Read Online Ever My Merlin (Book 3, My Merlin Series) by Priya Ardis - Free Book Online Page A

alive only a few minutes ago, now lay as still as a marble statue. Sangeetha dropped to her knees, letting out loud, harsh sobs. Raj went to her and put an arm around the girl’s shaking shoulders.
    “Fall back,” Raj shouted.
    The other wizards backed away from Vane. He let them go. Leonidas grabbed Grey. He slammed his head against the ledge. I turned to go to him.
    A few feet away, Blake, black hair wild and wiry in the blowing wind, lunged at Oliver. Oliver struck back at him.
    “Blake!” I screamed.
    The thick blade connected with Blake’s neck with deadly force. Blake never had the chance to make another sound. His head fell to the ground.
     

CHAPTER 4 – COLD SUMMER

    CHAPTER 4
    COLD SUMMER
     
    “ N o!” Matt’s cry rung with grief.
    I stopped midstride, pole axed and frozen in place. The rest of the world buzzed around me yet it was an indecipherable sound. All I could hear was the stop and start of my heart pounding against my eardrums.
    Oliver didn’t slow down. With the practiced ease of a trained candidate, he turned and ran at me.I lifted Excalibur in return.
    “Enough,” Vane roared.
    In a flash of green light (Vane’s magic), Oliver went flying backwards. But Vane didn’t glance at us. His gaze remained fixed on Blake’s severed form. Real emotion stirred. For the first time since I’d seen him assume the mantle of the monster, it receded. The green cracked and a glimmer of Vane’s hazel irises peered through. Then, Leonidas walked to his side. Shields dropped over Vane’s expression and all emotion was buried. The mask of indifference slid firmly back into place.
    Oliver got up quickly. “I can bring her down.”
    “No,” Vane commanded.
    Oliver lunged at me.
    Vane knocked him a few feet away.
    “I won’t tolerate disobedience.” He stood on the other side of the roof. “I’m afraid this association will not work out after all. Leonidas, take the traitor gargoyle prisoner.”
    Blake’s head stared at me from the ground.
    My fingers tightened on Excalibur. “No, he’s not getting off that easily.” 
    Leonidas blocked my way. The mermaid prince faced me without lifting his sword. I moved to attack him. More green magic blew at me, knocking me backwards. Hard concrete collided with my tailbone. Vane zapped Oliver too. He slumped to the floor, felled by a sleep spell. Leonidas grabbed Oliver and thrust him at the other mermaids.
    I jumped up and shouted at Vane, “Did you ever care about anyone? How can you protect him?”
    “I may need him,” he replied.
    While his expression wasn’t apologetic, the mere fact that he bothered to explain surprised me. I stared at him through a haze of tears. I didn’t move.
    Matt knelt beside Blake. He picked up Blake’s head and set it against his body. Two young wizards left Sangeetha’s and Raj’s side and rushed over to us. In a glow of yellow, the young wizards sealed Blake’s head back on his body and closed the lifeless, unseeing eyes. They bowed their heads.
    The wizards on the other rooftops gathered just outside the green bubble that held us captive. Eyes fixed on the body of their fallen leader, they watched, but could do nothing to help. Ignoring the pain in my own worn out muscles, I stumbled over to Grey. A cut bled at the hairline across Grey’s forehead, and I put my fingers to his neck. His pulse was strong.
    “He will be fine,” Vane said. “His gargoyle blood will heal him.”
    I ignored him. Wiping at my wet face, I checked Gia next. She lay on Grey’s other side. At my prodding, she sat up slowly. She saw me and frowned. By my face, she knew something was wrong. She looked past me and spotted Blake. As realization hit her, I felt its vicious blow again. Gia made a shrieking sound of horror that pierced the air. Loud sobs wracked her body. I tried to pull her into a hug, but she threw me off and crawled toward Blake. She lifted his limp hand and started weeping.
    My insides twisted at the sound of her pain. It