No!
Summoning what little strength I have left, I stagger forward.
Abchanchu turns his gaze on me, his eyes glinting with malice. “You’re persistent,” he sneers.
I detect a flicker of energy within me, faint but undeniable. It’s now or never. I gather the magic, feeling it coil and flow up from deep inside. Abchanchu looks back down at Kai, his lips curling into a sadistic smile. Time seems to slow, and I watch in horror as the vampire’s muscles begin to swell, his veins pulsing with a dark, unnatural energy. A distinct, sickeningpopresonates through the air, echoing like a death toll in the stillness around us. My heart pounds against my ribcage, the rhythm almost painful, each second stretching into an eternity. Terror claws its way up my throat, threatening to choke me.
The world stops moving. Everything—time, space, my breath—halts in that single, harrowing moment.
And then, it happens. A scream rips from my throat, raw and filled with every ounce of anguish and fear I didn’t even know I could feel. My vision flickers, the vibrant colors of the world around me draining away as if someone has pulled a plug.
A surge of magic—pure, unchecked, and agonizing—rises within me, bursting forth with a force I can barely comprehend. It’s like a dam breaking, releasing a torrent of power that has been locked away, hidden beneath the surface for far too long. The air around me crackles, alive with energy, as my magic explodes outward, driven by the desperation and anguish that floods my senses.
The whispers grow louder, more insistent, urging me to remember, to reclaim my power. The ancient magic I’ve kept in check since my childhood erupts from my chest, overrunning my body and filling me completely. Shadows don’t trickle from me like they used to. They burst from me, filling the entire area with a dense fog, obscuring the trees and the valley around us.
However, my eyes seamlessly transform into my owl, allowing me to see clearly. Abchanchu stands in front of me, and as I raise my hand, the shadows twist around his neck.
In this moment, I know I have become a force to be reckoned with. I’m unstoppable. I am darkness and destruction combined, and I will destroy everything that stands against me. All thoughts and feelings fade, and all focus lands on the ancient vampire before me. I watch in sick satisfaction as he tries to claw at the shadows in a desperate attempt to get free.
From within the obscuring inkiness, I conjure sharp spears, their edges gleaming with a malevolent energy. A wicked smile curling upon my lips, I unleash them toward Abchanchu, each spear piercing his skin with a sickening thud, shattering his bones upon impact. A deafening scream escapes his lips, but my shadows stream forward, pouring into his open mouth, silencing any sound that would follow. Taking slow, cautious steps toward him, I observe the fear and disbelief reflected in his bulging eyes, as if they are windows into his tormented soul. But he has no soul; he is pure evil.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you leave here alive,” I say, not recognizing my own voice.
I can feel my humanity, my sanity, slipping further out of reach, like grains of sand falling through my fingers.
Is this what the chief was talking about all those years ago?
“Whispers of powers not meant for this realm cling to your footsteps.”
As darkness creeps over my vision, I conjure my dagger, feeling its weight as I flip it over in my palm. I stare down at it, my gaze fixated, as if in a trance.
What is wrong with me?
I struggle to clear the suffocating black haze that clouds my vision. I remember being completely terrified as a child when this happened. I was so scared I’d become a monster that I locked part of my magic away.
Abchanchu makes a guttural choking sound, jolting my attention back to him, everything coming into sharp focus. Without hesitation, I propel myself forward and drive the dagger deep into his heart, channeling my magic into him. He fights against me, but his resistance is futile. Within seconds, his body crumples like a withered flower disintegrating into a cloud of ash.
Out of nowhere, a pair of striking blue eyes lock onto mine, mere inches from my face. In my confusion, a surge of anger courses through me like molten lava. With a swift, merciless motion, my shadows lash out, sweeping his feet out from under him. I pounce, my body crashing down on top of him, and a feral growl escapes my lips. My dagger gleams darkly as I hold it at the base of his throat, my knee pressing down on his chest.
Adrenaline pulses through my veins as I stare down at the man beneath me, but something is stopping me from killing him.
I don’t want to kill him.
Why don’t I want to kill him?
Chapter twenty-six
Ashwiyaa
“Find that light that guides you back to yourself.”
Istare in silence, every muscle in my body taut, my eyes locked on the man beneath me. The world around us seems to fade, leaving only the two of us in this charged moment. My breath catches as I watch him, his expression unreadable, but his movements deliberate. Slowly, almost painfully so, his hand rises and curls around mine. My grip on the dagger tightens instinctively, the blade poised above his throat.
The air between us crackles with tension, thick and suffocating, as if the very atmosphere is holding its breath, waiting to see what will happen next. My heart pounds wildly, the sound echoing in my ears like a war drum. With agonizing slowness, he turns the dagger away from his neck, guiding my hand with a calmness that belies the gravity of the situation. His grip is firm but not forceful, as if he’s coaxing rather than commanding, and together, we lower the blade until it rests harmlessly at his side.
I can feel the tension in his hand, the controlled strength that could overpower me, but doesn’t. The act is almost tender, yet it carries the weight of an unspoken understanding—something deeper than words, a connection.
Then he smirks and playfully pulls on a stray lock of my hair. “Still so beautiful.”
