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Beside him was a ring of hooded figures and the face of the woman that had been the reason he’d been able to curse me in the first place. My heart broke a little at the sight of her.
“Elenwen,” I breathed.
“Actually, the name is Mais,” she smirked.
“Ah, Roken,” Malachi sneered, relishing the opportunity to recount his malevolent plans. “You were a fool to trust the depths of love so deeply. It was your vulnerability that allowed me to seize upon your weakness, to wield it against you with a vengeance. And oh, the rewards I offered to sweet Elenwen, your once beloved, if she dared to betray you to me.”
“Mais is a changeling, Roken. That is not her,” Sophia murmured as she moved to my side. Her fingers threaded into mine, and all the hurt from Elenwen’s betrayal slipped away as my love for her brewed to the surface.
“Her screams were exquisite in the end, Roken. I thought it poetic to take her face in this realm after she met her end in mine,” Mais taunted, her smirk malicious.
“Don’t listen to her,” Sophia implored.
A piercing pain shot through my chest, so sharp it felt like someone had stabbed a knife right through my heart.
I pressed my fist over my heart, trying to sense what was wrong and relieve it at the same time. I allowed a tendril of my freed magic through me, recognizing the touch of a foreign energy within me. The magic pierced through my heart again, more persistent this time, and Malachi grinned. Immediately, I knew what had happened, and why I was here.
Malachi had threatened my life with his magic in order to get my Sophia.
I wouldn’t let him take her from me. I had loved once, and he’d destroyed that. I wouldn’t let him do it again.
I locked eyes with Malachi, his malevolent grin even more treacherous than I remembered. Anger surged within me, fueling the flames of my resolve. Hatred coiled around my heart, intertwining with the powerful magic that surged through my veins. With each breath, the cyclone of power within me swelled, eager to be unleashed upon my enemy.
“Who is she?” Sophia asked softly, glancing at Mais and then back to me.
“Does she not know?” Malachi asked gleefully. His eyes glinted with sickening pride. I took a deep breath and stared him down. I wasn’t going to back down this time.
“Elenwen was a woman I loved once. She betrayed me to Malachi. It was because of her that he was able to afflict me with his curse five hundred years ago,” I explained.
“It was much more than that, wasn’t it? It was because of her that you lost control of your anger and ruined Taverna,your grace,” Malachi taunted.
Malachi’s voice dripped with persuasive honey as he continued, “It didn’t take much to bend her to my will. I offered her untold power to reshape the world to her desires. All she needed to do was reveal your most guarded secret—the vulnerability you bear when trapped within your human form, and she did.”
“Elenwen led Malachi inside my castle in the middle of the night. His magic shackled mine in my sleep, and he was able to cast the curse that held me prisoner for so long,” I continued.
“She served her purpose,” he smirked, his amusement dark.
“And now she is dead,” I answered.
Malachi’s smile grew wider, and I wanted to rip his heart right out of his chest.
Beside me, Sophia drew her sword. The ring of metal scraping against metal rang clear, and she stepped forward, her head held high with an undying sense of courage.
It made me even more proud to call her mine.
At my side, Sophia stood unwavering, her sword gleaming in the dim light, a testament to her resolve. Her presence ignited a fire within me, reminding me of the love and loyalty that burned brightly in her eyes. I drew strength from her steadfast courage, knowing that she stood by my side, ready to face any challenge that dared cross our path.
Simultaneously, Mais sprang into action, her weapon glinting as she threw the whole scene into chaos. A whirlwind of fury and grace, she lunged forward, her blade colliding with Sophia’s in a resounding clang. The clash of metal filled the air, and I braced myself for battle.
Magic surged through me, crackling with raw power as my very being trembled with the uncontrollable force. I let it billow up from inside of me, building and boiling with a vengeance that threatened to blow at any given moment. With a resounding roar, I launched myself into the fray, unleashing the full force of my earthen elemental power.
I held my arms out, sparkling emerald spheres of magic swirling over my palms, growing larger with each fraction of a second until I threw it forward, aiming it directly at Malachi’s heart. With a rumbling growl, he leapt out of the way just in time for my spheres of energy to blast a hole right in in the center of an ancient tree. The deafening boom of cracking wood reverberated throughout the woods, and the hooded chanting figures rushed forward, holding their curved blades aloft. His concentration broken, the portal to Helheim vanished in a swirl of purple mist.
A mystical knife stabbed deeper into my heart, and I roared with pain.
Then the world came to a sudden stop. Mais and Sophia were locked in battle, their swords hoisted high as they stood frozen in time. Malachi had his arm thrown back, a swirling ball of magic ready to counter mine moments from being let loose.
“Mad king, should you need my assistance?”
