I was gazing out as if in a dream, pushed aside as she took over my body. Fire erupted in my palms, and I watched in horror as I stalked toward the village. A cold dread washed through me as I felt Morgana's triumphant smirk, her laughter echoing in the cavern of my mind.
Chapter 17
Xavier
Waking up felt like wading through knee-deep mud—heavy and exhausting. The ground swayed beneath me, a dizzying sensation of being jostled and dragged reverberating through my body. It felt like the whole world was trembling. A muffled cry pierced my skull, and I winced as the loud noises around me intensified and came into focus.
“WAKE UP!”
Something struck me across the cheek, and my eyes shot open to find my uncle hovering over me. Smoke billowed above his head, his hand raised and striking toward my cheek again.
I caught his arm as it swung, and his shoulders seemed to sag with relief, but only briefly.
“The village! Xavier, we are under attack.”
Flynn grabbed my hand, pulling me up off the ground. We were no longer in his cabin but in the clearing in front of it, twenty feet away. My uncle's cabin was on fire. Flames lickedup the sides and engulfed it inside their thrashing tendrils while smoke billowed high into the gray sky above.
He must have dragged me out while I was passed out. Embers fell from the sky, and I whipped my head toward the village where more smoke and fire billowed, mixed in with the cries of my people.
Shaking off the last of my confusion, I took off running. I leapt into the air, wings sprouting from my back. The black silken membrane came into view as I pumped them harder to reach my people.
Flynn was running in the field below, or at least he had been. I flew too far ahead to see him any longer. The smoke became thick, and the cries and screams grew louder.
Something slithered on the ground in the village, and I cursed as I spotted green scales. Scanning the smoke, I dove toward the ground, landing at its center. My palm gripped the sword at my back, and I unsheathed it in preparation.
Squinting through the smoke, I waved my hand to clear the air. Wind swept around me, but not hard enough to stoke any lingering embers.
A roar to my right startled me, and I lunged towards the sound. My blade sliced through the air, connecting with a slimy green tail. A daka roared and spun, its jaws snapping, and I twisted, ducking as my blade embedded itself in the side of its neck.
Yanking the blade free, I watched the beast roar louder and thrash. My shadows reached out, wrapping around its bleeding neck and snapping it backward with a wicked crunch. The beast fell silent immediately, hitting the ground with an impressive, lifeless thump.
A slow clapping sound came from somewhere behind me, and I whirled around, my eyes locking on a petite, dark-haired witch.
Morgana stood twenty paces away, but my gaze went immediately to the girl standing next to her.
Zara was covered in sweat and blood. Her hair was matted to her face, the rest hanging in wet strands down her back. Her icy blue gaze didn’t meet mine, but I could see that her gaze was hazy, unfocused. She was eerily still, with a neutral expression on her face. I would have thought she was asleep if it weren’t for the flames licking up her palms.
As if my noticing them brought it to her attention, they winked out.
Reaching through our bond, I lowered the barrier I'd kept between us, but encountered a massive, steely wall. I slammed against it, but nothing happened. I tried again and again, but her shield was strong, foreign, as if it wasn’t hers.
Morgana laughed, bringing me back to the present.
“What did you do to her?!” I barked, and Morgana had the nerve to look confused.
“What did I do to whom, dear?” Morgana asked, tilting her head like a fucking cat.
I took a threatening step forward, but Morgana stopped me. “Uh- uh, I wouldn’t do that, son. Zara is in a murderous mood right now. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
I took another step and Zara’s unfocused gaze snapped to mine with lethal intent. She couldn’t harm me. Not fatally, so I kept going. Still trying to pry past the shield through our bond as I readied for her to attack.
I felt a prickle on my neck and ducked as Zara's magic tried to ensnare me from behind with her shadows. I spun again,narrowly avoiding another attempt. Morgana hissed impatiently as Zara sent a torrent of magic toward me again. My magic met hers, and they crashed together as I shadowed to my right.
Footsteps echoed behind me, and I glanced back to find Julian and Flynn running out of the still lingering smoke to my side. Zara stopped her advance, and Morgana’s lilting voice echoed.
“Hello Flynn, so good to see you again so soon,” Morgana crooned. “Maybe you can help your nephew and tell him where you hid my book.” Her fists clenched at her sides as she stomped one foot forward. Zara shifted and did the same, mirroring her like some fucking doll.
I saw red, and power erupted from me, seeping into the ground and spearing toward Morgana. She was controlling Zara. The glazed look in her eyes, the distance I felt through our bond—I doubt Zara even knew what she was doing. Being used like some puppet.
