No more.
She was a powerful witch. She would rise above them and make hell rain over them.
Chapter67
Lora
The force field shimmered around her like magical electricity, cutting Lora off from everyone except Karwyn. Not only had they failed to break the contract, no one had noticed Karwyn had somehow gotten a hold of a knife. Lora was sure it had to have been Tarnan. The look on his face and Amira’s reaction had told her everything. He had betrayed them, surprising everyone.
Doomingeveryone. Most of all Lora.
Even in the chaos of their fight, Lora had heard that the border had fallen. She didn’t have time to accept it to be true. It would be a fucking catastrophe if it was. Tarnan could be lying, but she had no way to prove that now. The urgent matter was this—the ritual.
Hopelessness had taken over, and in her moment of weakness, Karwyn had struck. The knife in her ribs hurt like hell. Lora felt the almandine stealing her breath and her power.
With Karwyn holding the knife, his other arm on her shoulder, unmoving, Lora thought about giving up, telling him to twist the knife—aim for the heart. In his sick gaze, she felt he was enjoying this, prolonging her demise. She couldn’t kill him, not when she’d kill her mum too.
Karwyn’s eyes drifted over her shoulder to somewhere in the crowd. Could she pull back, save herself? But she was as good as dead, wasn’t she?
“Lora!” Eyden’s voice snapped her attention back to her friends. Amira and Farren’s hands were outstretched as they worked on the force field. Her friends and a group of humans who had come from the plaza had turned to the guards filling the cave-like room, chaos reaching every tiny alcove in the wide open space. Were they Karwyn’s or Tarnan’s guards?
Eyden appeared at the edge of the field, his eyes haunted but bright. If it was the last thing Lora saw, it would be a good one. He shook his head as if he could read her thoughts. “It’s not over, Lora.Fight. Fight like hell,” Eyden said, his eyes pleading, encouraging. “Fight for me, for your mum, foryourself.”
She sucked in a breath. Eyden had taken so many risks for her, had fought for her again and again even when she’d told him not to. She couldn’t give up now. She had to stall while Amira and Farren worked their magic until the very last second. She’d promised her family she’d try her bloody hardest.
Feeling the fire inside her gave her courage. She threw Eyden a subtle nod before her gaze travelled to Karwyn again. He seemed lost, focused on someone else. “Fuck you, Karwyn,” she gritted out, drawing his attention back to her.
Karwyn’s grin made her flinch internally. “Are those your last words? Pathetic.”
“Oh, they’re not.” She moved her face closer as if to give him a real reply. His gaze was locked on hers. A smile curled her lips a split second before she threw her head back and then against Karwyn’s skull.
He yelped, his hold on the knife loosening. Lora’s hand grasped Karwyn’s as she ignored the headache radiating through her skull. She pulled his hand back, holding back her grunt of pain as the blade left her skin. Before Karwyn could recover, she kneed him between his legs and kicked at his shin hard enough to make him fall. The knife clattered to the ground next to them.
Karwyn snarled at her, a drop of blood running down his forehead. He moved his hand, and the fallen knife flew back to him. Smirking as if he had regained the upper hand, he tightened his hand around the hilt.
Lora bent slightly, brushing back the fabric of her torn and bloodied dress to reveal the dagger strapped to her thigh. Eyden hadn’t let her go unarmed. Long gone were the days when she’d refuse a weapon.
Lora held the dagger in front of her and lit it on fire as she pushed away the pain shooting through her body. “Rhay was a great teacher,” she teased. Hurt flashed behind Karwyn’s gaze, layer after layer of betrayal reflecting in his turquoise eyes.
“And what are you going to do with that?” Karwyn asked, rising to his feet. “Are you going to stab me in the heart?” Lora remained silent. “You know very well what would happen then. All that fire will not save you, little cousin.”
He was right, but she had to try something. Her eyes drifted to Elyssa, fighting two guards, her shirt torn on one arm. Eyden was fighting close by, his eyes flickering back to Lora. Ilario was near him, deep into the fight. Even Varsha was helping, using her power to throw water at the guards, causing distractions.
Amira hadn’t given up. A sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, her teeth gritted in pain, yet she kept on trying anyway. So Lora had to do the same.
But she was already exhausted from the extensive use of her power and the wound Karwyn had inflicted. She could tell he was depleted too, his face even paler than usual. She had to stall.
Taking a step forward, her dagger still raised, flames flickering, she taunted, “Maybe not, but at leastIcan say I’ve had people fight for me. I’ve had peoplecare.We both know you can’t say the same.”
Karwyn’s eyes flared as he sought out Rhay. He seemed utterly lost in the battle, but he kept close to Amira nonetheless, making sure no one came close enough to hurt her.
“How does it feel to know theonlyperson you love didn’t choose you?” Lora said, aiming for the kill. When Karwyn turned back to her, she knew her words had landed right in his cold heart. “Face it, you will never truly win. You’re completely alone, and youwillbe taken down, I canpromise you that.”
Karwyn’s face twisted, his expression pure madness. “When you are dead and that force field drops, I will kill every last one of your friends, one by one.”
“It won’t change the betrayal,” Lora replied, trying hard to stop herself from imagining that path. He flinched. “It won’t change the fact that your best friend will never come back to you.”
Curling his lips, Karwyn’s gaze travelled to Rhay and over the rest of their group before returning to Lora. “Do not worry, cousin. I will have—”
