Page 171 of Bound By Fury

Something shifts inside me. What began as sparks and tingles has become a blazing fire.

I am infinite.

I am the girl born of fate and the fury of my ancestors.

I am the battle cry of the stars.

I am the one sent to set our magic free.

But… something’s not right.

It reaches inside my chest and pulls. Tugs an invisible string.

I follow the feeling with my eyes.

The violet light emanating from me stems from the meeting of two lines of power—magenta and indigo. Weaving together. Twisting into a knot. The hunter’s bind transforming into something new.

“What’s happening?!” someone yells from the ground.

My head is yanked back by an invisible hand.

My catalyst, I think in answer.

And then, I fall.

FIFTY-SIX

I PLUMMET TO THE GROUND, the shattered bits of stained glass that exploded with my blast of power raining down over my head. Time slips back into its natural cadence. Nothing has changed. It’s only been seconds, though it feels like an eternity has stretched before me.

I saw it all, in flashes of visions. Razor-sharp stills. As alone as I’ve felt since Gigi died, that’s never really been the case. For my whole life, my ancestors have had a hand in my destiny.

Somehow I land safely in a crouch. Guardians rush toward me, but I fling them off, suddenly feeling renewed. Powerful. The exhaustion from earlier completely gone.

So is the pain that had been growing throughout my body, the gash above my eye and the scar on my arm from the hedge maze.

One hand, firmer than the rest, grabs me and tugs. I go flying over Kai’s back, and I roll, my head snapping up. Kai faces the hoods, his legs bent and arms raised. I don’t question it as I run to stand beside him.

We don’t talk; we don’t need to.

I can feel him. And I know he can feel me, too.

The beat of his heart, the sweat dripping down his back, the disgust for everyone around him. All this bloodshed, and for what? No, he won’t stand for this.

Something about his power is different, too, but he can’t quite put his finger on it.

“Don’t do this, boy!” Alastair growls. “Who will you have after this? You’re no one without me. You’re nothing!”

A frustrated grunt leaves Kai as he lunges forward. “Would you shut the fuck up already?” His hands meet Alastair’s, and they fall to the ground.

I look up at Lucas, whose ocean eyes have turned bright red as he stands over Maureen’s limp body.

“What—”

“I—” His hands are held out in front of him, face stunned as he looks down at them. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Maureen?” I fly across the room and collapse by her side at Lucas’s feet.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” I wail, a sob catching in my throat.