The witch tries to rush at Victor from behind again. She didn’t learn the first time:you shouldn’t sneak up on an empath.Especially an empath with a sword. Victor slams his sword into the witch’s stomach. As he turns around, he twists his sword. He slams the witch with an air pulse to the chest, releasing her from the blade.
Leo and Superior Charles are occupied with three warlocks trying to use their Air Magic on them. It backfires on them when Superior Charles uses their magic to lift them all from the ground. The five of them are now levitating in the air. Leo opens the ground below, conjuring a pool of lava under them. Superior Charles creates a microburst to rush down, slamming the warlocks into the lava. Superior Charles closes the lava pit as the warlocks scream in misery, allowing him and Leo to land safely on the ground.
It narrows down to one-on-one combat. Derek decides to send a massive fireball toward Leo. After Victor stabs a warlock in the heart, he notices Leo isn’t paying attention to the meteor flying directly at him.
“NOOOO!” Victor flings his sword at the fireball. Victor watches the sword soar through the air as if it were in slow motion. The tip of his blade connects with the fireball, causing it to explode. Everyone, including Derek, is flown back by the force. Victor’s sword lands a few feet away from him. Victor stumbles back onto his feet and picks up his sword. Everyone around him groans while getting back onto their feet.
“DEREK HERNANDEZ!” Victor shouts as he points his sword toward Derek.
Derek stands up and brushes himself off, giving Victor a repulsed look. “What the fuck do you want?”
Victor’s eyes turn black.
“Challenge et tua est pietas in coniuge. Ad mortem.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Leo is shocked at what he just heard. “Victor! What the fuck are you doing?”
Superior Charles finishes binding the remaining enemy. He looks over at Wren and storms over to her. “What the fuck did you tell him?”
Wren binds a witch before she responds, “I gave him a loophole.”
Lucas and Jon rush over to their mundane friends to make sure they’re not injured. “Are you guys okay?” Lucas asks.
“We’re okay,” Frank answers. “What is going on? Why is everyone looking either worried or pissed at Victor?”
Lucas looks back at Victor, still pointing his sword at Derek. “He’s challenging Derek.”
“To what?” Frank questions.
“Challenge et tua est pietas in coniuge. Ad mortem,”Jon says to his friends before he looks back at Victor. “I challenge your devotion to your spouse. To the death.”
“What does that even mean?” Elliott questions.
Lucas keeps looking at Victor as he responds, “He’s going to try to break the blood oath between Leo and Derek. Unless that oath is broken, Leo will never be able to fall in love with anyone else.”
Superior Charles, furious, barks at Wren. “Why the fuck did you tell him that’s how to break the blood oath? Do you not understand what you just did?”
“I completely understand!” Wren hollers back. “And you and I know that if that oath isn’t broken, Leo will die at Derek’s hands.”
“It’s the only way,chéri,” Madame Jeanette comments. Superior Charles spins around, only to see her crossing her arms. “Leo needs a challenger. Victor accepted his fate.”
“We’re all going to have a conversationoncethis is over,” Superior Charles snarls as he looks back at Victor. “You both better hope Victor wins.”
Derek slowly walks over to Victor. “Did you seriously invoke a challenge? With me?”
“You heard me.” Victor opens his arms wide. “Look around, your coven lost.”
“They weren’t part of my coven,” Derek notes smugly.
“Of course, they weren’t,” Victor remarks, lowering his hands to his sides. “That’s because all of you never denounced your covens. You’ve been secretly involved with another coven. A coven of extreme traditionalists. A coven that killed my grandmother, chased my mother into hiding, perverted my uncle into Dark Magic, and has stopped at nothing to come after me.”
Victor’s black eyes remain focused on Derek as he gets closer. “And this is all because you know I’m your biggest threat.”
Derek pulls a sword from under his jacket. “I will never bend my knee to you, and you will never become the Grand Warlock.”
“’Nough talking,” Victor orders. “Prepare to die, you piece of shit.”
