Draevyn was moving before his mind caught up and he ripped his blade free, the steel hissing as fire licked up its length. Each heartbeat stretched, every step feeling like an eternity.
He shoved past members of his crew as they clashed with Maerinys soldiers while he sprinted through the chaos. Bursts of heat from the battling goddesses flared in the corner of his vision, but still, he ran.
Atlas turned, his eyes flaring at the sight of Azarian lifting his spear high, ready to cleave straight through him.
“No!” Draevyn lunged, his blade screaming as it met Azarian’s weapon. The impact cracked like thunder, fire sparking against the guard’s enchanted armor. His teeth clenched, every muscle straining as he forced the strike back, blocking the blow inches from his brother’s chest.
At that same moment, a sharp, miraculousclicksounded as Elowynne’s locks snapped free, the chains clattering uselessly against the wall as they hung from their hinges.
Draevyn peered over his shoulder, the veins in his neck straining as he held Azarian back. Atlas pulled Elowynne to her feet, dragging her into his chest.
A small relief washed over Draevyn, and with a guttural snarl, he shoved the witch back.
And then writhing, black shadows snapped up from the stone floor at Atlas’s command. They coiled around Azarian’s ankles, tightening until the male was yanked upside down, his weapon clatteringfrom his grip. With a violent twist of his wrist, the shadows hurled the armored brute across the room. He crashed against a column, its stone splitting as rubble rained down around him.
Draevyn sucked in a breath, sword still blazing. His gaze flicked to his brother before darting back to where Azarian had landed, finding he’d already disappeared.
“Fucking Irah,” he huffed.
Atlas searched Elowynne’s face with frantic eyes. His hands skimmed over her wrists, her shoulders, every inch of her as if he could will away any bruise or mark left by her captor.
“Are you hurt?” His voice broke with the question.
Elowynne shook her head, but the fire in her eyes said otherwise.
She all but tore herself from his hold, fury radiating from every trembling muscle as she clawed at the band of silvery stone on her finger. And with a sharp twist, she ripped it free.
Draevyn’s eyes flared as he noticed it was a velsinyte ring.
Elowynne staggered, nearly falling, but Atlas caught her by the elbows. Still, she shoved forward, dragging in a shuddering breath as the weight that had been suffocating her lifted. Draevyn knew that feeling all too well—that returning surge of suppressed power.
The air around her thickened, golden light shining from her eyes and growing brighter with every heartbeat. She raised her hands toward the chaos raging between the two goddesses.
“Not Esmyra!” Draevyn and Atlas both shouted in tandem, their voices overlapping.
Her jaw clenched, golden light blazing around her like a halo. “I knowexactlywho I’m aiming for,” she spat, venom lacing every word.
Elowynne’s eyes narrowed, the gold in them burning hotter as if she could pierce through Naerysa’s very soul. Her jaw was tight, brows drawn, and lips barely parted as she summoned her magic, clawing for an opening in her mind.
Draevyn’s stomach dropped as he realized it wasn’t working. He saw it in the way her expression began to falter. That crease deepened between her brows, the strain sharpening her cheekbones.
Her eyes widened with dawning horror. “I can’t… I can’t get through.”
Elowynne staggered back, her eyes flickering with frustration as her fists trembled.
“She’s not letting me in,” she hissed through her teeth, her voice sharp with disbelief. “Her mind is closed. It’s as if it’s barred shut.”
“It’s because she’s blocking Esmyra,” Draevyn growled, his gaze flicking between the two locked in their clash.
“What?” she gaped, as magic continued to flare around them like clashing suns and storms.
“There’s more things at work here,” Atlas explained as he nodded up to the shattered ceiling. “They’re blocking each other out because of the Blood Moon.”
Elowynne shook her head. “I’m not following.”
Draevyn reached for her wrist before she could force herself into another attempt. “You don’t have to,” he said. “Not now, anyway. And we can’t waste time. We need to let Esmyra handle her sister.”
He turned his head, eyes scanning the chaos around them as their crew remained locked in a brutal fight with the guards pouring through the broken doors.
