Chapter 5 #2
Those were the last words Cirdan said as he escorted us away from the academy grounds and deeper into the forest. Snow crunched under our boots and new flakes fell from the sky, coating the ground.
About ten minutes later, we reached a clearing surrounded by torches that flickered in the wind. Outside a spelled circle stood Vegas’s and Gray’s men, along with a handful of Horde soldiers. But within the humming barrier were only the queenly sisters and David.
I squeezed Valerio’s hand and stepped forward, their combined magic brushing against my skin as I passed through.
A flicker of panic rippled through our bond at my distance, but I sent back a calm pulse, a warm reassurance that I was fine.
There was nothing to worry about from Gray or Vegas; their magic welcomed me, and I caught Gray’s eyes almost immediately as she straightened to her full height.
I nodded once in greeting, ignoring David, who knelt trembling between the two queens.
Gray might have been small, but she was impossible to overlook.
Her presence filled the clearing more completely than any army could.
The black veil of her hair whipped across her scarred jaw, the torchlight cutting over the mark like a badge of war.
Her sapphire eyes burned with quiet authority.
She didn’t need a crown to prove who she was—the entire Horde bent around her will.
Across from her stood Vegas, equal in command and entirely opposite in nature.
Her silver hair shimmered with hints of lavender, as if her magic coated her protectively at all times.
Despite the harsh wind and unfortunate circumstances, her expression softened when she saw me.
The smile she gave was warm and alive, utterly at odds with the grim scene and the broken man at her feet.
Side by side, the sisters looked like twin forces of nature. Between them, chained and kneeling in the mud, was David.
I stopped just short of them as the smell hit me first—burnt magic, blood, and decay. His head hung heavy, skin pale and bruised, veins glowing with a sickly green corruption. His eyes flickered open when I approached, just enough for me to see the emptiness behind them.
There was no David left. Only a shell.
Gray’s voice was steady against the harsh wind. “When we started to question him, he turned feral. Something was triggered by our line of questions.”
Just like when we tried to question Commander Richard Flank, Brielle’s father.
“Zagan was watching,” I said quietly. “He knew you were interrogating him and used the connection to strike.” My throat tightened as I looked at David, disgust rising at the sight. “Where did the blood come from?”
“The wizard,” Vegas answered with a soft shrug. “In retrospect, we should’ve let them finish the job, but it seemed important to make sure you had the final say—the right to kill him.”
I actually didn’t think it was my right to have the final say at all.
“He can’t be allowed to live,” I agreed, “but I think there’s someone else who deserves to end him, if you’re both okay with that.”
Gray’s expression turned gentle, and the pressure of the spelled circle loosened as soft footsteps sounded behind me.
“Brielle?” I turned as Cirdan led her forward. I had no idea when she’d joined us, but I was happy she would be here to see this. “Is that something you want?”
“I want him dead,” she said, her voice trembling but sure. “Cirdan, will you?”
The wizard’s eyes flickered with cold triumph. “Absolutely. All of you should back up though.”
I stepped back without question. David groaned as if in pain, his body sinking further against the ground. I would have felt bad for him if it hadn’t been for all the horrible things he’d done or how he’d threatened my family.
A heartbeat later, the air shifted as Cirdan rose a singular hand toward the sky. Lightning tore across the sky, cutting through the night like a blade. Then his hand came down in a meticulous slice.
Power crashed downward, raw and blinding, and struck David dead center. The sound was deafening.
Then nothing.
David’s incinerated body slumped forward, lifeless and decimated. Silence swallowed the courtyard so completely it made my ears ring. I exhaled slowly, the cold turning my breath to mist.
“Rocket?” Vegas called out, and apparently she didn’t need to say anything more. The ground beneath David shuddered and split apart, swallowing his seared flesh and bones whole. The earth sealed itself with a final hiss, leaving only the blackened mark of Cirdan’s power carved into the soil.
Valerio stepped up behind me, the heat of his presence easing the lingering chill that crept under my coat. Around us, everyone exhaled—some in relief, others in silent horror at what had just happened—before attention turned away from David’s fate and back to what waited ahead.
“It’s done,” Gray said, her voice carrying through the quiet like the strike of a bell. “Now to move onto the next problem. Zagan.”
I nodded, straightening. “We sent word to Raziel to see if he knows anything more about where Oberon, and hopefully Zagan, could be hiding.”
Gray’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “And he responded?”
“Not yet,” I admitted. “But we’re working through some options. Oberon contacted me today—well, trapped me in my head is more accurate—while David attacked our home. He tried to convince me to come to him so he could feed off my energy. He wants to escape.”
Gray’s expression darkened. “Then we can’t afford to wait. We’ll launch a search for Zagan as well.”
Vegas nodded, eyes narrowing as power rippled around her. “Things are happening—shifts in the universe I don’t fully understand—but if we can handle this, then we need to immediately before anything else happens.”
My thoughts went to Nova and everything she’d told us about the gods and potential magic drainage on such a large scale. I worried that we hadn’t heard anything from her yet, but Vegas was right—it was our duty to handle this.
The torches hissed as a cold gust swept through the clearing, plunging us into darkness. The wind howled through the trees beyond the wards, making me shiver.
Gray stepped forward, her tone soft as she looked around at everyone gathered—her men, Vegas’s men, the soldiers, Valerio, Cirdan, and Brielle. “Then rest while you can. Tomorrow we’ll start hunting for this bastard.”