Acacius was the sort to wear his heart on his sleeve, devoted to his greatest weakness: love. Cassian could hear the words spoken through the look he gave.You will not lay a hand on her.
He would choose her time and time again, regardless of her true intentions. Acacius was not stupid. Deep down, he knew Ruelle had lied. But the truth was too much for him to stomach.
“Never better.” Cassian said to Nathaira. He swirled his tongue inside his mouth, cleaning the blood from his teeth. “Now let us end this.”
31
COME TO ME
Finnian
Finnian raced towards Ruelle,swerving and sidestepping her threads.
Herons hailed from above. Wolves leapt with teeth bared. Soldiers with pikes, mages with tomes, commoners with just fists—they all raged forward to protect Finnian. Though, the High Goddess moved as if she were made of water, dodging the attacks flawlessly, beautifully, eyes crisp and ready for the souls. Her threads tangled around them like nets around thrashing prey.
“We’ll create an opportunity for you!” Eleanor called out behind him. “Ignis!”
Sparks of fire blazed over his head and rained down over Ruelle.
Eleanor thrust her palms out and moved them side to side in quick, distinct motions. The scattering of fireworks rose from the ground and formed a line in front of her; with each strike of her palm through the air, a blaze of sparkling flame homed in on Ruelle.
The High Goddess danced between the blasts, though a few singed her dress, bubbling her sheen skin beneath. Eleanor’s flaming ammunition sputtered out, giving Ruelle the opportunity to grasp her by the hand and seize the mage in a web of threads, gagging her mouth before she could cast another incantation.
In a sharp cut, Ruelle’s head twisted towards Finnian and the corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk. She thrusted her open palm in his direction.
Finnian instinctively slung his arm out in defense, his fingers flexed.
A bright sigil flared on the back of his hand.
Ruelle’s elbow bent in a deformed angle and snapped, proving she was still breakable.
The words burst from Isla’s mouth without hesitation: “¡Cae al vacío!”
The ground beneath Ruelle’s feet began to swirl, break away, and fall into a spiraling vacuum of nothingness. Before she could get sucked into the black ether, she snapped her arm back into place and quickly shot off two tangles of threads, one from each hand, and wrapped them around posts of the nearby fence.
She hung over the abyss for a moment before hoisting herself to safety, using the threads as leverage.
With the same two spools of golden power, Ruelle shot her hands out towards Isla, the gatherings of tendrils swarming both of the mage’s legs and crawling up her like hungry roots.
“Finny, now!” Isla shouted before they reached her mouth.
Finnian fixed his magic on one of the spindles of the iron gate. His fingers curled into a claw and the metal screeched as it tore apart. He flipped his hand upright and sliced his arm to the right, the motion commanding the iron spear to aim for the thread holding the syringe at her waist.
She spun, her auburn strands lifting off her back, and the iron pierced straight through her abdomen. Blood blotched the fine fabric of her dress.
She bared her gritted teeth, unfazed by the pain, as she ripped the iron spindle from her torso. In a singular motion, she cut the metal into pieces with a bundle of threads and sent them sailing through the air like grapeshot for Finnian.
Before they could penetrate his skin, Finnian calmly swirled his left hand in front of his torso, stopping the shrapnel in its path and transmuting each piece of iron into a pointed, crystalline dagger.
With a circle of his index and middle fingers, the cloud of glinting needles whirled.
Finnian gave a quick, forceful push forward with the same fingers and the deadly gale started towards the High Goddess—a small, iridescent cyclone.
Ruelle’s hands came up in front of her and she crossed them over her chest, as if she were laying in a casket. Her eyes shut.
Finnian watched the thin, celestial threads weave through the empty spaces of the souls storming towards her. Golden light emanated from them, braiding together and flattening to form a thick, sharp blade, looping around the entire battle. The halo circled them, faster and faster.
Ruelle opened her eyes and smiled with all the force held within her being. She clenched her fists and sliced her arms in a rapid movement in front of her.
