Finn’s eyes met mine for the briefest of seconds, and I saw everything in him that I was feeling yet avoiding. Finn had made me care. He had changed me, and we’d brought out the best and worst in each other. He’d deserved better than the shitstorm brought on him.
Much to his dismay, I pushed Finn away as two guards came in at his right. Anguish swelled within me, but this time there was a pulsing energy along with it that was urging me toward Gabriel. That drive grew stronger than whatever had been trying to keep me down.
The space we were in was wide enough that I could unfurl my wings, but I had to be careful with them to avoid hitting the wrong people. Using my peripherals, I caught sight of Neva’s tiny body standing over Ivy as her hands once again glowed red. The pain-in-the-ass elf hadn’t listened, and I wanted to throttle her, but as magic caressed my skin that was not my own, I knew she was only trying to help.
Deciding I didn’t have time to focus on Neva’s stubbornness, I brought my wings forward and gave Gabriel my full attention. His upper lip snarled at me as he unsheathed his sword and tucked the smaller dagger away at his hip.
My chest blossomed with glee at the sight of the sword I’d thought about on several occasions since last touching it. The strength I’d felt wielding it was unlike anything I’d experienced before it. As the blade glowed with magic, I knew without a doubt I needed that weapon to kill Zephyr.
My muscles were starting to spasm again, but I was more intent on staying alive and put my focus on forcing my magic forward. Teal swirled around me as my wings hardened just in time.
Gabriel made the first strike and swung his sword around, the blade aimed right for my neck, but I blocked it with my hardened feathers. Dark magic flowed freely from the weapon in black swirls that intertwined with my own power. Instead of the hit hurting me like I expected, it energized me.
“I’m not easy to kill, Gabriel. Haven’t you learned that by now?” I taunted.
“All the more fun for me,” he replied, clipping the sword to his side before crouching down and ramming his shoulder into my gut.
I hadn’t expected the close contact hit, and he threw me off guard, which allowed his momentum to carry us past the others fighting. My back slammed into a concrete wall opposite Neva and Ivy. I wrapped both hands around Gabriel’s neck and sent a wave of power through him, but it was weak compared to what I knew I should have been capable of.
“Such a disappointment,” Gabriel whispered as he reached for the dagger instead of using the sword that was warming my skin from the close contact.
“Yeah, I might be, but at least I’m not the king’s bitch. You are nothing more than his pet, and I’d rather die than serve that bastard again.” I shoved both hands into Gabriel’s chest. Everything within me screamed, and I roared while calling on all the power within me.
Gabriel’s body vibrated beneath my touch, and his eyes narrowed as he struggled to move against my magic, but even I knew it wouldn’t hold long.
“I’m going to end you,” he spat in my face.
“So you keep saying,” I tossed back, feigning confidence as I felt my strength dwindling. I had to get my hands on the sword, but if I focused on anything other than keeping Gabriel at bay, I was as good as dead.
His arm raised just enough for his dagger to cut into my side. I tried to move left, but we were backed into a corner, and there wasn’t room for me to get far enough away to avoid his hit.
As I hissed from the slash, my eyes caught sight of Finn several paces behind us. He’d already taken care of one guard, but the second seemed to be putting up one hell of a fight.
Maddox was near him, red faced, and I watched as he snapped the neck of a guard at the same time a wave of magic slammed into his back, keeping him preoccupied as he moved on to the next attacker.
It didn’t seem as if I was going to be getting help from either of them anytime soon, but Neva was still near the back wall. Her eyes were closed, and she was pulsing with magic. I wondered if it was meant for me. After the initial boost I’d received from her, I hadn’t sensed anything else.
“You know I might be a disappointment, but I’m also full of surprises. Let’s see how you like this one,” I said to Gabriel, refocusing on my own fight.
I used what was left of my strength to slam my elbow down into the crook of his neck and went for the dagger in his hand. I ripped the hilt from his grasp and didn’t hesitate before sinking it into his chest.
Instead of having the desired effect of shock and awe, Gabriel smirked at me.
“A few things have changed around here, Lucinda. I’m not that easy to kill, either,” he said as he pulled the dagger from his chest and wiped his own blood off on his pants. Before I could try to move back, Gabriel repeated my same move, shoving the blade into my chest with enough force that I not only felt, but also heard my chest bones crack as he twisted the blade and pushed me to the ground.
Now that things were in motion, I realized it wasn’t the smartest move I’d made, but I was intent on following through with it. Even if it didn’t work out exactly how I hoped.
Finn roared and unleashed a wave of power unlike anything I’d ever experienced. “Lucinda!” he yelled right as he ripped the head off the fae he’d still been fighting. Blood sprayed across his face, but that wasn’t what held my attention.
Gabriel’s strike had missed its mark. My heart still beat strong in my chest even as everything around it was seared in agony. Finn grew stronger, and I was fascinated by the magic pulsing off him and calling to me. Gabriel must have sensed the shift in power, because his attention moved from me to the raging bull that was coming in from behind.
Even in Finn’s charged-up state, Gabriel wasn’t deterred. He reached back and yanked the blade from my chest. “I’m going to borrow that for a moment.” He smirked down at me, then turned around to throw the dagger at Finn, who impressed me even more by catching it.
I leaned forward and reached for the sword at Gabriel’s hip while he was distracted. As soon as I touched the glowing metal, my body was knocked back into the wall. My head hit first, taking the brunt of the impact, and my vision faltered as I tried to focus on what was happening with Gabriel and Finn.
Finn’s light magic was tinged with a deep blue color I’d never seen from him when he fought. His eyes were dark in the center with a light ring of silver around them that glowed with intensity as he began exchanging blows with Gabriel.
I hated being weak. I needed to be the one fighting against that asshole. Not Finn. This was my battle. My demons to slay. Except Finn was doing it for me. I knew that I should be okay with it. That Finn was my mate, and he was only doing whatever it took to keep me safe, but that didn’t stop me from moving forward.
I glanced at Neva, hoping for an assist from her, but her attention was elsewhere. Maddox was lying on the ground, and I gasped at the sight of him. His chest had a hole at the center that was much larger than my stab wound and something I wasn’t sure he could recover from. Neva was leaning over him, her body rocking back and forth. Sparks of red flowed from her hands as she did whatever it was that she was capable of.
Realizing I was on my own again, I forced myself to move, but all I could do was crawl. My prize was within my sights, and I was only inches away as Finn and Gabriel fought by my side. I stretched my arm out but fell short from grasping the sword still hanging from Gabriel’s hip, only managing to cut my hand on the tip.
He turned around and laughed, staring down at me. “Pathetic,” he mocked, then kicked me in my ribs as Finn got in a hit of his own.
I rolled several times before I was able to stop myself. When I looked back up, Gabriel had Finn pinned against the wall, and the sword I’d been going for was now in Gabriel’s hand, aimed and ready to take Finn’s head off.
“I won’t let you kill him,” I muttered more to myself than anyone else, but Gabriel still heard me as I forced myself up.
He barely glanced my way. “You actually care for him. How sw
eet.” Sarcasm dripped from his words, but I paid them no attention.
My hand pulsed with power, and I saw the dagger Gabriel had been using was carelessly dropped to the ground at some point. I picked it up as Finn rolled out of the way, dodging Gabriel’s first swing of the sword. Blood trailed behind Finn, but given how quickly he’d moved, I tried not to dwell.
I got back on my feet, and the closer I moved toward Gabriel, the more strength I acquired. As this happened, I knew without a doubt that the sword he wielded needed to be mine. I might have been consumed with darkness the last time I used it, but tapping into that side of me was going to be the only way for all of us to make out of the castle.
Before I could get to him, he changed directions and headed for Ivy. “You know, I’ve realized something. You obviously didn’t come here to kill the king if you were already retreating after you got this peach. Let’s see how you feel when I do this,” Gabriel taunted as he pressed his open palm over Ivy’s chest.
Ivy had been left unattended while Neva helped Maddox. I hadn’t let that thought cross my mind during the chaos, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
Ivy’s body convulsed, and her screams echoed around the room before they were cut off abruptly by the back of Gabriel’s hand. Her head lolled to the side, vacant eyes open and staring at me.
No, this wasn’t happening. Gabriel would not win. I couldn’t let him get away again. Acting on pure instinct, I ignored the yelling around me and lunged forward without really thinking my movements through.
Gabriel stood, arms ready and waiting to grab a hold of me, but little did he know, I didn’t much care what happened to me at that point, as long as he died.
I grabbed a hold of him, my legs wrapping around his waist as I used one hand to hold on to his neck and the other to control the dagger I held in my hand. I arced the blade up and I plunged it downward into the side of Gabriel’s head. If the piece of shit didn’t die by getting stabbed in the heart, then maybe a hit to his brain would do the trick.
As the tip of the dagger drove into his ear, Gabriel was at the perfect height to position the sword toward me. “I won’t die without taking you with me,” he said before the blade went through my top ribs and out my other side with no resistance.
My body seized, but not before I drove the dagger all the way to the hilt and Gabriel’s eyes widened. He had probably been expecting me to back away to save my own ass, but in a moment of clarity, I accepted that this could be my fate.
We fell to the ground, Gabriel landing beside me, and I had the perfect view of Finn. Our bond flared to life, breaking through the last of the wall I’d built up when he’d been angry with me before, but it made no difference.
Darkness exploded from me as my heart slowed. The tug and pull of life and death waged a war within me as the tip of the sword cut into my arm when I tried to move.
Finn yelled for help as he made his way toward me, but I already knew there would be no pulling the sword out of my side. Heat consumed me, and flames of magic traveled along my skin and along the hilt in scorching fashion. I was being burned alive by the one thing I had thought would be exactly what I needed to win.
I warned that you wouldn’t like what would happen if you suppressed me. This time, you’re going to listen to me.
The inner voice was back, but it was too late.
Yeah, good luck with that. If you didn’t catch on yet, I’m kind of dying over here, asshole, I replied as a heaviness settled over my body and my breathing slowed considerably.
You might want to die, but I won’t let it happen, the voice demanded as a rush of frigid air caressed my senses and shocked my nerves.
My eyes opened of their own accord to find Finn hovering above me. Tears filled his eyes, along with a rage even I couldn’t rival. His sister was dead, and it was my fault. Even if I lived, he would hate me.
“Is she okay or dying?” Finn demanded as warm hands felt around my chest.
Neva came into view next. “I don’t know.” Her voice was tense and filled with grief.
“They both can’t die. Fix this, damn it,” he growled as a roar echoed through the room.
I coughed up blood that splattered over my face as I tried to sit up. Finn’s hands were on me in an instant, lifting my shoulders just a couple of inches off the ground.
Neva reached for the sword, but I yelled at her. “Don’t touch it.”
“How are you alive?” she asked, keeping her fingers just mere inches from the hilt.
“Probably because of the dark magic. Just give me a minute,” I replied.
Alright, Darkness. What the hell is happening? Why am I not dead? I asked inside my head.
It’s not our time yet. Take the sword out, but keep it close, and you will heal.
How? I asked even as I began doing just as it said.
You’ll figure it out soon enough, was all I got.
I sighed, annoyed, but glad to be alive. As okay as I thought I’d be with only taking Gabriel out and then dying, I wouldn’t have been. I needed to see the day King Zephyr took his last breath.
Carefully, I reached my arm up until my shoulder protested and grabbed the hilt with feeble strength. I pulled it out as far as my arm would reach before having to readjust and pinch the blade to free the remaining few inches still lodged into my ribs.
There was no pain associated with the movements, only peace. When I was done, I turned the weapon around and wrapped my palms around the black handle.
Power flared within me, and my inner voice sighed in contentment. We are whole.
I didn’t know what it meant, and I didn’t have time to question anything else before stomping feet headed our way.
“You should be dead instead of her,” Maddox snarled, his shoulders heaving and bloodied hands shaking.
Neva must have done something to recharge him, because Maddox still had a gaping wound in his chest, but somehow had no problem controlling his motions.
Finn stood as I did, holding his hands out. “Lucinda didn’t do this. Gabriel did, and he’s dead. Next, we’re going to kill Zephyr. They will all pay, but you need to put blame where it belongs, brother.”
Maddox shoved him. “I’m not your fucking brother. You’ve been on her side this whole time. You haven’t given a shit about Ivy since you brought that whore into your home.”
The metal of the sword warmed in my palm, but Maddox was not my enemy. I wouldn’t hurt him as long as Finn could keep him under control.
My inner voice didn’t agree, but as my strength increased, so did my ability to ignore it.
Finn grabbed on to Maddox and they continued to argue as Neva stepped into my view. “Your darkness is back?”
“It is.”
Her lips thinned as she nodded but didn’t speak her opinion. She glanced at Finn and Maddox. “I’m going to calm him down before he kills himself. I can’t heal, but I did seal the injury so that he didn’t bleed out. Only, it won’t last if he insists on fighting more.”
I nodded to Neva and set my sights on Ivy. Maddox must have moved her, because her head was facing up and body straightened out.
My chest burned with rage as I took the steps needed to get to her. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I wanted to say goodbye in my own way. I wasn’t close to Ivy. Hell, I had even been okay with her death, but that was when I thought it was necessary.
Nothing about how she died today was necessary.
I tucked the sword into my lap as I kneeled next to her. “I’m sorry, Ivy. You deserved better than this.”
My hands grabbed hers where they rested on her stomach. She was still warm, still seemed so innocent. The trait that had once disgusted me now filled me with sorrow.
Sorrow for the life lost and for the pain those who loved her most would have to find a way to deal with.
My hands glowed around hers, magic forming around us in a midnight-blue hue and coming from the sword. Sparks bounced around my hold on Ivy as I glanced at the oth
ers. Nobody was paying us any attention, and I had no idea what was happening.
Ivy’s body began to tremble, then convulse as a golden light blocked out the darker magic and covered her prone form. She sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes. They were no longer vacant, and I was speechless from shock.
How the hell had I done that?
“Your magic brought me back. I felt it everywhere,” she croaked.
“I don’t understand,” I replied and tried to pull away, but she held on tighter.
“Lucinda, you did exactly what he wanted. You let the darkness back in.”
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