Am I about to do the most disgusting thing ever? Oh, yes.
I swing the sword so that it meets the neck of the Witch King as he crouches to stab Azur. The sword goes through like a knife slicing an apple, which is surprising. I think I hear Azurscreamingno, but it makes no sense, and I don’t want to follow his plans anymore because they’re idiotic.
As the Witch King’s head flies, I reach out a hand and catch it by the dark purple hair, then lead it to my mouth and drink as much blood as I can in the half second I have before the ghouls swarm me and Azur. I crouch, push the Witch King’s body aside, then lick the dagger with Azur’s blood and hold his hand.
There are so many ghouls, and I still can’t reach them. What I sense from them is aggression, revenge. I need to get out of here now, and I hopemyplan makes any sense, or else this is going to be my end.
And I still feel no magic from the blood I drank. Nothing. Then, all at once, my senses are swarmed with so much power that I can barely grasp it.
I close my eyes and imagine another place. Any place. No. I need to know it well, and I don’t want to risk getting my magic traced, so it needs to be somewhere safe.
The island comes to mind. The island where I had so many awkward breakfasts with Marlak, where I got my sword, where so many things happened. Then I see it. It’s as if it’s beneath me, the stone house obscured by the trees surrounding it, the clearing where I trained, it’s all there, within reach.
And yet it pushes me back, towards darkness. I don’t know if I’m still in that cave or if I’m falling through the space between space. I hold firmly onto Azur’s hand, and yet I fear we’re about to fall or disintegrate; I don’t even know.
A thought comes to me in a flash. The island is protected. Too protected. I need to come up with another place quickly.
The only other suitable place is the river island where I camped with Marlak. I have no idea where it’s located, but I remember the trees at the river bank, the sandy ground, then vividly remember the rain and sharing a tent with him for the first time.
I can see that island in my mind, can even feel the sand under my feet, but there are still screams.
No.Onescream.
I open my eyes and realize I’m sitting on a small sandy island surrounded by a river illuminated by moonlight.
“No!” It’s Azur who’s screaming. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving you. And how can you scream when you just had a knife in your chest?”
He exhales and looks around, I suppose realizing we’re safe. “He stabbed my chest, not my throat.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling well.”
Azur places his hands over his face, still lying down. “No, no, no. No, Astra. Why?”
His question is absurd. “Why? He was going to kill you, you dimwit.”
“The dimwit here is not me. Can you even think?” What’s he getting at?
I huff. “If I may say, I’m quite brilliant. I came up with the gross idea of licking both of your bloods in less than a second.”
Gross. Incredibly gross. That blood is churning in my stomach, unwanted, putrid, horrific. There’s power coursing through my veins. Incredible power, and yet it’s all murky, dirty, disgusting. I feel horrible. And yet I saved my life—and Azur’s. Who has the gall to complain after his plan flopped like that.
“What exactly wasyourbrilliant idea?” I ask.
“It should be obvious!”
“Right. Getting murdered. Was that your plan?”
His eyes are wide. “What else would it be?”
I’m about to give him a snarky reply, when the meaning of his words truly reaches me. Oralmostreaches me. It makes no sense. Did I mishear him? “Your plan was to get killed?”
“How else can I stop him from taking my magic?”
“By escaping? Transcending away, like I just did?”
Azur chuckles bitterly and shakes his head. “That might work—as a temporary solution. And there’s more. I’m bound to him, just like I was bound to Renel. It means if he gives me a direct command, I can’t refuse. Can you imagine what he could do with that? I could be turned into his puppet.”
