Adora dodged the branch easily before laughing. “Is that the best you can do, dirt witch? Using a tree against me? I will burn you and this entire fucking forest to the ground.”
She raised her hands and muttered an incantation that sent another beam of red light toward Cece.
Cece blocked it with her magic, her hands shaking as she fought against her grandmother’s spell. She needed all of her concentration, but Briggs’s name was a steady drumbeat in her head, and she couldn’t help looking over at him. Fear sent a powerful wave of magic through her, and she shot her left hand toward Briggs and her uncle, crying out with relief when the trees obeyed her magic and bent sideways in front of Briggs. The branches stopped the deadly shards of ice before both trees snapped in half and fell to the ground.
Cece screamed when another ball of fire engulfed her body and threw her into the air. She landed hard on her back, cold snow slipping under her jacket to slide down her skin.
Adora cackled laughter. “Not much of your protection spell left, dirt witch!”
Cece jumped to her feet and spoke an incantation, triumph washing over her when this time, Adora couldn’t avoid the massive tree branch that smashed into her. It hurtled her into another tree, and Cece prayed to the goddess that her grandmother’s back was fucking shattered as she stalked toward Adora.
To her dismay, Adora was already climbing to her feet, the red glow of her magic so bright it made Cece squint. She sneered at Cece, her blue eyes blazing with anger. “That hurt, you fucking little bitch. Stop making this so difficult!”
She shot another blast of magic at Cece, who dropped to her knees to avoid it, and returned her own blast of magic. She cheered inwardly when the green light washed over her grandmother, and Adora shuddered and staggered back.
“Now whose protection spell is weakening?” Cece said. “Maybe you should give up now and -”
Blue light enveloped her, destroying the last of her protection spell and sending agony racing up and down her spine. She screamed and twisted away, panting heavily as Alistair joined his mother.
Briggs! Where was Briggs?
She searched frantically for him, staring in confusion at the polar bear slamming its paws over and over on the suddenly frozen river. Who the fuck was that, and where was Briggs?
Another blast of blue light sent horrific pain through her body. She doubled over, gasping and clutching at her midsection as the light faded, and Adora laughed. “Stop toying with her, Alistair.”
“She deserves to suffer,” Alistair said. His eyes were just as mad as his mother’s, and Cece used her magic to conjure a barrier spell around herself. She was dismayed at how hard it was, at how quickly her magic was draining, and she took another glance at the river.
Briggs’s father, now in his human form, was yanking Briggs out of the river, and Alistair followed her gaze before sighing loudly. “For fuck’s sake.”
“Kill the shifter,” Adora snapped. “That’s all I asked you to do, and you can’t even do that.”
Alistair glared at her, his body pulsing a brighter blue. “It’s not my fucking fault there’s another one helping him!”
“Useless boy,” Adora spat at him. “Do I have to do everything myself?”
He curled his lip at her and marched toward Briggs and his father.
“No!” Cece cried, but before she could shout a warning, Adora attacked her again. Her magic nearly broke through the barrier spell, and Cece backed away before muttering an incantation and thrusting her hands at Adora. Green light shot from her hands, but it was noticeably dimmer, and Adora laughed as she met it with her own blast of magic.
“Half-breed dirt witch,” she said. “Did you really think you could beat me?”
Her body shaking, Cece half-turned toward Briggs. Briggs’s father, now in his polar bear form, was standing protectively in front of Briggs as Alistair raised his hands. With a shriek of effort, Cece used her magic to smash Alistair with a tree branch. He slid across the frozen river as red light washed over Cece and sent another bout of agonizing pain through her body.
She screamed and fell onto her butt, her body shaking as she gave up on attacking Adora with her magic and concentrated the dying dredges of it on the barrier spell. The red light died, taking the pain with it, but when Cece tried to get to her feet, her trembling legs refused to support her.
She sat in the cold snow, repeating the barrier spell incantation over and over as Adora laughed shrilly and stood over her. “Give up, dirt witch. Your magic is weakening.”
“Fuck you,” Cece said.
Adora’s face contorted with anger. “After I kill you, I’ll skin your shifter and use his pelt on my fucking floor.”
Tears streamed down Cece’s face, and she desperately wanted to fight back, but her magic was barely enough to stop Adora’s magic from breaking through the barrier spell. She concentrated on the faint thread of magic in her body, even as the light surrounding her grew dimmer.
She could almost hear Briggs’s voice in her head, urging her to keep fighting, but she was so goddamn tired, and her magic was a barely detectable hum.
I’m so sorry, my love. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. I love you.
Adora’s scream of surprise brought Cece’s head up with a snap. She stared in disbelief at the giant polar bear as he charged toward Adora, roaring loudly and his big paws flying across the snow. The red light faded from Cece as Adora turned and threw a ball of fire at the polar bear. It surrounded him for a brief moment before winking out of existence, leaving the polar bear unburned.
