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To destroy.
***
“No one move,” the soft whisper from Acheron had all in the king’s balcony freezing.
“What is it, Acheron?” Gavyn whispered as he flashed closer to him.
“Look at it!”
“You mean Tehdra?”
“Tehdra no longer exists.”
“What is happening?” Uriah asked.
The thing that was Tehdra stood in front of Ajali, looking down at him. She was macabre. Something had changed, and Acheron did not understand what. His nape prickled, and he felt like death stalked them.
Tehdra was motionless. He could not understand why. She had fought with a vicious beauty and protected Ajali with movements he could hardly map. Yet what now positioned in front of his king was different. After so much rage and motion, the stillness scared him.
He searched her spirit and flinched. She was darkness without a hint of light.
She froze with hands hanging at her sides, head bowed, long torrents of black hair shadowing her face, her beautiful jewel studded caftan stained with blood. She killed the summoned beast and its master with such ease that a true awareness of what stood before their king vibrated in him.
It could be the chakra. It had roiled erratically around her before, but now it slowly contracted, caressing her. Darkness seemed to leak from her mouth, her ears, from under her caftan. It was the chakra—it had changed from something erratic to sinister.
The crack of her shoulder sounded loud in the coliseum as the blade rotated at an odd angle. Nothing else moved. The head still hung low with her hair shadowing her face, with the darkest of chakra churning around her. Acheron had never seen anything so unsettling and eerie.
“What the hell just happened?” Gavyn growled. “She broke her own shoulder blade?”
“Not Tehdra,” Acheron murmured. “The thing before us is not Tehdra. It is what is housed inside of her.”
“What are you saying, Acheron?” Xian fretted. “Why is she just staring at Ajali? Get warriors inside with them, please!” She stuffed a fist in her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.
Acheron made a quick signal with his hand that had several warriors flashing to his side.
“Get all the valnetium iron we have in storage and from the dungeon. Have messengers travel to Aria with speed. Call upon our alliance. We need earth wielders skilled in manipulating valnetium iron to bind her. Move now!”
They flashed away with purpose.
“What is she doing?” Xian’s harsh demand had all ten blades pausing. “She is covering him in blood.”
“Hold on,” Acheron said, and called froth his power, trying to mentally connect with Tehdra.
“What do you sense?” Cadmus asked.
“I cannot feel Tehdra. Yet that thing seems to hold desire for Ajali.”
“Explain?” Gavyn snapped.
Xian drew her sword, a determined frown on her face. “What is it doing? We cannot allow her to harm Ajali.”
“Rumor has it that Darkans heal at an accelerated speed. More so than the rest of us Amagarians. Look at the wounds on Ajali’s hips. The blood flow has checked. The blood that it pours from Tehdra’s wrist, into his wounds is healing him,” Quinn whispered.
“We cannot kill it,” Acheron said. “We will do everything in our power to contain it. Tehdra is somewhere inside. I cannot find her essence, but the thing wants out. It breaks her bones trying to get free. I do not know the beast she possesses. What I do know is that it is far stronger than the summoned wolyve it killed. Whatever is inside Tehdra cannot be allowed to be summoned to a corporeal form. Try and keep calm. Fight without rage or fear. It will only feed on those feelings.”
“Are we ready?” Quinn murmured.
“We are,” all voices echoed.
