Esmyra found Draevyn across the chamber, his chest heaving while he pushed himself to his feet, fire flickering in crackles across his skin. He gave her a firm nod, strength gathering in his stance as water dripped from his hair and clothes.
But then his expression shattered. His eyes widened in horror, his voice tearing through the chamber. “ESMYRA, LOOK OUT!”
The throne room shook, and Naerysa’s scream was sharp as her magic exploded outward in a blinding solar flare. It mimicked the sun’s rays, searing the air and chamber as its heat radiated and shimmered like molten gold. Light struck everywhere at once in a destructive brilliance, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
The crimson glow of Esmyra’s tattoos lit brighter in response, and her eyes locked on the oncoming wave. She thrust her arms forward,and jagged bolts lanced from her fingertips, splitting the torrent in two.
Her lightning arced across the air, cutting through the heat like silver blades. Where the two forces collided, embers and sparks burst, shaking the walls with every strike as the room transformed into a battlefield between sun and storm.
The crew scrambled to avoid the violent bursts of magic. Out of the corner of her eye, Draevyn shielded the men closest to him, yelling for them to stay low, but she felt his unwavering gaze on her the entire time.
The solar energy shoved Esmyra back, yet the goddess within her prevailed. Her teal eyes blazed, hair whipping like a storm cloud as she shoved her hands forward. She sent bolts of power lancing into Naerysa’s flares, fracturing them, splintering the light into jagged shards.
The air itself screamed, and Esmyra could feel the raw weight of Naerysa’s power trying to overwhelm her. But she pushed back—every nerve, every pulse of her magic merging with the goddess within.
Naerysa’s flares arced in blinding waves, each one bursting outward like a miniature sun, igniting the air with flickers of fire. Her twin’s power brushed against hers, clawing and biting its way through to try and siphon her magic and soul.
But Esmyra would never yield.
Jagged bolts leapt from her hands, the strikes meeting the flares with a deafening hiss, yet both goddesses refused to be driven back.
Kaelypso thrummed within her, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
Theirfury.
Twosouls.
Onefucking vengeance.
Every nerve within her shivered.
This was freedom. This wasjustice. And this was their moment to reclaim everything their sisters had tried to take.
Pillars toppled, walls buckled, and glass shattered from the shockwaves of their attacks. Every collision sent waves radiatingoutward, throwing Naerysa and Esmyra backward, locked in a battle of wills.
And then a flood of armored guards rushed in, spears raised, their war cries echoing from every direction.
Esmyra’s crew was on them in an instant, steel ringing against steel, their defiance as fierce as her own. But the sight dragged her focus downward, watching Draevyn throw himself into the madness without a second thought as several guards ignited in blistering flames the moment they aimed their spears in her direction.
Her magic pulsed, faltering for just a breath as her eyes locked on him.
But that heartbeat was all her sister needed.
Power ripped across the space, and Naerysa hurled an arc of burning light straight into her. It struck like a blade through the heart, searing through her ribs. The impact tore her from the air, pain exploding through her body as she hit the stone floor with a cry, sparks of magic flickering wildly as her velsinyte-tipped spear flew across the chamber.
The world tilted, the sound of battle muffled under the roaring in her ears. The scent of scorched flesh clung to her skin, the grip on her power wavering.
Across the room, Naerysa advanced with a predator’s smile.
Fuck.
“Get up,” Kaelypso begged. “Esmi, you need toget up!”
Esmyra tried to push herself off the floor, but her body trembled, her magic stuttering across her skin. The air seemed to thicken around her, every breath a struggle, every beat of her heart ragged.
And then she noticed how Syrena’s hands were lifted, aimed at her with fingers curling like talons.
Esmyra felt it instantly. The loss was an invisible tether coiling tight around her core. Her power lurched inside her chest, dragged toward her twin in a sickening pull.
