Too much.
Too much.
Too.
Much.
The scream that erupts from me is full of unbridled rage.
Cora’s head whips toward the sound. It gives the Herd the edge they needed. Luca, Holly, and Ivan all send a magical blow to Cora’s exposed back. It strikes her hard. She goes down.
But just as quickly as she went down, she jumps back up. Her eyes are pulsing with anger.
Marik’s attention snaps to me, the guards beneath him forgotten. He stalks toward me, Cora right beside him. Their backs are exposed to the Herd, and they strike at the couple again.
This time, it’s blocked by a shimmering black shield. Another scream of rage permeates the room. Asmo.
He stands over his unmoving parents. He looks between me and the couple of darkness heading toward me and starts sprinting.
Looking at Asmo was a mistake, one that Cora takes advantage of. She hurls a wave of black magic at me. But magic courses through me, ready to be released. Ready to strike, to maim, to defend, to kill. I throw up a shield of my own, blocking Cora’s attack.
The moment her magic collides with mine, I feel it eating away at my shield like acid corroding steel. Marik sends a rippling wave of his black fire toward me. I drop my shield, summoning water to counteract the fire.
It doesn’t work. The water has no impact on the fire that’s hurling toward me. I throw my shield back up just in time to block the fire from reaching me.
Asmo fires his own black flames at Marik, forcing Marik to shift his focus, making his flames die instantly.
Cora whips around to block an incoming attack from both Koa and August, both of them flying in the air toward her in their animal forms. Their sharp fangs are exposed, ready to sink into her neck. With her eyes on them, she doesn’t see the tree roots speeding toward her.
Holly stands in deep concentration, hands twisting and directing the line of roots. They snap over Cora’s feet, pinning her to the ground. She tries to take a step and instantly falls, her hands outstretched. She stumbles when she realizes she’s trapped.
August pounces again, but Marik strikes August with his arm of black flames. August goes flying, yelping as he makes contact with the black-flamed sword.
Before Marik can strike Koa, he sinks his teeth into Cora’s arm and pulls, wrenching her arm from her socket. She screams again, and Koa darts away, narrowly avoiding Marik’s sword.
I watch in horror as Cora’s arm starts to grow back. She can heal herself in a matter of moments. We can’t even injure her. How the fuck are we going tokillher?
Strong, bloody hands wrap around my arm and turn me around. Asmo is staring at me.
“Are you okay?” he breathes, inspecting every inch of me. He makes it to my ankle and hisses.
It’s still bleeding, but the blood is black. Just like Elle’s neck. But I don’t feel any pain.
I nod quickly. “I’m fine. Are you?”
He nods, but he doesn’t look okay. He’s covered in blood and dirt. His eyes are hollow. “We need to get you out of here,” he says.
“No. We have enough people to fight. We have to end this.”
“Mae.” He bares his teeth at me. “You’re the High Queen.”
“I won’t be if they win,” I say, baring my teeth back at him. “Let me protect my court.”
He stares at me silently, and for a moment, I think he might challenge me. I’m fully expecting him to throw me over his shoulder and take me away, to safety, but then his eyes soften. “Have I ever told you that you’re beautiful when you’re pissed off?”
I snort. “I must be glowing right now, then.”
He smiles, and it threatens to undo me. I want to wrap my arms around him and lose myself in him, but another angry bellow makes me whip my head around.
