Exhaling slowly, Lykor shifted his focus as another wave of warriors closed in around him, circling like a pack of wolves. Reducing them to puddles of gore would be a waste of theirmagic—too much potential to squander when he could use it instead.
Releasing a streak of blue light, force struck like a serpent, hauling another elf to him. The soldier screamed as Lykor ripped their talents away, siphoning the abilities into his Well.
He turned to the next, their feeble bursts of magic easily deflected. One after another, the elves fell around him, their magic harvested and reforged into his own.
A growing hunger prowled beneath his skin—an insatiable beast gnashing at the bars of its cage, ravenous for more.
Consumed by the squall raging within him, Lykor’s mind clouded with the tide of expanding power. Each pilfered ability augmented his strength, each vanquished pawn another weapon stolen from the king’s magical arsenal.
Wind lashed strands of silvery hair across Lykor’s face, his form fully shifted into that of an arch elf. As he discarded the final warrior, his limbs quivered beneath the weight of what he’d seized.
A heartbeat of uncertainty stretched into two, a whisper of guilt drifting through the storm. Lykor ruthlessly crushed the ember of doubt before it could kindle further. This was no time for regrets. No place for weakness.
He needed more. He couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop.
Destroy the ships. Strip Galaeryn of every thrall. The thoughts hammered into his skull, a relentless litany driving him forward as he stalked back to the docks.
With a snarl, he punched out a wave of darkness. The planks exploded beneath his fury, splinters raining into the sea.
Trella’s shrieks ricocheted around the cove, eclipsing the groans of shattered vessels as they sank into the abyss. White wings a molten blaze cutting through the night, she smashed into ship after ship, her destruction fury incarnate.
Shadows detonated from Lykor’s fingertips, obliterating the final docked vessel. Essence poured through him, an uncontainable flood he couldn’t release quickly enough. Power roared in his chest, a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Yet the intoxicating pull to collect more Essence was impossible to resist. Perhaps with this power he could challenge the king. End Galaeryn’s reign.
No. Not yet. That was reckless. Absurd. Not until he claimed more.
A sudden howl of wind slashed through the chaos capsizing Lykor’s mind. His ears pricked as the ocean’s hiss swelled, rising unnaturally.
That wasn’t Essence controlling the waves—it was something else. He looked down the shore, but Vesryn and Serenna were gone.
A snarl twisted Lykor’s lips as he spun, his gaze narrowing. He scoured the beach, the crashing tide—then finally, the cliffs.
Silhouetted against the star-flecked sky, a figure loomed high above on a castle balcony. Arms stretched wide, they commanded the elements, bending wind and water into a spiraling vortex.
The king had harnessed his shamans.
The sea churned violently, a wall rearing higher and higher until it blotted out the light of the moons, its crest trembling with untamed power—aimed directly athim.
Lykor tensed, peering up at the castle. He wouldn’t wait for the strike—he’d take the fight to the fool who dared to challenge him.
With a sharp inhale, Lykor centered his awareness deep in his chest and folded in on himself, warping up the cliffs to crush the shaman where they stood.
Nothing happened.
Realization speared through him. He wasn’t himself. No longer half-wraith.
The wave surged closer, its shadow swallowing the beach. He had no choice. He’d have to portal.
A rift tore open beside him, but it wasn’t his. The void spat out the prince and the girl in a rush of humid air.
Serenna threw her hands up as the towering wall of water began to roll forward to engulf the beach.
The wave halted, its immense weight bowing under her control. Her gasps for air came sharp and quick, teeth gritted against the strain.
Flinging her arms to the horizon, the ocean obeyed. The swell collapsed in on itself, crashing back into the bay with a deafening roar. Sea spray drenched the shore as the surge dissipated into froth.
Then Jassyn emerged from the portal.
