“First the wall,” Caspian snarls, “then all of Frostfang will be consumed by the Green Flame.”
A ball of searing green fire erupts in his palm, its eerie glow casting jagged shadows over the horizon. With a flick of his wrist, he hurls it toward the city. The flame streaks through the air like a comet before smashing into the nearest row of homes. The explosion is instant—wood and ice splinter outward, engulfed in an unnatural fire that does not melt but devours, turning rooftops into collapsing skeletons of charred beams.
Screams ring out from the streets below as another fireball leaves Caspian’s hand. It collides with a watchtower, the structure groaning before crumpling in on itself, fire licking hungrily at the ruins.
Kel’s citizens—they have families, lives, homes. And Caspian, the true Caspian, would be devastated to know he was tearing them apart. He has spent his whole life searching for a home, and now, with his own hands, he’s destroying one.
Before I can even take in the full extent of the damage, a crack rattles the air. I look down, watching a fissure form, spreading to the far edges of the wall as if the ice itself is splintering under Cas’s wrath.
“No!” I shout, struggling to pull myself up, but the ice beneath my hands fractures, serrated pieces biting into my skin.
With a deafening crack, the wall collapses.
I fall with it. Shards of ice shatter around me like glass in a broken snow globe. The wind screams in my ears as the world blurs, and for one horrifying moment, I’m weightless, the jagged remains of the wall tumbling toward the snowy abyss below.
No, no, no.I have to get out of here.
I have to get us all out of here.
The air tears at me as I fall, shards of ice spinning past like deadly stars. My heart pounds in my ears, but I force myself to focus.
Come on. Come on.
My golden briars spark to life, weaving through the tumbling ice and snow, threading themselves into a living net.
I stretch my arms toward the two figures falling beside me. My briars reach for them, curling around their waists and pulling them toward me. Caspian thrashes against the golden vines, his flames burning hotter as they scorch my magic, but I grit my teeth and hold on.
“No, you don’t,” I snarl, tightening my grip. “Not this time.”
The briars envelop us, their golden light dimming under the strain of Caspian’s fire. Pain shoots through me as his flames lick at my arms, searing through the connection between us.
“You think this will stop me? I’ll burn your precious thorns toash.”
His power surges, and I scream as the flames bite deeper, but I don’t let go. With all the strength I have left, I weave the briars through the icy ground below.
The earth groans as my magic burrows downward, dragging us into its depths. The snow and ice close above us, muffling the chaos into a strange, echoing silence.
Cas twists and struggles, the heat of his power threatening to overwhelm me, but I press forward, searching for a path. Somewhere close. I can’t keep this up. My body aches, every thread of magic stretched thin.
Just a little farther.
I feel the shift before I see it—the heat rising through the cold earth, the air thinning as we climb. The briars break through the snow, and I gasp as we tumble onto solid ground.
We’re on the side of Mount Rhuvenmark. I blink against the light, breath hitching as I take in the vast icy expanse stretching out before me. The sharp edges of the mountain glitter beneath the remaining sunlight. Much of the sky is already covered by a thick smog billowing from the top of the volcano.
It’s just the three of us now.
Good. The only people he can hurt up here are us.
Caspian snarls, wrenching against the briars that still hold him. Keldarion rises beside me. His shoulder is burned and bleeding, but his icy eyes are locked on Caspian.
This is it.
I’ve brought Caspian to his doom. I try to rise, but the effort of bringing us here has drained me. There’s no strength left to stop what’s about to happen.
Keldarion marches toward Caspian, pain etched over his features.
“Kel, wait!” I gasp.
