Page 506 of Axis of Fire

And if Dilraba was stalling for time...

...then we had to use every second she was giving us to find another way.

Illariana Arden's POV

I wasn't listening to what the others were saying.

All I could see was the demon standing before me.

And I was going to destroy it.

My magic had no right to disobey me anymore.

Today...

Either it would submit to me—

or we would both die.

I gathered every ounce of anger.

Every shred of hatred.

Every spark of frustration.

Then I sent it coursing through my body—straight into my magic.

This time...

it answered.

For the first time, I truly felt it yielding to my will.

"Kaeron. Loretta. Hold its arms," I ordered.

I wasn't going to rely only on myself when people stood beside me, willing to fight.

I wouldn't take away their chance to strike back.

And then I realized something.

It wasn't breathing fire.

It was swallowing it.

Which meant...

We needed to feed it something it couldn't digest.

"Time for your last meal," I muttered to the demon, not caring whether it understood me or not.

There was no point fighting the flames it released.

We had to destroy the source.

My eyes met Pria's.

I gave her a slight nod, hoping she'd understand.