I let go of my whip of air.
She rose to her knees, but not before I formed a ring of fire around us, the flames coming up to my shoulders. She wouldn’t escape me. Only one of us would be leaving this ring alive.
“Do you even carry a sword?”
Keziq sneered as she rose. “What use is a sword when you have magic?”
“Your magic can only get you so far.”
“You must not be as well skilled in magic as me.”
“No, but from what I’ve observed, you only have one element.” A muscle feathered in her jaw.
“Only air, huh?” I brought my flames to my fingertips,using my other hand to create a small fissure in the earth beneath her.
“You’ll be outmatched either way.” I closed my palm, and the earth beneath her shuddered, opening a crater at her feet. She side-swept the hole, losing her balance.
She threw out a blast of air; it only ruffled my hair as I ducked, my magic working to widen the hole she tried to outrun.
“I prefer a sword, a much quicker death, but if magic is the way you want to go?—”
My flames licked at her skin, and she hissed, rolling out of the fire.
I grabbed a sword from the body of a soldier, throwing it at her feet. “Stand up and fight me.”
“Why not kill me right now?”
“Because I want to drag out your pain as much as I can.” My mating mark throbbed. “You tried to turn my wife—my mate against me. You tried to manipulate our memories. Let me tell you something—those memories belong to me and Lennox alone. They are not yours to fucking touch. Since our lives are no longer tethered, you can finally get the death you deserve.”
She rolled onto her back—her chest heaving as she stared at me. She moved her hand, but no magic came from it.
She had no choice now; she scrambled for the sword.
Her body looked depleted—her skin pale, her eyes sunken, but she rose.
I should feel ashamed for fighting against her—she was nothing of a warrior compared to me, but at least with a sword it would be somewhat of a fight.
“Did you run out of magic? Is this what you’ve withered into? Is this all you have left now that you can’t steal life from others?”
She raised her sword, her arm hardly lifting it above her waist as she snarled.
I met her blade with my own, her borrowed blade flew from her hand. Panic painted her face as she stared at me.
Here she was—this all-powerful witch who had tried to destroy our lives stood before me with no magic, no weapons—she had nothing now.
She deserved this fate.
She tried to kill me—she was helping Adreona eliminate vampires.
And she tried to take Lennox from me.
I shoved my sword through her chest with one brutal thrust, a scream tore from my throat—the sound full of pure vengeance.
Keziq’s eyes widened, her final breath leaving her lungs.
I removed my sword and let her fall to the ground.
I sent my flames toward her—engulfing her body—I would take no risks that she remained alive.
