Shehesitated, andIsaw the stone-cold exterior crack.Theflames at her command flared, and she set her resolve.
“Iknow whatIhave to do.Ihave to destroy it all.Iwon’t be able to if you are there.Stayhere.StaywithPallas.Protectthe beach.”Aslight grin lifted the corners of her mouth. “AndIwon’t be alone.Thecommander andIhave a score to settle.”
Withthat, she walked down the tunnel, anddarkness surrounded us.Junmade to follow her, but bothAvlynandIgrabbed his shoulders.
“Notthis time,Nightingale.”Junscrunched his nose atAvlyn’snew nickname for him.Theylaughed, “Let’ssee how effective those powers of yours are against boats, shall we?”
Chapter 31
Tori
Iwalked down the tunnel until the humid air of the cave hit me.Ished my coat and drew my sword.Thecavern was lit by the soft glow of the wild magic spring, andIlet my flames go out for the time being.Theplace was much louder thanIremembered.Waterseemed to drip from every surface, and the forest groaned with life.Thesound of countless scuttling insects was broken only by the occasional shuffle of something bigger, and the leaves rustled in a breeze that didn’t exist.
Ididn’t need to understand it to know what it said.I’malive,it whispered.Iwould deal with it later.Ineeded to findLuxos, and it was all too easy for him to remain hidden here.
Luckily, today he wasn’t hiding from me.AsIapproachedAbraxas,Isaw a dark figure standing before him, sword drawn.Hedidn’t move to attackAbraxas, not yet.Hewas half turned soIcould see his profile outlined by the dim light.
“Tookyou long enough,Princess.Ithought this was going to be too easy.”
Icontinued to close the distance.Theleather on the pommel of my sword cut into my fingers asIgripped it tight. “Ifyou lay a single finger on him, you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
“Youknow,” he said, ignoring me, “Inever thoughtI’dget to slay a dragon.Hadeongot to have all the fun there.Italmost seems unfair.He’shalf-dead already, butInever much cared for a fair fight.”Heraised his sword, andIbroke into a sprint.Asthe blade swung down,Iextended my own just in time to block him.Sparksflew as steel met steel, andIshoved him back with all my strength.Heskidded to a halt, and a cruel grin spread across his face.
“Keepyour filthy hands off my mate,Luxos.”
Hisgrin only grew. “Timefor us to finally play,Princess.”Hedidn’t hesitate to lunge at me.Iparried the blow and countered him with enough force to cut him in half.Asmy blade was about to connect, he disappeared.Myswing hit nothing, andIstumbled.AsIstruggled to regain my balance, he appeared behind me, and pain lanced across my back as he sliced me open.
“Fuck!”Igritted my teeth and swung around, but he vanished again and reappeared to kick my knees in from behind.Myfingers were torn open asIcaught myself on the rocky ground.
“Thatall you’ve got?Howdisappointing.”Heraised his sword up for the finishing blow, butIspun on my knees and kicked at his legs.Well,Itried, but he jumped away.Atleast my head was still attached to my shoulders.
Hematerialized a safe distance from me and laid his weapon on his shoulder.Hisfinger waggled at me. “Tsk, tsk,Princess.You’llhave to be faster than that.”Hewas just toying with me.
Icharged at him, and we continued this one-sided dance.Iwould swing, and he would shadow walk.Igot better at predicting his position, soIcould block hisstrikes, but twisting and turning to keep up with him was exhausting.Hewas laughing and hardly breaking a sweat.Iwouldn’t be able to keep this up, andIwould make a fatal mistake.Helanded another blow across my ribs, and my blood spilled over the forest floor.
Iheard a familiar chitter, and from the edge of the trees, a faint glimmer caught my eye.Icontinued to dodge and strike atLuxos, guiding him slowly toward the forest.Strike, dodge, strike, dodge.Hiseyes laughed with malice, but we were almost there.Thelaughter fled as he stepped into the webSpinnerhad created between two trees.Hetugged at his arms, only entangling himself further.
“Fuckingbug,”Luxosgritted, andIswung my sword.Hisshadows enveloped him and he disappeared again, but much of the web went with him.Whenhe reappeared, he tripped as the cut silks wrapped around him, ensnaring him.Avery satisfied chirp sounded behind me.
“LookslikeI’vefinally managed to get you all tied up,Commander.Don’tyou look pretty like that?”Itwas his turn to snarl asIcharged at full speed.Hedisappeared again but didn’t immediately reappear.
Isearched.Buthe was nowhere to be seen.Therewas no way he had run away again.Istrained my ears to listen for any sound whenIheard the slink of metal as it ran over a hard surface.
Ispun and saw him standing on top ofAbraxas, cutting himself free.Welocked eyes, and that horrible smirk returned. “Nomore time for games,Princess.Toobad, it was starting to get fun.”
Idarted towards him, to stop him, whenIwas gripped on all sides.Darkshadows slunk up from the ground and grabbed my arms and legs.Ghostlyhands gripped my flesh with icy strength.Istruggled against them, but they did not yield, andIcouldn’t raise my sword to them, if that would even work.
Luxossmiled with too many teeth as he raised his sword above his head, straight overAbraxas’ heart. “Saygoodbye to the last dragon, gorgeous.”
Ipulled as much mana from the earth asIcould and concentrated it at my heart.Mywhole body shook with rage as dragonfire raced through my very veins.Ithought aboutPallas’ advice toJunabout controlling the magic, guiding it with a subtle hand.
Fuckthat.
Bluelight, pure mana, wrapped itself overLuxos’ arms and sword.Hiseyes widened in shock, and it was his turn to be held immobile.Ilet the dragonfire in my blood free and it wreathed me like wings.Nota dragon’s wings, but something made of ash and pure starlight.
“Whatthe fuck are you?”Luxosscreamed, pulling at my tethers as his shadows writhed and screeched as they were burned away.
Ina voice that wasn’t entirely my own,Isaid, “Thebeginning of all things and your end.”
