I was reeling from her power as she finally let the spell die. I slumped against the floor, my head spinning. My body ached with incredible pain, and my limbs shook with the effort of standing once again.
At this point, I barely had any magic left. She was draining me inch by inch, like she’d drained my energy during the King’s Contest.
Nothing I was doing was working. This sorceress was unconquerable. Every spell I had in my arsenal did jack all to harm her. I wasn’t going to win if I approached it like this. What was I missing?
I studied her carefully for a moment, pausing to assess the fight. I didn’t know how I could defeat her if my magical reserves were so low. I might be able to hover a teacup, but that was it. The Unseelie stone was just too strong, and she kept getting stronger with every bit of power she took from me. I had no magic left.
You do have magic left, I thought.It’s just not Seelie.
The answer became clear. I was fighting like a Seelie, and that was the wrong call. My destiny was to be a powerful Unseelie fae— I was in the city of the dark fae, battling a powerful Unseelie sorceress. I was going about this all wrong.
The sorceress was a dark fae. She could only be defeated through Unseelie magic… and shadow manipulation was my most powerful tool.
I pushed my Seelie self aside, and used the wolven teeth I’d brought with me to draw from. As their power funneled into me, I called to my shadow self as easily as I remembered my name. I became the inky form of my darkest inclinations, my body turning to nothing more than a column of smoke as I took off sailing around the room. The sorceress shot her magic at me, but I outmaneuvered her lightning and whirled around to slam into her chest with as much force as I could muster. The effect caused her to stagger backward as I felt my shadow self float through her body, much like a ghost could, tearing at her insides as I did so.
That was the first one of my attacks that had any effect. So my theory was correct. Unseelie magic was the only way to beat her.
I twirled around and managed to tackle her a few more times before the sorceress changed, too. She used shadow manipulation to become a violet column of smoke, and took off after me. She entwined her smoky form against my own, attempting to overwhelm it, but I forced her to back off out of sheer willpower. I felt my Unseelie power explode out of me, and found that my powers were weakening as she took them for her own.
I pulled what power I could from the wolf amulet Lucien had given me and used it to channel my spell. Lucien’s magic erupted out of my shadow form so strong that smoky tendrils wrapped around the violet column that was the sorceress and dragged her back to earth. My spell forced her to change back and remain in her physical body as I continued my assault of dark magic.
The sorceress managed to raise a shaking hand. One of her lightning bolts wrapped itself around me and tossed me into the wall. I slid down it, going back into my physical body. I managed to get onto my feet, but not before she cast a spell straight at my neck. It avoided cutting off my head, but sliced off a significant chunk of my hair— and the necklace Lucien had given me. It skittered to the other end of the room, and I found myself completely defenseless. I’d run out of Unseelie objects, and the necklace was out of my reach.
I panted heavily as the sorceress stumbled upward. She rounded on me, preparing to deliver a killing blow.
My mind raced to come up with some sort of solution. Lucien had taught me you could pull dark magic from things that weren’t objects… what could I pull from that was here, and nearby?
Without having to think about it, I followed my instinct to a fierce sense ofcommunity.My ancestors had lived in this city, and this is where their magic resided. It had for thousands of years. I could pull directly from Eiragrad itself, and harness the dark magic within the city to prove myself. If I channeled my ancestors, and worked together with them, we could defeat the Unseelie stone together.
I reached out to the city itself, pleading for it to come to my aid. I felt dark energy like never before come pouring into my body like a relentless stream, coursing through every part of me. My skin began to glow with a deep violet sheen, and my limbs shook with the effort of sustaining that much magical energy. My Unseelie ancestors had beenstrong, and they’d put all their power into protecting and defending the city they’d loved so much.
I allowed Eiragrad’s power to come rushing out of me, and what burst out of my hands shocked me. A pack of shadows formed at my intention, unsheathing weapons and circling the room, closing in on my enemy. There were hundreds of them… ghosts of the Unseelie fae that had lived and died here, fighting at my command.
I sent the shadows running at the sorceress. She attempted to flee, but from my Unseelie magic I conjured dark thorns, ones that sprouted out of the rocks and latched themselves onto her legs and arms so she couldn’t run. The shadows I conjured tore into her, ripping her dress. Black blood dripped from her pale skin as the shadows ripped into the sorceress, the thorns tightening their hold until they mangled her limbs to ribbons. I continued my assault of shadow manipulation, slamming into her with my Unseelie form as harshly as my powers would allow. I heard bones breaking, and the sound of her innards being smashed as my form rammed through her again and again.
“Stop!” the sorceress cried out. “I yield!”
I drew my thorns back and told my Unseelie ancestors to back down. My Unseelie magic dissolved into smoke, and I landed on my feet as my form became solid again. The sorceress knelt on the ground, her head bowed. She took a few deep breaths before she looked up at me, giving me a sinister smile.
“You have proven yourself,” the sorceress replied. “You may call me your own, and obtain the Unseelie stone. Use my magic well, Worldweaver. I do not care if it is for good or evil, as long as I am used for power, for that is what I seek most in the world.”
“I will use your magic to accomplish what no other fae could,” I said. “This I promise you.”
The sorceress nodded. Her body faded into wisps of black ash, until all that remained was the glimmering face of the dark necklace on the podium before me.
I staggered forward, reaching out a hand. I grabbed the dark necklace, and felt its familiar cold energy surge against my hand.
I hadn’t realized how much power it had when I used it in the King’s Contest. Now that I was an advanced sorceress, the magic within it caused my own to resonate with strength.
“You did it,Emma!” Ethan rasped. He padded to my side.
“Wedid it,” I responded, thinking of my ancestors. I couldn’t have done this without them. I shook out my hurt arm. “It looks like the Unseelie stone is willing to help us.”
“We finally have all the stones,” Ethan said eagerly. “We can return home, and unite them all! Your quest is nearly over,onawilke! I am so proud.”
“Itisover.” My shoulders slumped in relief as I put the Unseelie stone into my bag. “I can’t believe I did what Milonna asked me to do.”
“Almost. We still have to go to the Sacred Gathering,” Ethan reminded me. “Can you get us back to the estate?”
