Chapter 15 #2
With his hands, Fynn makes a circle, and the air around him begins to ripple, blurring the sharp contour of vision. He pushes his magic out, his target Emrys, who stands in a defensive position, his shadows in front of him acting as a shield.
Caria stands next to me, a hand on my shoulder, as she too lets her powers unwind, joining Emrys’s. Reiner steps beside Emrys, the men exchange a glance, and then the witch lets out his mist, obscuring the thick layer of shadow.
“If I have to die, I’ll do it alongside you, Umbra,” Reiner says, clenching his fists.
“The pleasure is mine, but I refuse to die by the hands of a brat like him,” Emrys responds, determined.
With his opening blast, my spiteful brother’s magic rips through the makeshift shield of smoke and mist, splintering it like brittle bone, as if it had never been.
Reiner is unable to conjure up enough fog to support Emrys’s shadows as they knit themselves back together.
Fynn unleashes another surge of Aurum. This time, it cleaves the shield apart, tearing through it like fragile flesh.
Both men soar through the air and land on their backs, the impact stealing the breath from their lungs, despite their powers breaking the fall.
Emrys and Reiner rise again, charging at Fynn while their furious roars cause the ground to tremble.
Fynn turns to face them, raises his hand, and conjures a wall of actual fire.
The flames are an unnatural purple, mixed with pink hues.
They attempt to penetrate and fight through it, but the magical fire waits eagerly for them to do so.
As soon as Reiner’s ghostly fog touches the flames, it is drawn toward him, with a violet ember invading his skin and starting to dissolve his flesh.
Reiner’s eyes widen in horror and fear as the pain consumes him.
Right before Emrys’s dark tendrils clash into the fire, he withdraws them, avoiding the same fate as the witch.
Measuredly, Fynn saunters my way, one eye on the seemingly impenetrable wall with flames angrily lashing out, and the other on me.
I clench my fists as the wicked smirk on his face makes my stomach churn.
Small wisps of shadowy smoke curl around me—a pathetic display compared to Emrys’s power, but better than being defenseless.
Fynn arches an eyebrow as he no longer watches the wildfire he created but instead stares mesmerized at the shadows.
A low chuckle escapes his throat, and panic rises inside me.
“Is this what happens when you sell your body to a darkling? He marks his whore?” Fynn scoffs.
I clench my teeth but stay silent. What did Emrys say when he killed Elijah?
The more you speak, the more you give your enemy a chance to wiggle out of their predicament.
Essentially, you’re helping them escape if luck isn’t on your side.
My eyes flick toward where Emrys should be.
I need to buy him some time. I straighten my shoulders and give Fynn a piercing glare.
“Why do you even care? Haven’t you found your own human whore?” I bite back.
“You always carried that air around you like you’re better than anyone else, than me.
Your fucking twin, you bitch. We are the same!
Yet, you’d stare at me, challenge me, as if you could outrun me.
You are not stronger than me, Harlot, nor will you ever win a fight with me.
You know why? Because I am the better sibling, and you’ll finally understand that when you meet your end at my hands.
And that’s the last thing I need to do, win. ”
I tilt my chin and face him.
“I don’t need to be stronger than you. I just have to be smarter, and intelligence isn’t your strong suit. Never has been.”
Fynn snorts, saying, "This… your arrogance. When will you realize you are losing? In fact, you already lost!”
He then sighs and adds, "I can’t wait to stare into your demonic eyes, see the filth you’ve become, and watch the life seep from you.”
I cautiously take a step back.
“You must have forgotten I’m not a darkling, so the magic doesn’t work on me.”
“But what if it does, my dear sister? You’ve sold your soul to the devil after all. I think it actually does work. Why don’t you come here, and we will find out.”
His malicious grin spreads across his face, and I do my best to keep my eyes fixed on him instead of the roaring wall nearby.
Heat radiates from the fire, and I try not to react to the sensation, glaring at my twin brother.
I try to will the dormant power inside of me to surface, the white magic that supposedly is part of me now, but nothing happens.
Fynn charges at me and jumps on top of me, his clawing fingers aiming to grab me.
I hiss as his digits press firmly into my skin, and my shadows attempt to help, their forms flinching when they touch Fynn.
My brother lets out a roaring laugh, frothing at the mouth, his eyes pitch black as if he’s no longer human.
I feel a knot in my stomach as I hear the low sound of sizzling.
I break the staring contest between Fynn and me and turn my head toward the sound.
It takes a few seconds for me to realize that his hands are sinking into my skin, burning it away.
The bonding with Emrys has turned me into a supernatural being after all.
I need to find a way out of his hold before he kills me, burning me to death.
A whisper of cold runs its nails down my spine as I begin to thrash against the pain that slowly begins to consume me, first barely there, but suddenly, it all comes at once, and I let out a piercing shriek.
It's enough for Emrys to find the strength to push through the cage of fire Fynn created. With smoke billowing from his form, he stands there, defeat and rage etched on his face—a dangerous mixture in an Umbra. Large shrouds of black smoke pulse around him, and I see the flash of fear in Fynn’s eyes as Emrys slowly walks toward us, a demon in the flesh, risen from the nine layers of Hell.
I try to make use of the momentum and give my brother a shove, but all I do is awaken his fury.
“You bitch, you are supposed to die!” he barks, with spittle flying everywhere.
He presses his fingers deeper into my flesh, tearing through muscles, breaking my bones, and I cry out in agony.
The moment his hands are pulled out, it hurts even more, as shadows rip me from my brother’s embrace and I lose consciousness, no longer able to withstand the burning torment. A bone-deep ache takes my mind hostage.
“I’m so sorry, my Lucem Mei,” Emrys whispers against my cheek.
“YOU!” he growls.
Emrys stands up, leaving me tucked in a cocoon of swirling shadows, his focus now solely on Fynn.
“Me?” Fynn says with a chuckle, as he pats his pants nonchalantly.
Without saying a word, Emrys summons a large black scythe in his hand, the handle and blade surrounded by swirling, furious shadows.
The onyx blade glints in the bright sun, and Emrys moves smoothly toward Fynn as he aims the massive weapon at his limbs.
Faas appears at Emrys’s side, but not to attack him; instead, he barters pride for survival as he begins to back away.
Unfortunately, the dhampir underestimates my monster’s raging inferno, the wrath that’s rising to take revenge.
His rage tears through him like a storm at sea, and without even glancing at Faas, an ocean of black engulfs the dhampir, flinging him away once more.
Emrys leaps toward Fynn, scythe in hand, the blade coming for his neck, when a small figure emerges beside my brother.
Fynn barely dodges the attack, and he snarls at Jodelle for suddenly popping up. Emrys battles the magic emanating from Fynn as he prepares himself to launch once more.
“Why are you here?!”
Fynn drags Jodelle away from Emrys, unsure whether she will survive the violent assault that is being unleashed.
“It’s the talk of the town, everyone knows what’s going on, holding their breath in anticipation. They are cheering for that thing over there, and not you, or the dhampir. No, him!”
“Like it matters! I can take him,” my brother sneers.
“Together we know for sure we can bring him down,” she offers. “With both our magic, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Regaining consciousness, I begin to panic.
I can’t lose Emrys. I will not survive the heartbreak, nor do I wish to live any longer without him by my side.
I want to call out to him and tell him to leave this place.
I have no idea what happened to the witches, whether they are still trapped in the inferno of fire, but I need Emrys to be safe.
I know he can hear my pleas, but his instinct to kill my brother, to keep me safe, is all-consuming.
Seeing Jodelle standing next to my brother makes me frantic with despair. Being no longer human means I am useless, unable to take her out and save my beloved.