Pure agony pulsed throughme in a violent haze, as if every bone in my body had shattered a thousand times over while the queen’s puppet tormented me. Both of their gazes remained on me, enjoying every bit of pain they witnessed at their disposal.
The only thing keeping me going was knowing that Jace was alive, feeling him on the other end of the bond that I desperately yearned to let him through—but I knew him sensing all of this,feelingthe full extent of it, would only put him at greater risk.
He would hate me for shutting him out, but I wouldn’t risk him—just as he wouldn’t risk me in the battle at Ellecaster.
“Be sure that her heart is still beating. I don’t want her dead yet,” Idina stated.
Azenna smirked as she slammed my body into yet another wall—a grunt left me at the force of it. “It beats. She is strong-willed. Defiant.”
Idina snarled. “She always has been.”
I flashed a blood-stained smile at them in response, ignoring my body as every inch felt like it was bursting into flames.
Azenna’s eyes flared as panic took over her features. She started glancing frantically in every direction—her torture attempts at me ceasing from whatever suddenly distracted her.
“Something is wrong!” she bellowed. The High Witch turned to the queen. “The wards are down! Something has happened to Sylvae.”
Mother of the gods. Hope surged through me at her words as Idina looked as if she would kill Azenna right there for something going awry with her plans.
Everyone’s attention moved to the throne room doors as they burst open, slamming into the walls at their sides as my sister leapt through them.
Her eyes met mine, and my heart was ready to burst from both pride and nerves for her being here.
“Mother!” she barked. “Release her!”
Idina laughed at her daughter’s demand but then shot Azenna another vengeful look. “How did you get out?!”
“You have always underestimated me and what I’m capable of,” she hissed while storming towards them.
She shot me a sympathetic look, but I had never been more fucking proud in my life. That was my girl—defiant, just like her sister. A grin stretched across my face as I remained under the witch’s faltering hold.
Azenna took a threatening step in Avery’s direction and I lashed out at her sorcery, writhing beneath it to get to her. “Where is Sylvae?!” she barked.
Avery’s hands balled into fists at her sides. “Dead,” she answered proudly.
My eyes flared. “Holy gods,” I managed to breathe.
“And I would be in her place if I hadn’t stabbed her in the heart first!” Avery ripped a curved dagger from the belt of her dress and showed it to the High Witch.
Idina’s head snapped to Azenna. “Your crone tried to kill my daughter?!”
Chaos ensued in the throne room as arguments lashed out from everyone—and then all the windowsburst. Glass shattered from all sides and angles of the giant room as they rained down from the high ceilings.
Everyone moved to shield themselves from the sudden blast, including Azenna, causing her to release the spell she held me in. My body fell to the floor, but I blocked the hard contact by tucking and rolling the best I could.
Glass cut into my skin as I landed while it continued to rain down on us. My hand flew to the hilt of my dagger, ready to strike as I lay in a non-threatening position, trying not to draw too much attention as everyone remained distracted from the blast.
Shadows erupted through one of the windows, swarming through the room like a haze of death—and then Veli appeared above us. My aide levitated in the air as she leisurely lowered herself to the ground, eyes illuminating with pure, surging power.
Complete awe took over me at the sight of her, and the pure fear that slithered into Idina’s eyes.
Azenna took a step up to Veli, eyes glowing with her blinding power. “Fool of a witch, deserting your kind, as always.”
“Fools flock to fools, I presume. And I will choosethemevery time,” Veli answered with a menacing smirk that mirrored my own as I watched through the curtain of my hair.
“Witch, don’t you dare leave my side!” the queen roared at Azenna’s back, but it was too late.
The High Witch shot out in a rush of shadows at Veli, whose own flew to cover her instantly. I worked to push myself up as the two witches soared around the chamber, their magic lashing out at each other in deadly strides.
