I lifted my hand and summoned my demon magic.
Black tendrils curled from my fingertips, teasing, warning.
Aether. Demon magic. And . . . I directed my palm at Ishtar.
“Morsultimus.”
A blindingly bright stream of fuchsia magic, my witch power, soared toward the queen.
Perhaps sensing it, her gaze darted toward me, and at the last second, her wings snapped out, and she lifted into the air. Her crimson eyes bore down on me, gleaming with hate, although I thought I saw something else there too.
Fear.
Rightfully so. I’d survived her lethal attack and returned for more. I was just as she’d said, a godling, one possessing three magics. I was the closest thing she had to an equal in this room.
My lips curled up slightly. “What do you say, Ishtar? Up for round two?”
The queen flew at me, claws extended. Unthinkingly, I levitated into the air.
Those below us gasped, shocked by my new power. I caught sight of Eva’s red hair barreling down the dais steps toward me.
Before she made it, Ishtar and I were locked in battle. I alternated between using black magic, my natural-born power, and aether. The last of which flowed from me as if I’d been using it all my life.
“Odie!” Eva screamed, and I glanced down to find her holding up her demon dagger, offering it to me.
Using black magic, I ripped it from her hands and sent it soaring at Ishtar.
The queen deflected and sneered. “A little knife won’t bring me down, witch.”
I gestured at my floating form. “Obviously not just a witch. Not anymore. Thanks for letting me in on that secret.”
Fury flitted across the demoness’ face, and she hurled a wall of fire at me. I threw up a shield, sending the flames up toward the ceiling, and retaliated with a binding spell.
Others were below us, still trying to land spells or shoot aether at the queen when they could, but she always seemed to feel them coming.
She senses the power. We need a non-magical attack to get her off her game. We need—
A blur of motion sidetracked my thought, and my eyes snapped to a spot just behind the queen. Simone was barreling through the fray, her black hair flying as she sprinted straight for Ishtar’s back.
“Simone! No!” I screamed as the vampire leapt up and hurled herself at Ishtar.
Since the demoness’ back was turned, she didn’t see the vampire coming, didn’t even notice her, until Simone’s fangs were latched onto her neck.
Ishtar roared and, so quickly one might disregard it, Simone’s eyes flashed to me.
A life for a life.
Her words rang through my mind. This was how she was repaying her life debt, by giving me an unguarded moment against the demon queen.
So, despite my natural inclination, I didn’t try to pry her off Ishtar, or throw a shield over her body. Instead, as the demon goddess lit herself on fire to burn the vampire to a crisp, I seized the advantage.
“Morsultimus,” I said, defaulting to my natural-born magic—the only one that felt right for such a moment.
The spell soared out of me, and slammed into the middle of Queen Ishtar’s chest. A moan as loud as thunder rang through the throne room.
The fighting around us stopped. Although just seconds before, we’d all been going a mile a minute, now, no one seemed to even breathe.
Slowly, the fire encompassing the demoness fizzled out, and Ishtar’s gleaming red eyes locked with mine.
