This was the end.
“Get your fucking hands off of her!” Damien bellowed, just as another blast of unicornbane dust hit him dead-on, drenching his chest, shoulder, and legs. He stumbled, swords flashing all around him. His shadows stuttered, flickering like a dying flame. Desperate, he threw his head, knocking several men back with his horn. “Look at me, Luna!” he cried, his voice cracking, “You’re stronger than this.”
Didn’t he see?
She had nothing left.
She was just a body now. Empty.
Somewhere, William chuckled, low and triumphant.
“Don’t give up!” Damien’s voice tore through the chaos—a command, a plea. He made it sound like she had a choice, as if she could have ever chosen this.
Dots crept into her vision; she needed air.
“Fight him!” Damien roared, slashing his horn and cutting another man in two. “Use your fucking magic!”
Damien fought like a demon unleashed, but he was still so far away.
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t even move.
Run, her body screamed.
But she was bound.
Trapped.
Dying.
Her mind splintered.
And somewhere, deep beneath the terror and cold—something answered.
Not a thought. Not a memory.
But a spark. Small and wild, refusing to die. She seized it without knowing how—without choosing.
The spark ignited.
Fire tore through her veins, violent and hungry, devouring everything: the fear, the pain, the silence. It burned away all the broken pieces inside of her until they became strength. Fuel.
She didn’t try to control it; she wasn’t sure she even could.
Her magic ripped itself free, bursting from her skin, erupting in a wave of raw, furious light.
Her body seized, arching against the pole as magic burned so bright it blinded her.
Somewhere close, William screamed, and his hand released her throat.
She gasped and beautiful, burning air filled her lungs with life.
Her magic kept consuming, like a roaring inferno setting her body alight. There was no controlling it. She had set her magic loose, and now it couldn’t be stopped.
Flames danced over every inch of her skin. At first, she was one with them and they didn’t harm her. But, as the flames grew brighter and hotter—so did she.
Pain prickled along her body, blooming sharper by the second. Light radiated from her, blinding, unbearable, as if she had torn open the fabric of creation itself and its brilliance was too intense to be contained. She feared it’d tear her apart.
Across the battlefield, the men fighting Damien and Gregory froze, their weapons hanging useless at their sides as they stared, caught between awe and terror.
