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His strong, broad frame is covered in a lovely sable coat that complements his coloring, and his slacks and button-up shirt are clean and light colored. His top three buttons are undone to display his brawny chest and the absence of the binding collar that was once welded onto him.
I can’t seem to shake off my shock. I gape at him, ignoring the painful pounding of my racing heart. My skin prickles, and I can’t tell if it’s my instincts or the ghosts that haunt this land. I swallow and choke out a strained, “You’re looking… well.”
He shouldn’t be alive. When I attempted to break my curse, it said Alasdair’s soul was too mangled to save. Yet, here stands my brother, very much alive. Did my curse lie to me? No, it can’t. Magic doesn’t have the ability to lie. That’s a human flaw.
Alasdair hums and speaks in the same light, playful lilt he’s always had. “Yes, one good night can make quite the difference after being indisposed for seven years.” He laughs, and the unease within me grows. His curls dance on his brow when the wind blows. “My, you are off your game today. You used to be so much better at this.”
I inspect him slower this time, my eyes warming as they glow to gaze into his heart and soul. There sits the magnificence of an Archweaver Heir, four threads twisted together in a rope, but something drips within. A tarlike substance that oozes down the entwined threads.
He steps towards me, and I counter to keep him at the same distance. We circle each other slowly, Alasdair’s smile unwavering as he speaks. “I expected so much more from you. After all, you made something that no one has seen in generations, something new.”
Bile pushes against the back of my throat as a miasma wafts through the mist, turning the gentle dawn fog into a putrid smoke reeking of the sticky sweet scent of dark magic. It lingers in the back of my throat, and every instinct screams to run, but I mustn’t. If I did, he would have the advantage of the chase. Better to stand my ground and end this now.
I click my tongue. “My talent does know no bounds. Do I call you brother or is ‘creature’ more suitable?”
A cold sweat turns my skin clammy, and I withdraw my hands from my pockets. Fuck dueling standards. I will use every advantage in my arsenal to ensure I am the victor in whatever trap Alasdair has set for me here.
Alasdair hums again, his circling of me languid and relaxed. “Brother is still acceptable. Or perhaps even twin. We’re not only of similar blood as siblings, but of the same magic.”
I falter, and he’s a step closer to me. I don’t dare dart back. A tingling awareness crackles in the air as the pieces click together. “We’re both Heirs. Our Soul Threads are similar.”
“Oh, it’s more than that, dear sister. We are not simply similar. We are the same. Two Heirs corrupted by the same curse. If you looked upon yourself, you’d see the same darkness.”
My lip curls. “Now that’s a stretch. I’ve always been more attractive.”
He laughs, his head thrown back. “Oh, this is much more fun than being trapped in a decaying house. We should’ve done this years ago.” His gaze sweeps over me. “I’m surprised you finally left your shop alone. You and your little magician seemed quite close last night.”
I suck in breath, my eyes widening. Suddenly, the night’s events piece together in a whole new, terrifying way.
Fear chills me, but I sink my nails harder into my palms. I can’t be weak. Not now. Not when I’m facing my brother after all I’ve done. I allow myself a single breath before I roll my spine back to straight and set my shoulders back, my hip sliding to the side. I resist licking my lips before confidently drawling, “My, you have learned some new tricks now that you’re all grown up. That was quite the message you left me. Were you so desperate for my attention that you needed to make such a bloody mess in my shop?”
A low chuckle breaks his silence. “I’ve come to appreciate the dramatic flair. It makes things so much more interesting. I needed to dispose of the body, and your shop was such a convenient dumping ground. All I had to do was pick open your wards’ web to step through. It barely put up a fight with our blood and magic being as it is.”
“Answer me this, dear brother. Why kill Vincentius and leave his body in my shop?”
His eyes glint. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Have you at least pieced together how your creation and brother became me?”
Frustration bubbles within me, but I hold my tongue.
Alasdair huffs. “Disappointing. The curse was far too weak from your attack to devour Alasdair’s soul, but Alasdair’s soul was so mangled, he could barely control this mortal body anymore. Both man and curse were doomed to a fate worse than death: nothingness. So they did what two desperate creatures would do. They made a deal.”
A shiver crawls up my spine. “What was the deal?”
“They fused together to become something new. A demon unto this mortal world, the likes of which has never been seen. I am so much more than I ever could’ve been otherwise, and I have you to thank for it. You see, I am Alasdair, and I am your creature. To put it simply…” His eyes turn the matte black of a corrupted weaver. His green irises burn through the darkness to glow like two thick rings. “I am both. There is no beginning nor end to what we were before. I am Alasdair anew.”
His irises no longer hold the familial similarity to mine now that the whites of his eyes are black. They call like the demons of the deep to lure unsuspecting prey to their clutches. A monster within a beautiful body.
My lips part, dread lowering my voice. “Why would Ali agree to such a thing?”
“It was the one choice to gain the thing he wanted more than anything else, after seven long years of unimaginable torture. He wanted to see you suffer.”
He moves forward, and I step back. My heart pounds. Alasdair—or whatever the hell he is now—continues to advance, and I have no choice but to retreat backwards to keep out of arm’s reach. Alasdair’s magic has always been physical. If he gets his arms around me, I am as good as dead.
I sneer at him, my chin tilting up. “What’s your plan here? Annoy me until I give up? Roll over and die? How unimaginative.”
The creature’s smile grows, those eyes widening until the circles of green are fully visible. His tone takes on a breathless edge. “Tori, Tori, Tori… I haven’t even begun my fun. It’s why Vincentius had to die. I couldn’t have his little uprising ruining things.”
I’m ready for his surge forward. Magic erupts from me, and the collision of our power is like a bomb going off. I scream as pain splinters through my insides; Alasdair’s hit is far more potent than I expected. My shield shatters, but I push through the agony. My hands curl into claws as I summon my magic. The flames of the phoenix surround me, the cry of a bird echoing through the park. Mighty wings beat, and my rippling gold and black fire dives for Alasdair.
