Gods, she was tired of fighting.
The heavenly rays of the dream she was in moments ago reemerged in the front of her mind.
If she could go back in time, she would confess that she had no idea what path she wished to go down, and maybe Father would smile down at her and fill her ears with his wisdom. If only she’d been willing to listen back then.
Wherever he was, she wanted to go to him.
You made a vow.
The reminder revived her life force, relighting the pyre in her belly.
You’ve been selfish your entire life.
You must see this through.
Her eyes opened. The glow of firelight glared down at the tops of her blood-soaked feet.
Distract him.
Just a little longer.
She raised her chin, releasing a ribbon of onyx from her palm. “Then let’s play.”
Her fingers curled into a fist, and the whirling black tendrils took form into large, inky spikes. They stabbed out in all angles, skewering Acacius’s body.
Marina stumbled backward over chipped cement blocks, regaining her balance and quickly ripping the stake from her middle.
She winced at the warm blood gushing down her thighs.
Acacius hung like a fish caught with a spear, coughing out a crimson spray. Blood ran down his chin. Puddles soaked through his black linen, dampening the slick material.
Marina tossed the stake aside, feeling her wound tug as it stitched back together. The lethargy from the blood loss cleared out of her head.
She stood firm, the wind lifting her hair from her shoulders. “Take your Chaos and leave my village, Acacius. You are not welcome here.”
He lifted his head, a gruesome, manic look stirring in his eyes. “We’re”—he coughed again, splatters of red spewing from his mouth—“just getting started.”
She inhaled sharply, pressing her tongue against the backs of her teeth.
Crazy bastard.
Before she could get another word out, Acacius ripped his arm forward and caught her by the wrist. Gravity shifted underneath her, and her body ascended in the air.
Fuck!
Acacius held on to her as he teleported them. She raised her foot to kick out of his grip. He caught her ankle and spun them both in vicious circles. Her hair slapped in her face, cutting across her eyes.
Acacius threw her like a child skipping a rock across a lake. The harsh momentum beat against her bones.
She teleported mid-air, dropping down on a rooftop, a part of the village the fire hadn’t touched yet.
The pads of her feet scuffed against the rough shingles.
She needed to draw him away from the mortals to give them a chance to regain clarity from his divine power.
Acacius slammed down on the roof, throwing tar and shards of wood up in his wake.
His figure distorted into cobalt ribbons.
