This time, it’s Ivan. He’s bent over a small fire, screaming.
No, not a small fire.
Someone is engulfed in Marik’s black flames, writhing on the ground.
Marik stands, his hands outstretched as he watches the fire. The branches holding Cora in place are now engulfed in flames, which must mean…fuck. Holly is on fire.
Asmo comes to the same realization and sprints to Marik, tackling him to the ground. It breaks his concentration, and the flames die instantly, revealing Holly’s limp body. She lays there, unconscious, her skin looking like it’s melting from her delicate frame. Ivan drags her unconscious body away from the fight as Luca watches for any creatures of darkness.
Luckily, Marik’s fire had no impact on the actual tree roots. Cora is still trapped in place. And with Marik now distracted by Asmo…it’s the perfect time for me to attack.
Cora stands tall, locked in battle with a stunning female, a delicate crown resting on her white hair. Her icy blue eyes are furrowed in concentration as she blocks Cora’s blows while hurling spears of ice at her in rapid fire.
Queen Sasha.
Cora easily deflects all of them, using wind to knock them from their paths and fire to melt them before they can even reach her.
Asmo and Marik are still fighting each other, a combination of black flames, steel, and punches, as brother fights brother. Neither of them notices me as I run past them.
I hurl a blast of freezing magic toward a cambion circling Koa as I do. He pounces on the cambion and obliterates it. He falls in line behind me, protecting my blind spot.
Together, we race toward Cora, her raven hair bobbing against her pale frame as she hurls shot after shot at Sasha. She looks tired, while Cora looks like she’s just getting started.
Sasha’s eyes dart to us as she sees us approaching. It was all the alert Cora needed.
It ruins the only advantage we had.
She twists around, almost unnaturally, and fires a powerful wave at me, then spins back to fire another shot at Sasha. I throw my shield up, but it dissolves instantly when it contacts Cora’s black magic.
I’m ready for my wedding to be over.
I delve deep into my power and summon all the fury that’s been building inside of me. My magic has been waiting to burn bright. I will it to the surface, and magic pours out of me. Golden fire and wind shoot from me, creating a terrifying mix of wildfire. It shoots straight into the air without aim, obliterating the ceiling above us. I pull back, trying to bring it back in and give it some sort of direction. Wind whips all around me, setting blazes of fire throughout the room.
Cambions screech as they catch on fire, instantly turning to dust. Sweat pours down my back from the sheer heat of the fire.
“Finally come to play?” Cora sneers at me. “You’re no match for me, girl.”
Black flames joins my golden fire as Asmo stands next to me, meaning Marik must be dead or unconscious.
Hopefully dead so I can be out of this marriage.
I reach for the wind of flames, imagining cloaking myself in it. It rushes back to me, and I force it away, coaxing it to form a path straight to Willa.
She stares at me over the flames, watching as the fiery wind heads straight for her. She doesn’t even attempt to move out of its path. She just laughs as she watches the flames get closer and closer. They near her, and I hold my breath in anticipation of the contact.
I’m about to burn the only mother I ever knew alive. Burn her in the magic that she willingly kept me from. But then she moves, jumping six feet away from the flames.
Of course. It wouldn’t have been that easy. I was a fool to think so.
“You thought thetreescould hold me? Your little friend died forthattrick?” Her cruel laughter fills the throne room. “I’m thousands of years old. I’ve fought entire armies and walked away unscathed. This isnothing,” she spits at me.
Rain starts to pour through the open hole in the roof. It comes hard and fast, thunder and lightning cracking overhead. A bolt of black lightning comes down, missing me by inches. I instantly leap away, cursing as I do.
Asmo grips my wrist, pulling me away. “Mae, we have to go.”
I wrench my wrist from his hand, not even bothering with a response.
Cora tookeverythingfrom me. She manipulated every aspect of my life to leave me helpless when this time came. I refuse to run from this fight.
