But this…
An ominous cloud settled over me as that pulsing line between them thickened.
Heraphia sucked in air, her head snapping skyward. Aquamarine irises rolled back, leaving only white behind.
No!
A choked sound snagged in her throat. Her chest heaved, and I found mine rising in falling alongside hers. Shudders wracked her frame, and Iaoth only grinned.
I wanted to leap from my chair and claw the expression off her face. A hand pressed into my shoulder, firm and grounding. I glanced up, finding Lyriasthe holding me back.
“Sylaira,” she whispered my name, warning threaded in her tone.
“We have to do something!” I demanded, trying to rise again.
Lyriasthe shoved me down. “I will sit on you if I have to. My duty is to protect you.”
There was that fucking word again. Vaeron was notably absent in my mind, despite the fact that I hadn’t been walling off my emotions from him.
“Your sister is sharing power with Heraphia. You have to come stop her.”
Heraphia shrieked, tearing my attention back to her.
Foam bubbled from the corners of her mouth. She babbled, nearly incoherent despite the volume of her voice. The few words I managed to catch raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
War.
Peace.
Mirror.
Void.
Angel.
Demon.
Marriage.
Death.
The beam grew, so strong and blinding, I had to shield my vision. Through my fingers, I peered at my friend, her spine locked convex. She convulsed, collapsing backward, head cracking against the stone floor.
“Stop!” I screamed, leaping from my chair and racing forward. Lyriasthe reached for me and missed. I sprinted, the protest in my knee shoved away.
I had to get to Heraphia. I had to cease this madness.
Chaos erupted in the room. “Seize her!” Iaoth screeched, and a few attendants rushed forward.
Launching myself at my friend, I slid the remaining distance, knocking into her with my momentum. Wrapping her in my arms, I held her while she continued to jerk and shake. Terror rolled off her in palpable waves, slamming into my chest. A sob wrenched from her throat, spraying foam into my face.
But I didn’t care. Whatever she Saw, it wasn’t good. And she needed me. After all, she’d held me like this once before, long ago, the day we finally revealed our Goddess-cursed power to one another.
“Heraphia!” I shouted, desperation edging my voice.
The radiance between her ribs pulsed.
Two people grabbed me like they were going to pull me away, yanking on my arms. With a frustrated scream, I shook them off and clutched my friend tighter.
