Chapter 72
Tori
Weall flew atHadeon, swords drawn.Steelflashed against lightning as we surrounded him.Wewere all worn down, bleeding, and half-drowned.Itwas too easy for him to parry us.Behindhim,Abraxaswas more blood than skin at this point.
Iwanted to draw my sword and strike him down; the rage in my heart was overwhelming.Itook a breath and controlled it.Therewas something betterIcould do.Ireached down into the well of magic beneath us and sent it to everyone, strengthening them.
Woundsstitched closed faster, andIsawAvlynsurroundHadeonin a massive ball of water.Hewasn’t contained for long before his lightning cut through, but it was enough time forAbraxas,Kaleos,Raula, andNokito surround him.
Theyall swung at once, butHadeonstill contained so much power.Itwas unfathomable to me.Wehad cut him off fromMalech’sheart, but still, he managed to overpower everyone.Itried to send more mana toAbraxas, butIcould feel his wearinessoverpower it.
Fourswords struck atHadeonat once, but he built a shield of lightning that cast them all back.
Hiseyes locked on me, and he charged. “Timefor our dance,Princess.”Iwas too locked into the earth to move.
Junstepped in front of me. “SLEEP!”Hadeonfell to his knees but would not obey, resisting the command.Hishand shot out, and lightning lanced over my brother's chest, and he flew back.
“JUN!”BothPallasandIwere at his side in an instant.Hegroaned; his armor was burned away, and his chest was blackened.Whitelight danced over the wound.Ipulled mana to him, and the light burned away the dark.
Thesword wielders were onHadeonagain, but he had pulled up a shield of lightning, keeping them all at bay.Isent mana toAbraxasandAvlyn, and their magic swirled over the shell ofHadeon’spower.
Ihad an idea. “Pallas,Jun, help me.”
Igrabbed each of their hands and pulled as much mana into us asIcould.Themana connected us, connected our hearts.Brightwhite magic swirled withPallas’ soft blue.
“Whatare we doing,Tori?” she asked.
“Makinga lock, master enchanter.”
Puremagic shot out of the three of us.Itslammed intoHadeon, and he fell to his knees again, clutching his chest.Tendrilsof mana rose out of the ground, lashing around his arms and legs.Hestruggled against them, burning them away with lightning while he kept the swords at bay, but he couldn’t keep us out.JunandIwrapped white light around his heart and squeezed.
Thebattle raged inside and out.Thunderrolled as his magic met swords, and lightning penetrated our cosmic shield.Westruck back, and it was all to givePallastime.
Herblue light snaked over his heart;Ifelt it burn in oneglyph after another.Hispower fought back, sizzling them away, but for every one he destroyed, three more took its place.
“Ineed more,Tori.”Sweatdripped from her hairline as her teeth clenched.ThatIcould do.IletJuncontrol the shield whileIchanneled.Idug deeper into the earth, into a pool of mana that felt endless, but it still wasn’t enough.Ipulled down every ley line that radiated fromKoron, gathering every bit of the earth thatIcould.
Itwas all mine.Isaw the entire world through those lines—every rock, stone, and blade of grass.Manaflowed through every tree and every man, woman, and child—but it was stunted.Isaw the roots around their hearts.Itwas just likeAbraxasbut stronger.
IfeltKaleosas he fought nearby; the roots wrapped tight, completely trapping what was inside.
Noki’shuman heart held the most.Aroundhis heart, the threads had woven so tight it appeared more like an impenetrable wall of stone than any sort of knot.Icould feel just how fragile his human heart was underneath as well, but magic stirred in it, just like all the rest.Itstirred in everyone’s heart.
Pallasjolted, her eyes glowed blue, and her skin was covered in a magic shield.Bloodtrickled from her nose, but she did not stop.Glyphafter glyph appeared onHadeon’sheart untilIcouldn’t keep track anymore, and he faltered.Herose but dug his fingers into his chest like he could claw us out.
“Howdare you?HOWDAREYOU?!”Heran at us, butAvlynthrew up a wall of water.Hecrashed into it, lightning turning the water into nothing but steam.Heburst out, his hands outstretched, whenIfelt the last piece ofPallas’ lock slide into place.
Thelightning vanished from his hands, and his eyes faded to a dull purple.Heran at us, but we were too deep into the magic and could notpull away.
Steelerupted from his chest.Abraxas’ great sword skewered through him.Hecoughed; blood and spittle flew from his lips, and he tried to grab the blade extending from his chest.
“Formy father,”Abraxaswhispered into his ear before letting him fall to the ground.Hewasn’t dead, butIpaid it no mind.
Ibarely saw any of it;Iwas still within the mana flow.Isaw the curse that the earth had placed upon the people of our world, andIknew thatIhad to break it.
“Helpme.”Mywords were barely a whisper, but they heard it since all our magics were linked together.Iwove mana from that great pool beneath me withJun’swhite light and guided it withPallas’ precision.Islashed it through every root in every heart except for one.
KaleosandNokifell to their knees as white light glowed from their chests.
