Sarla continued to burn Jacksyn’s unmoving body, so lost in her fury she didn't even notice the flaming python Harlix sent flying her way. Sarla screamed as her hair and clothing started to singe and sear away.
Harlix cackled maniacally, showing no signs of mercy as she twisted her hands, wrapping the flaming snake tighter around Sarla.
My rage hit a tipping point, and something inside me snapped. I would not watch Sarla suffer the same fate as her father.
I pounced on Harlix, grabbed her around the throat, and set my flames free. They rolled greedily over her body, and she screamed, her skin sizzling and blackening. Harlix's python instantly dissolved, dropping Sarla’s still burning body to the sand as my flames shredded her concentration.
I wanted to help the Gold Court female, but my rage demanded that I hold tight on Harlix, that I continue to burn her until she was nothing more than a pile of charred bones and ash.
Just like Direff.
It was the glimpse of Sin out of the corner of my eye that saved me from doing something I would have later regretted. The second I saw his face, the fear and concern he bore for me, I knew I was better than her.
My fingers loosened and Harlix scrambled away, her healing magic sluggishly mending her burns.
Sagging beneath the weight of my own exhaustion, I glanced over to see Kinyx hunched over Sarla, patting out the flames.
Too late, I realized that I should have known better than to turn my back on Harlix.
Daggers of flame crashed into me from behind, and I was knocked to the ground. A wave of fire poured over my skin, warming me like a summer breeze, and I stayed down, letting her think she had the best of me.
Raising my hands up, I pretended to fight off the might of her blast. Harlix’s flames licked at my arms and without thinking, I sucked them inside of me.
The stolen power coursed through my veins, an almost deliciously cold crackling energy that danced and twined with the heat of my own magic.
Harlix maintained the flaming deluge for nearly half a minute before realizing something had changed. When she let her hands drop limply to her sides, a twisted grin split my lips.
“My turn.”
I threw my arms wide and unleashed every ounce of fire inside me.
All the stress and fear over the past few days, all the horrors of what I had witnessed, all the pain of watching my friends suffer. Every raw emotion reinforced the casting as a ring of fire swelled from my chest and exploded out around me.
The flame raced across the field in a rapidly expanding explosion, sending braziers flying and sweeping Harlix from her feet.
Her body whipped end over end before slamming into the arena wall. She attempted to struggle to her feet, but her limbs gave out, and she collapsed to the hard-packed sand.
The only thing that moved was her hand as she formed the cedo sign.
I breathed out a sigh of relief, my energy expended and my legs threatening to crumple beneath me.
To my left, boots scraped on the sand as Kinyx shuffled toward me.
The sickened look on his face had me glancing down. I never should have doubted Sin. His illusion was flawless. Blood streamed from Ram’s charred and blackened skin, fighting leathers clinging to the wounds in burned tatters.
In the stands, my father leaned forward, steepling his hands under his chin. I couldn’t tell if he was hoping we would fight for the claim of victory, or if he was worried he might lose his strongest general if we did.
With all the intimidating presence of a fluffy kitten, Kinyx lifted shaky fists, prepared to fight, and likely die, all for his court.
It made me sick. These people, this world, deserved more than they had been given.
They needed to see that there was a better way.
I eased myself down to the sands as if too tired to continue. My head drooped, chin to chest, and I held my left hand high, fingers curling into the yield symbol.
Kinyx stood gob smacked as the arena burst into applause and cheers.
Chapter forty-seven
