Chapter 30
Rynlee’s POV
We stood packed into the courtyard; the snow falling harder now, muffling the sounds of the battle just beyond the ward line. First years clustered near the center, their wide eyes darting from one another to the sky above. Second-years flanked them, a bit steadier, but not by much.
I was pacing, my boots crunching against the ice-slicked stones.
My chest was tight with frustration. We were wasting time.
We needed to be out there, not hiding like children behind the walls of our academy.
Finally, I stopped and turned, planting my feet and lifting my chin. My power rose like heat in my chest.
“Hey, listen up!” I projected my voice, letting magic carry it across the courtyard. Every head turned. “This is our school, too,” I said, stepping forward. “And it’s under attack.” Some of the second years straightened. A few first-years exchanged nervous glances.
“We’re not strong enough,” a girl near the front blurted out, her voice shaking. I raised my hand and conjured a ball of fire, holding it steady in my palm. The flames danced in the snow like a promise.
“We are strong enough,” I said firmly. “We’re the Fourfold Rite, chosen by Arcanna. We were gifted powers to help defend this world, to be what our ancestors fought for. That means something.”
I stared at each of them, with fear in their eyes, yes, but also the spark underneath it.
The one I’d felt, too. Fear was natural.
Courage was what came next. “This war belongs to all of us. And if the third years are out there fighting for our future, then we damn well better be fighting beside them.” I raised my fist, fire swirling up my arm, casting a golden glow against the frostbitten sky.
A few people cheered. Then more. Luna let out a wild whoop, Ryan lifted his sword, and the courtyard buzzed to life with renewed purpose.
“We will survive this,” I shouted, “together!”
Sparks flew from my daggers as I unsheathed them, flames curling and surrounding the blades.
This time, the metal didn’t melt. My fire was finally balanced, controlled.
With Alaric at my side, Luna and Ryan flanking me, Gia and Jackson right behind, and dozens of first and second years forming ranks around us, I took a deep breath. And ran.
We charged out of the courtyard, snow crunching beneath our boots, weapons raised and magic at the ready.
Across the field, demons and Blood Assassins slipped past the front line.
Not for long. I gripped my daggers tighter, heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. “For Arcanna!” someone screamed.
And then we collided. Swords clashed with shadows, steel biting into the night.
Screams rang out, raw, terrified, dying, but I forced myself to stay focused.
I tore through enemies with my fire-drenched blades, slicing clean through an assassin who lunged for Ryan’s exposed side.
His frame crumpled in a plume of smoke which for a moment I found odd but didn’t have time to think about it.
A low growl ripped through the air, and I turned just in time to see a demon charging me, massive, red-skinned, its curled black horns glinting like obsidian.
It gripped a brutal, spiked mace in one clawed hand.
The lower half of its body stamped the ground like a charging bull, hooves pounding with sickening power.
I braced myself as it roared and swung. I dodged, heart hammering in my chest. Its second strike came faster, but I conjured a light shield midair as the blow connected, flaring the ward like a sunburst before it shattered.
The force sent me stumbling back, ears ringing.
It swung again, relentlessly. This time, I met it head-on.
My fire-forged daggers crossed, catching the mace.
Sparks flew, heat colliding with shadow.
With a sharp cry, I pivoted and drove my boot into its gut, sending it reeling.
I surged forward. The demon roared and charged, but I spun to the side, slicing deep into the muscle of its arm and leg.
Black blood sprayed into the snow. It whirled to swing again, too slow.
I ducked under the blow and jammed my dagger straight into its chest, twisting hard.
Its red eyes flared wide before it collapsed with a snarl cut abruptly.
I yanked my blades free, breath ragged and wondering how the hell I had just survived that. Around me, the battle had erupted into chaos, magic whizzing through the air, steel-on-steel, screams blending into one deafening chorus of war. When I saw her.
Ivy.
Her short, dark purple hair whipped in the wind as she traded blows with Luna.
My friend was fast, her twin blades a blur, but I could see the strain in her shoulders, the slight hitch in her breath.
Ivy’s strikes were relentless, fueled by something darker than adrenaline.
Rage burned through me. “No,” I growled, already moving.
My boots pounded the frozen ground, the cold air biting my cheeks as I shoved past the chaos.
A shadow knight lunged for me; I slashed through its chest without breaking stride.
Another demon tried to intercept, its claws reaching for my throat; I ducked low, driving my shoulder into its side and sending it sprawling over a jagged slab of stone.
I was almost there. Ivy grinned, raising her blade high over Luna, who was down on one knee, gasping.
Not today. A protective ward flared around Luna right as Ivy’s strike landed, lightning sparking against my shield in a crackling flash.
I barreled forward and tackled Ivy hard, the two of us hitting the snow with a bone-jarring thud.
She was stronger than she looked, and in a heartbeat, she had me pinned beneath her.
The dagger came down toward my face, but I twisted at the last second, the blade burying into the frozen ground beside my cheek.
Grunting, I drove my fist into her ribs, then swung upward, punching her across the face.
She hissed and rolled off me. I scrambled to my feet just as Luna appeared at my side, blades up and eyes blazing.
“Oh, so the little sun and her friend think they can take me on?” Ivy sneered, lightning crackling in her palms.
I glanced at Luna. “Yeah,” I said, gripping my daggers tighter. “I think it’s time we taught your crazy ass a lesson.” We split to the sides, me charging head-on, flames trailing from my daggers, while Luna flanked right, moving with predator-like precision.
Ivy blasted lightning toward me; it burned through my leather, searing my shoulder, but I bit back the scream and kept going.
I slashed for her ribs, but another surge of electricity exploded from her hands, knocking both Luna and me back into the snow.
Ivy stood glowing, unnatural dark energy radiating off her.
My stomach twisted. She was being fed power.
Enhanced. She has a corrupted rune. I pushed to my feet, fire igniting in my blades again.
Dodging another strike, I cut across her thigh.
She shrieked, dropping to one knee. I spun to counter when lightning burst from her fingers, throwing me back a second time.
“Gods, I’m getting real tired of that,” I muttered, getting up again.
This time I hurled a dagger straight at her, and that’s when I saw it.
A rune, pulsing with shadow, hung around her neck on a thin metallic chain.
Beside me, Luna’s hands moved in a swift, practiced motion, summoning a massive dire wolf of shimmering silver-white light.
Its black-tipped fur bristled, teeth bared in a snarl as it began to circle Ivy.
“Shame on you, Ivy,” I taunted, fire dancing in my palm. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to play with the dark?”
“Shut up!” she snapped, darting between us in a burst of lightning. Luna shifted closer to me, her wolf pacing in sync with our movements.
“You see it, too, right?” she murmured.
“The rune,” I confirmed, eyes locked on Ivy. “We cut that chain; she loses the juice.”
“Then let’s end this,” Luna said, her tone fierce.
We moved together, her wolf lunging left to distract Ivy while I slipped in from the right. “How well do you think this ends for you?” I called out. “You think Erebus is going to keep you around once he’s done?”
“I’m his partner!” she snarled.
I laughed. “Partner? No. You were a way in. A pawn. And pawns get sacrificed.” Her eyes flickered with uncertainty; the lightning in her palms faltered.
“Shut up!” she screamed, throwing another bolt.
I dodged left and closed the gap, hurling fire into her face just enough to blind her for a heartbeat, then slashed clean through the chain.
The rune hit the snow with a dull thud. Luna’s dire wolf lunged, snapping the necklace in its jaws.
Ivy staggered back, clutching her throat.
“Looking for this?” I let the rune dangle from my fingers. Luna’s wolf flanked me, low and ready to strike.
“Give it back!”
“If you want it, come and take it.” She charged, but without the rune, she was slower, her strikes erratic.
I cut across her leg; Luna’s wolf slammed into her from the side, its teeth sinking into her arm.
Ivy screamed, dropping to one knee, and I didn’t hesitate.
With a cry, I drove my dagger into her stomach. Her breath caught in a gasp of shock.
“That was for the school,” I said, twisting the blade.
She choked on a gasp. “And that,” I leaned in, my voice low and cold, “was for Alice and Scott.” I yanked the dagger free.
She crumpled into the snow, crimson streaking the white.
Breathing hard, I turned. Luna stood a few feet away, her wolf at her side, its muzzle darkened with blood.
She met my gaze and gave a sharp nod. Relief surged through me.
We were both still standing. But the battle was far from over.