His chilling laugh raised goose bumps on my arms. “At least mine lives.”
I screamed, readying my sword before him as my light flared. I couldn’t let my emotion lead this fight. Not this time.
Inhaling sharply through my nose, I recentered myself. As Thames laughed, I sliced my sword at his neck, bringing my dagger into the path he’d be forced to retreat to. He dodged the sword to his neck, but my dagger slammed home into his thigh.
He cried out as a small bit of darkness seeped out of him from the wound.
“You think that pathetic cut can killme?” he asked.
“Maybe not,” I grunted, blocking his sword. “But I hope it’s torture feeling it in your skin.”
Thames pulled back, rising on a cloud of his darkness. Thunder rumbled through the sky.
“You have no idea the power I’ve collected,” he said, his voice taking on an echo-like hollowness. “You are nothing, and you will be squashed like the pathetic royal you are.”
I heaved, my body’s exhaustion catching up to me the longer this took. “You’re wrong.”
I called forth my light.We can do this. We have to finish it.
My light responded, growing despite how much energy we’d spent. Apollo glowed in my hand, and I felt energy shifting from the dagger into me. Apparently, it wasn’t merely good for channeling into. It could be used to fortify myself as well.
I threw a ball of my magic toward the bottom of the darkness Thames perched himself on, and a hole burst through it.
Thames shouted, flinging a shot of fire toward me. I rolled out of the way but screamed as a second shot skated over my arm, burning away the sleeve of my tunic.
He has magic from centuries of kings, my light warned. I responded,Our magic was foretold to destroy him. We will not falter.
Staggering to my feet, I charged forward. I couldn’t allow him to wield his magic from afar, I needed to return to hand-to-hand combat. He’d had centuries to perfect his control of his magic even if he was trapped for a thousand years, but he was vulnerable now that his evil was dying.
Thames watched me as if I was a mere amusement. He aimed his hands toward the ground, and pieces of debris and dirt rose high before flying toward me.
I cried out, throwing my hands up and trying to use my light as a shield. It cocooned around me, and the debris turned to dust as soon as it passed through the light’s barrier.
I lowered my hands and saw the first flicker of doubt cross Thames’s face.
Smiling, I held my head high. “I am Illiana Dresden,” I shouted as I ran toward him. “I am stronger than any darkness.” Channeling my light into the base of his evil, I unleashed all I could, forcing him to return to the ground.
The darkened mist he’d elevated himself on shrank until he crashed back down. He screamed viciously, directing all of his anger and hatred toward me.
My light flickered. I was running out of power, my stores severely depleted. All I felt was fear, but I couldn’t let it get the best of me. I refused to let it overpower me. I had come too far,wehad come too far to be stopped now. If my magic needed to rest, I’d finish this with my blades. Just how I’d lived my entire life, fighting for every inch, without magic.
Exactly like Ian trained me to do.
I barreled forward, fighting through exhaustion. While Thames’s strength didn’t show signs of waning at all, failure wasn’t an option for me.
His blade met mine, but he sent a lash of fire wrapping around my hand. I screamed as my skin blistered, but I didn’t let go of my weapon.
Time stilled, slowing strangely as the wind brushed against me. Only this time, when nature caressed me, it carried a whisper.
Cassandra.
“Illiana.”
This was her magic.
I looked to where the wind directed me and saw her and Vivienne kneeling on the ground next to Kade.
My heart stuttered through the pain seeing Kade lying there.
