Skanthi crawled through the open roof as if summoned by the hellish glow.
Solas ducked and rolled across the ground as one dropped in front of him, rearing on its back spider-like legs.
Caelum threw balls of white power from his hands towards the monsters skittering down the glass walls into the chaos-filled ballroom.
And Riven?—
Riven stood still, grinning as if the world wasn’t ending in front of him.
Cerilla’s magic wrapped around me, locking me in place with the same floral scent that blocked my power. It smelled the same as the bath she had drawn for me.
An ear-splitting scream tore from my throat as betrayal cleaved straight through my heart.
“I had to,” she choked out, muscles trembling under the amount of magic she was using. Tears ran down her cheeks. “You were going to die for her!” She screamed at him with her teeth bared. “One day you will thank me.”
A sob ripped from my chest as the ground cracked beneath us, splitting me from the Commander. The earth screamed, deep and hungry, as the fissure widened into a void.
The cage around the Commander flickered as he slammed into it, threatening to give way under the force.
Cerilla screamed and dropped the barrier—only to hurl the last of her magic at him, sending him flying backward.
The crack expanded, the ground falling away, crumblinglike a stale piece of bread, swallowing everything that got in its way. Monsters and Fae alike fell into the chasm.
The sulphur infused heat that radiated from the cracked earth was unbearable, like a thousand hands clawing at my skin.
The Commander hit the floor, rolling into a fighting stance amidst the chaos.
Solas and Caelum were fighting their way towards him.
The ballroom, once filled with hundreds, was now a graveyard. Most had either fled or been slaughtered. Only warriors remained.
Warriors… or the terminally foolish. Like my brother who had no business fighting.
“Let her go!” the commander roared through the chaos, shaking the ground and my very soul.
Cerilla dropped to her knees with tears streaming down her face and her magic let me go.
Aldric lunged out of nowhere, dagger outstretched, aimed straight for Cerilla’s heart. She barely turned, flicking her wrist and sending him flying into the horde of Skanthi that was attacking the Commander.
“Aldric!” I cried out, tears streaming down my face. He wasn’t a fighter. But I was.
I clenched my fist, slamming it towards Cerilla’s face. But, with one click of her fingers, heavy shackles bound around my wrists.
“I am so sorry, darling,” she whispered as I fell to my knees with a broken noise scraping from me, half gasp, half sob.
“You have done well, Cerilla,” Riven praised.
My head snapped to him, and I bared my teeth in an ear-piercing scream, thrashing against the shackles.
“Don’t look at me like that, princess.” Riven pouted down at me. “I gave you the chance to come with me willingly.” He crouched in front of me, brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear as if I were something he loved.
The priest strolled through the chaos, untouched by the monsters as if he were one of them. I stared between my torturer and Riven, trying to connect the pieces.
“Who are you?” My voice trembled.
“Come on, you already know the answer to that.” He grinned down at me. “I saw the Commander’s journal on your nightstand.”
Pure agony tore through my heart, twisting through me and threatening to devour me.
