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But the magic detonated from her palms without command, launching Hakkan into the barbaric crowd. His outline warbled in the heat until Ruzgorn shoved him back into the center of the smoky ring. Wild strands of black hair framed his sweaty face. His sword arm trembled with exhaustion just as her fingers shook uncontrollably.
“Why do you hesitate?” he shouted, rage contorting his features. “Why did you come all this way? Just to toy with me?” Nasty burns marred his cheek and the side of his neck. At least he’d moved quick enough to shield most of his face from her attack.
Still, she couldn’t absolve the ball of guilt expanding in her chest.
With a swipe of his hand, Hakkan ignited his curved blade in red flames. When he lunged for another strike—so slow in comparison to Renton—she dipped sideways and slammed another bolt of Chaotic, electric fire into his stomach.
There is no controlling us,Chaos rumbled.
Hakkan’s back hit the ground, and a memory struck her hard enough to jerk her awareness from the battlefield. She was in the manor library. A younger version of her cousin watched her from twenty feet away, his jet black hair cut sharp at his chin. There was no muscle clinging to his frail bones. She came to understand this was why her uncle had kept him secret for so long.
Young Hakkan made no move to fight. He kneaded his hands in front of him nervously. He hadn’t spoken a word since his arrival.
“Show him what a true Delemor fighter looks like,” Gadreel instructed.
She glanced at Ames first. Always seeking permission. When he gave nothing away in his expression, her gaze slid to her father. Her throat tightened as intelligent, red-brown eyes met hers. She found no answer within them.
What do you expect me to do?She wanted to ask.
“Don’t pity him, girl. Teach him how to be strong,” Gadreel had shouted.
Tenah’s focus snapped back to the desert ring. For some reason, the hardened warlord splayed out in the dirt made her feel infinitely sadder than the lanky, silent child she recalled. How many horrors had he faced at the orders of his father? And still, Gadreel sought to deliver him pain through her hands.
Hakkan struggled to rise. Some messed up part of her ached to encourage him. He’d obviously worked hard to reach this position.Get up and fight. Prove them all wrong.
A thousand laughs reverberated through her mind. Chaos shot through her limbs and forced her over to her cousin. Slowly, she picked up his blade, turning it in her hand. Then Chaos forced her to drive it into his stomach.
The rising chants of Ruzgorn and Chaos should have brought her relief. The title, the power—it was all within her gasp.
But the flash of raw fear in her cousin’s eyes gutted her. It was the same look he’d given her when she’d laid him out that day years ago. Only when her father had lowered his head and strode from the library had she realized her mistake.
She’d had a choice then. She wanted a choice now too.
Hakkan’s body went limp beneath her. His warm hand cuffed her wrist, eager to draw the blade deeper. “Do it,” he choked out, a bubble of blood at the corner of his lips. “We were never meant to be anything more than their puppets anyway.”
“Stop,” she pleaded, both to him and Chaos. Hot tears pricked in her eyes as dark magic inched the blade in further.
He’s done nothing wrong,she cried.
You called on us for help.
I only wanted your power to wield as I wished.
A wish that will never be granted. You are weak. Weak. Weak.
Hakkan let out a horrible, quiet moan. “Finish the job, cousin.”
With a scream, she yanked the blade free and threw it across the ring. Blood oozed from his stomach. Desperate, she placed her hands over the wound while he let his own drop to the dirt.
You wretched shadowling!Chaos roared.
Tentacles of black lightning exploded from her back, crackling up into the sky. It was the Boglands all over again. Dark magic formed an inescapable storm above their heads, reflected in Hakkan’s wide eyes.
Tenah had no strength to draw it back into her body. The camp fell silent as her magic tore a massive, black scar into the sky, wide enough to glimpse the Void within.
Elementals, what had she done? She tore her hands away from Hakkan as lightning continued to stream from her every burning atom. Her thoughts became fuzzy, her arms leaden with numbness.
You defy us,Chaos said,but there is no stopping our destruction. This world is ours to consume.
