Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Dara
As I step into the master bedroom, my body shivers all over. Energy like I’ve never felt fills my centre, pulsing through all my muscles. I glance down at my hands. They are glowing with a red hue. Everything feels light. All the negative energy vanishes. She’s here in this room.
Jolie must notice as she yells to the room,“Stop! Lock the doors. It’s here. Look at Dara.”
Everyone’s watching me closely. I close my eyes, calming my breathing. Opening them back up, I faintly hear somebody whispering in the distance. My legs start moving farther into the room. There’s a large king-sized bed to my left. I pass that, heading straight for a set of double doors ahead of me.
The double doors fly open at the flick of my wrist. Power runs through my veins; I feel untouchable. A commotion breaks out behind me. Someone screams and the sound of knives scraping against one another clashes in my ears, but I keep moving with one mission in mind. The voice picks up.
Dara, come to me. Let me be with my family.
The voice gets louder and louder as I step into what seems to be a walk-in closet. It’s an open room with clothes lining the walls on either side of it, and at the end of the room is a huge display unit, filled to the brim with men’s shoes. I stop in the centre of the space and fall to my knees.
You found me. I’m here beneath you. Come to me, Dara. Hurry!
The voice screams into my mind. Placing my hands down in front of me on the cold floorboards, I feel her. My hands pulse and the tattoo on my back starts burning. Someone touches my arm; my hand snaps out toward them, grabbing them by the throat.
I squeeze hard, cutting off the airway. They won’t step in the way of me claiming my Ruby. She’s mine.
“Dara, stop it’s Jolie,” I hear someone shout.
I shake my head. Who’s Jolie? I don’t move. I keep my grip on the neck.
I’m hit by a force. Falling to the ground, I let go, whipping around and ready to unleash.
Harlan?
It takes me a moment to snap out of my illusion to find Jolie on her hands and knees, struggling to catch her breath. She’s holding her neck that’s a nasty red colour. Oh my god—I did that. I run toward her, but she stops me by putting up her hand.
“I’m so sorry, Jolie. I had no idea who you were,” I plead, falling next to her.
She takes a few deep breaths.“It’s fine. We need to hurry. James is trying to get in here. He’s out there with a heap of slayers,” she whispers, pointing outside the walk-in wardrobe door, her voice cracking.
My head falls. I caused her that pain. I’m a monster.
Harlan takes my hand and pulls me back to the spot I was before. I glance toward the double doors to see they are closed shut.
“Ruby is underneath us, right here,” I say to Jolie, pointing in front of me.
She moves next to me and Harlan steps back. Jolie grabs my hand; she turns toward me.“We need to smash through these floorboards to get to it.”
I nod. We kneel down, placing our hands out in front of us and aiming them toward the ground. My magic is bursting just below the surface, ready to unleash.
I need you.
Ruby speaks to me.
“Now!” Jolie screams.
We push our magic toward the floorboards. The ground shakes below us then we are falling. I hear someone’s sharp scream, and I hit the ground a second later. My body shatters, pain ripping through my knees and legs.
“You won’t be taking Silvia off me,” someone yells from above me.
As I peel open my eyes, all I see is debris. Broken floorboards lay everywhere around me.
“Dara!” someone calls. I look up to find Harlan and Declan both jumping down into the hole I’m in. Jolie and I made a huge pit and blew up the flooring. Panicking, I try to find Jolie, but I can’t see her anywhere.
Quick, time is running out. Come to me.
Ruby screams into my mind. I can’t see her. All I see is debris.
“Show yourself to me,” I cry out to Ruby in frustration.
I feel her. A red light shines out from in front of me. I move toward it, but someone grabs my shoulder, yanking me backward.
“No, Silvia is mine; you won’t be taking it away from me.” His voice sends shivers down my spine.
I turn around, breaking his hold on me and coming face-to-face with James. His cheeks are red, and his brows are drawn together. He looks like he’s about to attack and I’m right in his firing line.
“Silvia is mine. I will rule what I rightfully own,” I growl, standing straighter and rolling my shoulders back.
I feel my warriors coming up behind me. James doesn’t back down. He laughs, then he jumps on me, bringing me down to the ground. His fingers dig into my already bleeding neck. He pushes into the cut, blood seeps down my collarbone and pain radiates through me. Gritting my teeth together I take a few deep breaths trying not to focus on the pain.
Magic bubbles up inside of me. My body lights up, then I let out a loud battle cry. He flies off me and floats above me; he kicks and screams, but I don’t give in. My magic holds him in place.
I throw him above the hole, discarding him. I hear a thud as he hits the ground and the floor above us thunders. A loud battle cry draws my attention upward to find James now standing above us. He grins, and red magic appears in his palm. He raises his hands pushing them toward me but just before it leaves his hand, he’s thrown backward.
I look over to see Jolie smashing him with her magic from beside me. She’s glowing purple, her face turning an angry red, but she doesn’t stop until she lifts James up in the air above us. His face is strained, and he’s struggling to try to break free, but Jolie’s got him in a good magical hold. She screams, bringing him straight down toward us.
Blair grabs my hand, jerking me back just as James falls right in front of me. The snap of his neck is deafening as he falls to the ground. Dust flies up around him, and Jolie cries.
I take a step forward to find his limp body. His neck is twisted and his mouth ajar. I let out a gasp. A weight lifts off my shoulders. Turning around, I find all my warriors behind me except for Jolie. She wobbles over to me. She sways, and I catch her just as she falls into my arms. Her eyelashes flutter.
“Let’s end this for my mother, for your parents, and for Silvia.” Her voice breaks, and her eyelids drop.
Elijah appears by my side and takes her from me. He offers me a nod, telling me he’ll look after her, telling me to go.
I swallow back my tears. It’s time to finish this.
I jump up, running toward the glowing red light up ahead streaming through the debris. As I reach the light, I move a large chunk of floorboard out of the way, and my breath catches. There in front of me lays my Ruby. The ruby-red crystal is wedged into the ground. She glows brightly, calling out my name.
I fall in front of her, taking her with both of my hands. She disappears into my palms; a shiver moves through me, and I feel light. My body rises into the air. I’m floating. I see my parents and Anna. They are crying with joy. Tears dampen my cheeks. The ground rumbles and a loud crack of thunder fills my ears. I land back on the ground on my feet.