Fuck.I was panting and sweating, the exhaustion of holding a stream of such high-level power in such a precise and concentrated way definitely taking its toll.
He was right.
I had to make a decision.
Now. Right now.
Absorbing it seemed like taking a massive step back. Failing at what I needed to be able to do so badly. At what I needed to be—for them all. More than they even actually realized.
Ruxnoth’s words slammed into me, a nightmare of a memory, the taste of them absolutely fucking despicable.
“Sylas would respond with appropriate force to bolster you. A necromancer of his caliber, especially when he carries Morien’s legacy, taking any high-level action of that magnitude, would be destroyed—the public’s current trust in him that he’s spent years earning would shatter. The higher echelons of the supernatural world would mobilize against him. You remaining on this plane is not only unsustainable because of public sentiment toward what you are, but it will bring about the downfall of Sylas, the rest of your family by extension, and even those three you have made the worrying decision to attach yourself to.”
Fuck. I had to do this.
Keep pushing onward.
No more hesitating and faltering.
Too much was on the line.
And so, I did it—I fired.
All that fucking power shifting from a stream to a massive blast of wildly sparking amber magic headed straight for my dad.
Panic and adrenaline tore through me as I staggered back from the force of sending that blast forward.
He wasn’t invoking his magic.
Just two feet out, and he still wasn’t.
I wanted to call out, but that could break his concentration. And he was doing that deep-stare thing I’d seen him do before unleashing something, or when working on a complex task in his lab over the years.
Okay, so he did have something up his sleeve, then.
That was definitely the look for it.
It hit then.
All that power.
I jolted as it didn’t slam into him like it should have.
Instead, it fanned out, all over, enveloping him.
It looked like it was going to swallow him.
But he didn’t move.
Didn’t cry out.
Didn’t… anything.
At least outwardly.
Because then I watched as his crimson power emanated all around him.
Just sparks at first.
