Sneering, Gadriel put on his helmet. “I did not wish to fight you, but I will not allow you to annihilate the Realms with impunity. I see now it isElyon’swill that you be stopped. You were never meant to be here … Kahssiel.”
Celestials flew at him.
Lifting his hand, they all halted in place. Cassiel flickered his finger, and the sound of bone crunched as their necks sharply twisted. He slew every soldier who challenged him by sword and flame.
A blade swept through the smoke. Pivoting, it clashed against his weapon, bringing him face to face with Gadriel. The Lord twisted his sword and shoved Cassiel back a step. His foot sunk into a stone, and he heard a latch click before the sound of a sharpclank. At the touch of icy metal, he looked down at the manacle wrapped around his left ankle. It was attached to a chain coming out of the ground.
He had narrowly missed triggering the second snare that would have taken his right ankle. Divinity hummed in the manacle. His seraph fire died away,
They had shackled him in Skath metal.
The battle halted as all stopped to watch.
Cassiel took the chain in his hand, squeezing it tightly in his fist. “You set a trap.”
Lord Gadriel smirked. “Are you so arrogant to assume I wouldn’t be prepared to capture you?”
Cassiel broke out into a laugh. A dark maniacal sound that echoed through the quiet courtyard. “Capture me?” he growled. “I am the true High King. You are no one to capture me!”
With a jerk of his hand, the ground gave way, releasing the chain. The metal may block Seraph fire, but it couldn’t hold up against his newfound Seraph strength. Cassiel grabbed the manacle and snapped it clean off as if it were merely a dried branch.
Eyes widening, Lord Gadriel flew back. His army fell into formation again and readied their weapons. “Take him down!” he bellowed.
That command echoed through Cassiel’s memories, taking him back to that field of ash and bone as those he trusted came down upon him.
His generals.
His brothers in arms who arrived with him from the Heavens. They took everything from him, then butchered him when he was on his knees.
Fury swarmed Cassiel, and fire ruptured from his body. He became the entity of flame they so feared, and he heard another voice in his head.
BURN IT ALL!
A sea of Seraph flame roared through the courtyard like a living, violent thing, hungry for retribution. But Cassiel didn’t feel in control of his fire anymore. It came from inside of him, from a deep well of pain and rage. From the remnants of Kahssiel who demanded his enemies pay in blood. The flame rose in a massive wave into the sky and crested over the frightened citizens of Nazar, who had nowhere to run.
He would render it all to ash.
The wave collided with a beam of golden light.
The fire fell over an enormous dome and went no further. Confusion stunned Cassiel enough to take hold of himself again. The flames dispersed, a few scattered embers left flickering on burned bushes and debris. Thick smoke obscured his vision. It slowly cleared, revealing what had blocked him.
A transparent golden wall stood before him, as tall as the Citadel.
Crackling with magic.
It curved like a dome over the Celestials cowing on the floor, some still frozen in place with their weapons. All eyes fixed on the figure standing in front of the shield.
Smoke tinted by a green light veiled them, but he could distinguish the slender shape of a woman. A path of broken brick led to where she stood, as if…
As if she had caught his flame and withstood it.
Two orbs of menacing green light appeared in the night. She was encompassed with flames in the same color. All was quiet, save for her soft steps. She moved like a cat as she strolled forward. He drew his sword as she rose into the air, bracing to fight.
But something stirred in Cassiel.
His veins hummed.
His heart pounded.
