Aiden tips his head back and laughs, its menacing sound rolling like a funeral bell around us. The sound deepens as he claps his hands together, mocking Kade with a sureness that worries me. He doesn’t think this is a fair fight and I’m beginning to agree with him, increasingly sure this is going to get fucking brutal, fucking fast.
“I’m not fucking stupid, Kade. Did you think I’d turn up unprepared if I was unsure I could take you and that fucking whore of yours?” His features turn more despicable as his nose twists into something even more hideous. “We’re done with you and your brothers, and your fucking smug superiority. You’re the weak link and when you’re gone, me and mine will be taking over and then there’ll be a few fucking changes around here. Starting with her and who owns her goddamn pussy.” His eyes wander over me and Kade lets out a growl, the sound more feral than human. “And the rest of her kind. We need more warlocks, and these bitches need to learn their fucking place.”
“Charming company you keep,” I hiss under my breath.
“Not for much longer,” Kade snarls, reaching for his magic.
The clearing erupts.
Magic slams into us like a hurricane, splintering the ground beneath my feet and throwing me backward. I barely manage to roll as another surge of power tears through the space I’d just occupied, the air thick with sulfur and acrid smoke. A searing wave of crimson crashes into us like a wrecking ball and the ground trembles beneath me, knocking the breath from my lungs as I try to stand.
Kade’s already on his feet, already retaliating. His shadows surge forward in a deadly tide of magic, but Aiden deflects them with an almost casual flick of his wrist. His laughter mocks us harder as more warlocks materialize at the edge of the clearing, their dark forms solidifying as their power crackles in the air like a violent storm.
Lightning crashes to the ground and Kade roars, his magic bursting outward in a shockwave that rips into the nearest attackers, sending two of them flying. Their bodies hit the ground with sickening cracks, unmoving, but more step forward to take their place, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
I scramble to my feet, summoning my own magic as I dodge a jagged spear of energy hurled in my direction. My power answers my call, green and gold light spiraling around my hands as I lash out. My anger burns hot and I catch a warlock in the chest, the force of my attack sending him sprawling, but another grabs me from behind before I can react.
His hand clamps around my throat, cutting off my air as he drags me backward. My vision swims and I slam my elbow into him, twisting and channeling a burst of magic into his chest. He screams and I strike again, hitting him with more power and watching with grim satisfaction as he crumples tothe ground and his guts spill out into a pool of blood beneath him.
The fight is brutal and unrelenting.
Kade is a force of destruction, his magic ripping apart the warlocks with merciless precision. His shadows writhe and strike like living beasts, wrapping around throats and snapping necks, or slicing through flesh with lethal efficiency. But the warlocks are relentless, their attacks coordinated and brutal, driving him back step by step.
Aiden stands at the center of it all, his laughter cutting through the screams of the dying. “Is this all you’ve got, Kade? Pathetic. Your brothers aren’t here to save you, and it looks like you’re finally outmatched.”
Kade lunges again, a black blade of magic forming in his hand, but Aiden blocks it as a wicked grin spreads over his ugly face, their power clashing in a shower of sparks that light up the clearing.
“Fucking die, witch!” another warlock snarls, grabbing me by the arm and twisting it painfully.
I snarl back, my magic surging in a blinding burst that severs his grip and sends him staggering. I drive my knee into his stomach, then slam my elbow into his face, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone as his nose shatters. He collapses, and I step over his body, my chest heaving as I scan what’s become a battlefield.
There are too many.
Kade holds his own, but barely.
The warlocks are closing in, their attacks coming faster and harder.
I see the strain in Kade’s movements, the way his magic falters under the onslaught. He’s fighting with everything he can muster, and it isn’t going to be enough. Not for either ofus, and the ebon chain twists inside me, burning hotter than molten iron as it wraps around my heart and demands I act.
It’s almost the end, and I can’t allow it.
I snap. My insides break and a barrier I’ve always known existed and was too afraid to face collapses, shattering because it has no choice. A thread within me has been pulled too tight and the darkness that’s always lingered at the edges of my being surges forward, swallowing me whole.
I could fight against it.
I probably should try at least.
But I surrender to it and I let consume me, sinking into its deep, dark waters. I’m drowning in an ocean, pulled down to the very bottom by a force I cannot name. It’s bleak and cold, impossible to escape, and I close my eyes, letting this consume me.
The world fades away. The sounds of battle disperse into a distant hum. The power swells inside me, ancient and boundless, a storm of destruction unlike any I’ve known. It’s a force so fucking angry that words cannot describe its fury and it will not be caged. It won’t be contained. It can only be released and it demands I unleash it.
And I do.
The clearing erupts as green and gold and burning auburn light explodes, my magic surging in a wave that annihilates everything in its path. Warlocks scream and throw magic at me, frantically trying to defend themselves, but it’s no use. It’s pointless. Their end is inevitable and they’re caught in a blast more powerful than a collapsing star, more vicious than a mother protecting their child. Their bodies disintegrate into ash and dust before they truly comprehend what’s happening, and my magic keeps surging forward.
Aiden tries to run but gets no further than the edge of the clearing, and my power shreds him like the insignificant,inconvenient shit he is. I smirk as the light wraps around him like a vise and a choked cry emerges from his crushed lungs before he passes, certain he’s died an agonizing death.
But I’m not done, and I won’t be for a while.
