Free Twisted Enchantment (Unbreakable Force Book 5) by Kara Jaynes Page A

out and I fell. I didn’t have time to even scream before strong arms caught me, saving me a cracked skull—or worse. The outcast king held me for a moment while I tried to slow my breathing. I almost died from this fool plan of sheets and windows!
    “You fit quite nicely in my arms.” Fyrsil’s breath tickled my ear. “Why don’t we forget this whole business of lost children and Aaric and run away together? You are quite fetching.”
    I pushed myself away from him and he set me down. “Quite messing around,” I glowered at him. “Let’s get back to finding the girl.”
    Fyrsil sighed. “So boring. All right then, let’s do this.” He set off down a side street, walking quickly. His strides were so long I had to run, lifting my skirts to keep pace.
    The city was completely deserted, not a soul to be seen. The snow was a light layer on the black stone streets. The lamps still glowed, but the blue light was now muted.
    Fyrsil walked the sure, swift steps of someone who knew where he was going. He never hesitated at crosswalks, and never stopped to gain his bearings. Strange for a man who’d never been in the city before. I mentioned it.
    He glanced at me, disgusted, before replying, “Can’t you feel it, Adaryn?”
    I frowned at him, puzzled, but then I felt it too. I hadn’t noticed it, desensitized by the constant flow of magic. There was a deeper thread of magic underneath it all. A stronger, darker magic. It confused me. How could magic be dark? ‘Dark’ wasn’t even the right word for it, but I couldn’t think of anything better to describe it. There was something wrong with the enchantment. But it was strong. The magic throbbed, like a giant heartbeat, caressing my senses, and now that I was focused on it, I was able to tell the direction from which it came. I was now able to stride along confidently beside the brigand.
    We almost had a few run-ins with the night guard, but we were able to hear them marching in formation before they saw us, giving us plenty of time to turn down another street. We had to move quickly though. Fyrsil pointed out that with our tracks looking fresh, if anyone noticed them they’d be on our trail.
    The source of the dark, pulsating magic led us to an impossibly tall, massive spire of black rock, the dark gates closed tight. Several guards stood outside of it, clad in black armor, holding long dark spears that glinted in the blue light of the lamps. The fortress. Dahlia, if she were still alive, would be in there.
    “Let’s circle around,” Fyrsil murmured. We did so, making sure not to make any noise. Guards marched around the perimeter.
    “Ready?” Fyrsil stood tense, his glider at the ready.
    “Are you sure you can do this?” I asked. We would be taking the gliders on an updraft created by Fyrsil’s magic, without the aid of starting at a higher vantage point. I licked my lips, nervous.
    Fyrsil shook his head. “We don’t have a choice. I will need your strength once we’re up there though. We will almost certainly need to fight, and I won’t be able to do it alone.”
    “Not a problem.” I thought of the young child, and my lips pulled back in a silent snarl. I would do whatever it took to free Dahlia.
    I felt the magic swell from Fyrsil, and a wild gust of wind whipped up, causing our gliders to fly up and forward. My contraption shook and shuddered and I hoped it would hold out long enough for us to escape from here.
    The windows that lined the stone walls indicated the start of a new floor, and the higher we flew, the stronger the dark magic grew. I risked a glance over at Fyrsil flying next to me, but it was too dark to see his face clearly. My hands hurt from the cold and from gripping the glider’s handle so tightly, but then I felt the brigand’s magic ebb and fade, and we began descending toward an outside landing.
    I was able to land a little more gracefully this time. I stumbled and ran a few steps to regain my balance, but I didn’t fall.
    I