Ancient trees decorated with vines twisted and broke, releasing thunderous snaps that echoed throughout the landscape.
Screams rose up when another wave sucked in a second group of brides. They couldn’t do anything to stop the current washing them away.
“No!” Lucifer yelled, his frustration palpable as he thrust out a hand and shot pure Hellfire at the portal.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as intense heat washed over the flattened waves.
“Ty!” Melek yelled as he snapped out a wave of brilliant white power. “You can’t do this alone!”
I’d never seen Melek’s strength before, not like this.
It blinded the sky, sending out a retaliating shock wave that momentarily broke the clouds and caused blistering sunlight to cascade down onto the marshy waters below.
I flinched.That’s definitely not going to work.
Melek’s power seemed to be too much for this kingdom, his light a brightness the Marsh Lands couldn’t accept.
Given what I’d read of this land, it made sense. The Marsh Lands were essentially an unstable mixture of the Underwater Kingdom and the Barren Lands.
Too much water destabilized the atmosphere, just as too much light would alter the chemistry of the land.
Understanding that made me realize that Lucifer and Melek might be the worst candidates to fix this. They were trying to drown a whirlpool with water, Hellfire, and brute force.
This is all wrong,I realized when Lucifer’s next blast of raw power only served to burst the water into a layer of steam. The portal twisted against it, then seemed to expand even wider.
This time it took a blur of what had to be Unseelie with it. The twinkle of broken light came with a rush of filtered cries of horror before they blipped out as if drowned.
The Nagas thrashed, much more visible in their desperate strokes to get away. Their powerful tails raged against the steamy current, but they were no match for the intensity of the growing vortex.
Ajax hissed, his arm leaving my back.
I glanced at him, confused. Then I found his eyes staring down at the chains around my center.
“Cami?” he asked, uncertainty coloring his tone.
I frowned. “What?”
Then another crash ripped my focus away from him, luring me back toward the blistering portal.This is bad. So fucking bad.
“He’s not doing this right,” I told Ajax. “He’s making it worse.”
“Cami, you’re… glowing,” Ajax said, ignoring me entirely. “The chains…”
Lucifer raged in the sky as warmth touched my skin, pulling my attention down to my dress again. Ajax was right—I am glowing.
My brow furrowed, realization dawning.Because this is Lucifer’s magic.
That must have been what had drawn me here.
Just like the source,I thought, my lips parting.That’s why this pull is so familiar—it’s just like when I touched the heart of his power.
Only this time, I was literally wrapped up in it, drawn toward him like a beacon.
But it was more than that.
I could feel his power thrumming through me, almost as though I was a conduit of sorts. Or a siphon.
How is this even possible?I marveled, sensing Lucifer’s next strike before he released it.Why am I so close to his essence?
