Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Magnus
We made it back to the square just in time to see Roux jump into the summoning circle.
No! What had she done?
Light exploded in a spectacular white orb, extending outwards with a sonic boom that knocked me off my feet. My head slammed against the stone bricks of the building behind me, and for a moment, the world turned hazy.
The world around me slipped in and out of focus, but I managed to drag myself to my feet.
There was dust and debris everywhere, and there must have been a hell of a lot of power in that circle for it to cause this kind of destruction.
Barely any of the buildings surrounding the square avoided damage, and most were in piles of rubble.
Roux floated a few feet off the ground, her arms stretched wide as a lone figure of a woman stared up at her.
Someone who looked exactly like Roux.
I rubbed my eyes, convinced that I was seeing double. But no. There was another version of Roux. Standing right in front of me.
I looked around trying to find the others, but it took me a minute to find them. Rafe and Rayne were out cold in a pile of rubble, and I found Atticus by his hair. He was in a heap on the far side of the square, trying to pull himself up. His leg looked like it was twisted at a funny angle.
My head was splitting, and blood dripped into my eye. I wiped it away as I stumbled over to the summoning circle. I couldn’t see Thane or Erebus. Gods, I hoped they were okay.
“You must be the vampire,” the woman said. It was uncanny how much she looked like Roux. Even down to the same shade of fiery red hair.
I gave her a half-hearted wave. “That would be me. And you are?”
“Astra. I’d sit down before you fall down.” Astra tipped her ear to one side, like she was listening to something. “It’s time for the fun bit.”
“Magnus,” Roux said, her voice weak and mouth tight. “I’m sorry.”
“Aww,” Astra cried mockingly. “Isn’t that sweet?”
“Fuck off,” I jibed, but there was no real threat behind it.
I collapsed to my knees, the effort of holding myself up being too much.
Pain sliced across my side as I tried to stand back up, and I realised I had a nasty wound above my hip bone.
It was jagged, and I was surprised I hadn’t been eviscerated.
I needed blood. This was too much damage to heal on my own.
“Now, is that any way to speak to your sister-in-law?” Astra said as her hands started to glow with swirling shades of purple and black.
Fuck, black energy meant dark magic. Gods, this couldn’t be good.
“Sister-in-law?” Roux asked through gritted teeth, like she was in pain. Her mouth was pinched, and her body trembled as she was suspended above the ground.
Astra turned her face back to look up at Roux, and I caught a manic smile crossing her face. “Yes. We’re twins.”
Twins? Roux had a twin?
“Why are you doing this?” Roux sobbed. “Why?”
“Because you left me!” Astra roared. “You left me in the care of that monster, and you never came back. You promised, Nova.”
Nova? Her real name was Nova. Fitting name for her actually. A powerful burst of light and energy. That was definitely my Roux.
My vision turned hazy, and the world started to lose focus. It wasn’t going to be much longer before I passed out.
“Let’s just get this over with, and then I can get what I was promised.” Astra said, and she poured all that swirling magic into the circle. The whole thing glowed, and the ground beneath me rumbled.
There was nothing I could do but watch as Astra performed the spell and Roux screamed in agony. I tried to crawl across the ground, but I’d lost so much blood.
The jars smashed on the ground, and the contents were picked up in the magic that swirled around Roux, turning it from shades of purple into thick black shadow.
It slammed into Roux, right into the centre of her chest. Her fingers spread wide, and her screams intensified.
Her hair turned a shocking shade of white as more magic flowed through her.
I stretched my hand towards her, knowing it was futile but doing it anyway. “Roux.”
Astra laughed loudly, the sound a dark rasp that I felt brush against my soul. “Finally, you will all see the truth.”
But the only thing I could see was darkness.
To be continued…