“Don’t let up! We have to take him down, damn it!” Silas summoned and tossed ink rune after ink rune at him, along with blasts of water magic, but it did little to sway him aside from making his monster form tremble.
“Does it look like we’re letting up?” Casper scowled, tightening his light wisps around his throat.
Jasper’s dark wisps pinned him to the ground where he’d fallen. “We need to get his chest cleared!”
Matthieu had fallen hunched forward, and it made it impossible to get a clear shot of his heart.
Aimon grew vines, wrapping them around his feet. “This is the best I can do, bug!”
“Go, now!” Bastian hurled an invisibility potion toward me. The glass vial shattered at my feet, a fleeting haze of magic that enveloped me in a shroud of invisibility.
Yet, before I could even summon the bone dagger that held the key to Matthieu's demise, he erupted from the magical hold of my bonded mages, a monstrous force lunging toward me with predatory intent.
Time seemed to slow as his giant clawed hand clamped around my throat with a vise-like grip. Agony seared through me as his claws punctured my flesh, blood welling and gushing down my body.
"Fawn!" A chorus of anguished voices reverberated, the collective roar of my bonded mages and Emperor Lloyd as they unleashed a barrage of spells, an unrelenting onslaught aimed at forcing Matthieu's grip to relent without hurting me.
The tension hung thick in the air, a battle of wills and power, the throne room now a battlefield of elements clashing in a frenzy of magic. It should’ve been the perfect moment for a swift, fatal strike from the dagger to pierce his heart from behind, but the cursed weapon remained dormant within my palm, a maddening taunt that mocked my helplessness.
Desperation fueled my every movement as I fought against Matthieu's crushing grip, a torrent of kicks and clawing.
Suddenly, a crushing blow smashed into me, sending my vessel hurtling through the air. I collided with the stone wall, a sickening crunch resounding through the chamber as pain exploded through me. Gasping for air, my vision blurred as I struggled to push through the overwhelming agony, my spirit a flame of determination even as darkness threatened to encroach.
My gaze fixated on him as he prepared to strike again.
He rushed toward me on all fours, lifting his claw again, but they stopped inches from my face as dark and light wisps wrapped tightly around his arm, and vines wrapped around his other.
“Get the fuck away from her!” Jas screamed.
Aimon and the twins jerked, and Matthieu’s monster form hit the wall, sending a loud bang through the chamber.
The five of my bonded mages stood in front of me, blocking Matthieu from advancing forward.
Emperor Lloyd dropped down below me with a healing potion. “Bastian said to drink this.”
I gulped it down just as Matthieu pulled himself up with a deep growl and started toward the guys. The potion coursed through me, a balm that seeped into my veins, a soothing touch that sought to mend the damage inflicted upon my battered body.
Wincing, my eyes slammed shut as more pain shot through me. “Go, help them,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
Emperor Lloyd’s footsteps hurried back to the fight, and my body bloomed in pain.
In the midst of the struggle, the presence of my phantom cats surged within me, a spectral chorus urging me to reclaim my strength. My vessel fought to bridge the connection to my spirit, a struggle that echoed the battle that unfolded around me.
The healing potion struggled through my veins.
Numbness spread around my neck and chest, and I could feel deep bruises already forming. My breaths came in deep and uneven, and each movement felt like a stab of a thousand needles. It was agonizingly slow, the pain radiating through my every nerve as I felt it try to mend me from the inside out.
I gritted my teeth as tears leaked from my eyes. I tried not to scream or move too much so the potion could work faster, but healing potionsnevertook this fucking long. I wanted to close my eyes and descend into death, but I refused to give in until I knew that Matthieu was taken care of.
He wasright there.And I had the weapon to kill him within the rune in my palm.
The guys were still trying to take down Matthieu, but my blurry vision had difficulty following the sequence of spells and fighting against his monstrous form. I could tell that they weren't able to get close enough for an attack without him swatting them away with a powerful swipe of his clawed hand.
As the minutes ticked on, I could feel my vessel slowly mending as heat spread from my chest to every limb of my body. My leg muscles twitched, and I could finally move my arms, although they were still feeble compared to their usual strength.
My vision cleared, and my fingers twitched as the rune in my palm began to itch. I couldfinallymake out the fight.
A resounding bang echoed through the room, and my heart dropped.
