48
Kora
Huntress, if you can hear me, you need to break free. Follow my voice.”
This wasn’t like the normal void. There was no web of memories, no white lifeline, not even a ripple of Thanos’ presence of the in-between.
All-consuming darkness. Cold. Sticky. Suffocating.
Kora screamed again, but no sound escaped her vocal cords. She scrambled, feeling for something tangible, a sign she still existed, that she was still real.
That Kordelia hadn’t consumed her.
Panic surged, the darkness closing in, smothering her chest, wrapping around her until the air vanished. Kora sobbed as her lungs burned, desperately seeking oxygen. Her limbs seized as her blood pounded in her head for every second that passed, depriving her of life.
Thanos! Thanos, help me!
Even her mental screams were futile. This wasn’t somewhere he could access.
A drop splashed on her face.
Kora glanced up, blinking as the space above her writhed.
Living tar spooling and drooping down. She flinched as a tendril latched onto her leg like a leech, biting into her skin.
Slimy and thick, its long body attached to the pool of tar above, its end was a circular mouth with endless rows of tiny, black teeth.
It screeched, a horrid sound that caused Kora to gag.
Another one darted for her, and she flailed into the nether until dozens of slippery leeches latched onto her, each one causing blinding frozen agony. Her teeth chattered as a sinister laugh skittered across her ears, echoing into the empty space.
She was beneath Barron’s magic.
She was going to die.
There was no escape this time. A final leech descended from the swirling whirlpool of disease, slowly winding until it curled up her chest and hovered in front of her face.
Kora’s gut hollowed, her chest fiercely burning with deprivation as the tendril opened up, exposing rows of glistening dark teeth, reminding her of a kraken’s jaws.
It hissed, screaming at Kora, the sound shrill and piercing in the absence of this void.
Kora clamped her mouth shut, her lips trembling as tears and snot streamed.
The leeches sucked, and her eyes flared as ribbons of blue light floated up their lengths, illuminating their sickly bodies before fading into the bubbling tar pit above.
You never deserved this power, that voice rumbled, sneering and raking. Kordelia’s voice. I will take back what’s mine, and fulfil our destiny for Calypso.
Kora roiled, unable to speak back, unable to fight for her life. The main leech shrieked again and slithered closer, its teeth nicking her chin.
You were never meant to exist. You are the disease, not me.
Kora’s limbs weakened as more of her essence was sucked into the leeches, disappearing to gods-knew-where. Kordelia had control. She had won.
Your life has been a lie. Why continue anymore? Just give in. Let me take over.
Kordelia’s voice purred, taking on a sickly edge as she attempted to coax Kora into submission.
The final leech reached her mouth, and Kora wrenched her head away as it pried at her lips, looking for a way in.
Her lungs were on the verge of combusting, and she resisted the urge to gasp for air she knew she wouldn’t receive.
It was tricking her, trying to find a way in to steal the last of her essence.
“I hear you, Huntress. I see you.”
Kora internally sobbed as Raiden’s voice pierced the darkness. The leeches hissed, writhing manically as a light burned behind the tar pit.
“Hold on. Follow my voice.”
The leeches clung to Kora, draining her power rapidly as the white light burned brighter. Kora flexed her hands but her power was gone. The final dregs of her magic disappeared as the main one suckered to her temple instead, her scar flaring with agony so hot she would welcome death once again.
A pop followed as they unlatched from her body, ascending back to the pit they trailed from. As the final one detached from her temple, Kora grabbed onto it, grimacing against its shriek and slimy exterior. It slipped through her fingers, coating them in a black sludge.
“Fight back!” Raiden commanded.
How can you fight with no power? Kordelia cackled, and Kora slipped with her hesitation, nearly losing her hold on the final leech as it scurried back to its cesspit.
Kora slammed against the barrier of Barron’s magic, crying out as the tar stuck to her body, wrapping around her limbs. She dug deep, recalling her lessons with Raiden, anchoring herself to her core and essence.
They may have stolen one power, but she still possessed another.
It was untapped, lingering in the darkest depths of her soul, waiting to be called upon.
Kora welcomed it like a burning star, a twinkle in the dark, and bright white light shone from her.
The dark magic hissed, screaming as she melted it away, burning a hole through to the sanctuary she shared with Raiden.
To her guiding wind.
To her lifeline.
To her friend.
Rain battering glass and metal was the first thing Kora heard as strong arms steadied her.
She rapidly blinked, her hands rushing to her mouth, gagging as the phantom sensation of the leeches washed over her.
She stumbled away from Raiden, retching as her body threatened to spew anything and everything.
“Bathroom, quick,” Raiden ordered, guiding Kora through his chamber. She located the toilet bowl instantly as black putrid liquid splattered from her mouth. Tears leaked from her eyes as she heaved, the bowl filling as quick as Raiden flushed it.
Taps turned, the sharp sound causing Kora to jerk.
Raiden stood by his bath, filling it with steaming water, whilst his magic rubbed her back, holding her hair from her face.
Smaller than her one back home, the bath stretched wall-to-wall, and was raised up from the floor, encased in white stone.
Kora couldn’t contain her sobs as she finally stopped heaving, her brown dress soaked with vomit.
Sweat dripped from every pore, and she wiped a shaky hand across her brow.
“Get in the water. I’ll be back in five.” Raiden’s grunts weren’t comforting, and his dazzling eyes hadn’t looked at her once. He fled the chamber, disappearing in seconds.
What the fuck just happened?
Kora grimaced, her limbs now aching as she peeled the dress from her body, tossing its drenched remains by the sink.
She gingerly sunk down into the steaming bath, big enough for three of Raiden.
As she flexed her toes, she gasped at the bites covering her arms, legs, and torso.
Circular in shape, with dozens of rows of tiny teeth.
The leeches had been real. What had happened in her mind, beyond the void, had been real. Kora raised a hand, calling on her dependable water beast, aiming to create a pristine shape just like Raiden had taught her.
Nothing.
She couldn’t even heal the bites.
Fear, and a sadness so consuming, crumpled her body, and Kora sank beneath the surface. The hot water was a welcome relief after freezing cold darkness. A shadow appeared, blocking the light, and she shot up, gasping, worrying Kordelia had come for her again.
“It’s just me.” Raiden’s voice was gentle as he pulled up a stool and sat beside the stone tub. Kora instinctively wrapped her arms around her chest, her cheeks blushing. Despite the sweet, scented bubbles covering her, she didn’t want Raiden to see her naked . . . not like this.
Raiden’s stare softened, and he placed something on the wide side, next to a small cluster of candles.
A chocolate tart.
“You need to eat. Your essence has been drained, you need sugar.” She frowned—how did he know? “I . . . saw, or felt, what happened. In here.” Raiden tapped his head.
Kora thanked him before nibbling at the pastry. Her stomach roiled after heaving everything up, but she continued, determined to grant some life back into her body.
“My magic is gone again,” she croaked.
Raiden’s eyes shuttered. “Kordelia’s hold on you was strong. I managed to break through a little, but whatever you did has put her back in her box for now.”
“She stole my element.” Kora twirled her hand, unable to manipulate the water she rested in. “So I used the divine power. Light against the darkness.”
The emptiness was so raw, so encompassing, that Kora ran a wet hand down her face in hopes it would hide the tears that flowed. She’d been so close. She’d almost felt . . . whole. But once again, she was back to square one. And with such little time left, she would fail Erick.
Raiden sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve never experienced it on that scale, but . . . if I couldn’t connect to my element, it would feel like a huge part of me had died.”
“Yes,” Kora met his gaze. “It does.”
“You’ll get it back. It’s in there, it can never leave you. It’s impossible to steal another’s power. It’s intrinsically tied to who you are.”
“Or it was never mine to begin with.” Kora wallowed in the bath as she finished the tart. Kordelia stole it effortlessly, along with wielding a darkness like Barron’s.
Raiden tensed. His stare darkening. “It was always yours. She’s an apparition of the past. When you’re ready to face her again, I’ll be there with you. For now, your divine power has subdued her.”
Kora took in his gaze. Raiden’s resolve was as steely as his scent. She filled her lungs with it, using the fresh air scent to soothe her lingering panic from the sensation of her lungs crushing in the darkness. It was quickly followed by the sweetness of jasmine . . . and orange blossom.
“Did you use my soaps?” Kora twirled her fingers through the warm, bubbly water.
“Not all of us have posh taste,” Raiden winked. “Didn’t want my basic soaps offending you.”
“Says the son of a king.” Kora’s lips twitched, and she flicked her fingers at him, water spraying over Raiden. He chuckled as he wiped the water from his silver strands, his eyes once again dazzling Kora, and her toes curled beneath the bubbles.
“Take your time in here.” Raiden’s smile faded as he eyed the leech marks. “Meet me in my room when you’re ready. I’ll get something for the bites.”
Kora nodded meekly. Whilst she couldn’t resist watching every fluid movement Raiden made, a realisation dawned on her as he exited his pristine, white bathing chamber.
He made her feel safe. More so than anyone. Maybe . . . more than Aryn.
She was safe with a Galenite.