, and I learned from the best...for a few years at

filled with his black-laced blood, I

active in his blood, then maybe...just maybe, I

was different than when it happened to me fifteen years ago. I had felt the witches like a thread being worked through my veins, something I could grab onto and

thread was barbed. Each time I tried to grab it, it sent a painful stab through my head, encouraging me to chant

back away from something.

I dug deeper into his blood, I could hear it more clearly with each jerk of

I do to help?" Natalie's voice called out, but growling returned as multiple guards tried to

I turned my head to glare at the guards. "Get them out of here!

help, but without knowing what we were up against, it was almost impossible to ensure the safety of Natalie and Killian,

order forced the guards to clear a path, and I turned my hand to them, shoving her and Killian back toward the door. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist, stopping her from running back into the room,

risk to you is too great." My eyes dropped down to her stomach, hinting at the reality

was lodged into my back. It was why they always had guards and why every time there was a threat, the pack would rise up to defend and fight for them without

to save an innocent man who wasn't a

stunned and stood frozen as the sound of Natalie throwing magic at the barrier echoed through the room over Cyrus's begging for mercy and cries for help. There weren't many left. As soon as they realized the attack was on Cyrus and not an attack from Cyrus, they ran to take their positions

at the door. If she takes down

and uneasy about protecting the queen and resisting her commands

turned back to the bowl, I could see the crimson liquid boiling in the porcelain. My stomach rolled, and I looked up at Cyrus. Aurora was still at his side chanting, but when she

blade glinting under the fluorescent lights.

arm sliced across Cyrus's wrist, and the tainted blood poured from the wound. His floating body was tense, and he let out

slow their damage. The healers would be back in a moment with Aurora,

the pack, and slid it noisily across the floor until it stopped a few inches short of the stream pooling from Cyrus. I dropped to my knees, moving it the rest of the way, and stuck my hands into