26. Chapter 26
Ssshe has finally allowed herself to be claaaimed by the power.
No! She would never allow it to consume her. Unless she’d lost control.
Don’t be sssuch a fool. She gave into iiit willingly. Even with your pea brain, you can’t deny thaaat. Look at her, you witless dog. She’s no longer resisssting.
Why wasn’t the Ancient One recoiling at her power like it always did?
The longer she stood there and stared, the more her Wielding drifted across the square.
It felt different and otherworldly—and inviting.
It wasn’t her usual sharp-edged sense of magic, but rather warm and luring like a lover’s bed.
The Ancient One had to feel the immense force radiating off of her.
But would she truly give in? After everything she’d fought so hard against?
I felt my hand tighten around my sword, turning my knuckles white as the Ancient One shook itself out of the allure. Let’s add her skull to our count before she fully biiinds usss. Her head will do nicely on a spike.
No! I roared back to the voice.
I tried hard to regain control, thrashing wildly to shake loose of the evil that shoved against me. Anything to stop its advance toward her.
My efforts were wasted—the Ancient One crossed the square and stepped into her presence.
It was undeniable the amount of power that surged off her like a violent windstorm.
Her eyes glowed like two stray stars in the night sky.
Her hair, black as ink whipped around her delicate face and framed her features.
It should have scared me, how beautiful she was in this moment, and so at peace.
But this wasn’t the woman I’d fallen for. I held my breath in anticipation of what the Ancient One was about to do, and waited to see if my heart would crumble to dust.
It smirked cruelly. “I didn’t think you had it in you to unleash me again. Where are your chains, girl?” I beat against the void, screaming for Ophelia to find her control again so she could find control over the Ancient One.
I screamed for her again, only to be met by someone I didn’t recognize. “Now where would the fun be in that?” Her voice was a prayer as it purred.
I smell her heady ssscent. The voice laughed all around me. I’ll claim her as miiine.
“Oh, I can think of many, many fun things.” The Ancient One’s voice was wicked and savage. I hated how it also sounded like my own—just enough to sound convincing as it used me as its shell. Instead of faltering, Ophelia smiled, her lips ready for the taking.
I felt Ancient One practically blink, growing transfixed by her gaze. She’sss beautiful, isn’t she?
I heard the taunting in its voice, the sneer. Don’t you dare touch her.
What would be worse for you to wiiitness? Her life crumbling under your haaand, like your precious loved ones? Or if I made her scream my naaame as you watched?
Against my will, I watched my hands grab on to her soft body and pull it in close, our lips clashing.
She pulled us by the tunic to deepen her hold.
I felt the Ancient One stir in a way I had never felt before as it relented itself to her in this moment—but after years of resisting control, why now?
My tongue danced with hers, eliciting a deep groan I’d only ever heard once before as our limbs were entangled.
The thought of it ensnared me and drowned me in memories of being buried inside her.
My hands tightened their hold, ready to claim more of her right here in the middle of the square for all to see.
Get your hands off of her! I roared and used every ounce of my being to pull away from her. She stumbled back a step; her eyes flared to life and her cheeks rushed to a tinge of pink. Didn’t she realize this was not me, but the monster controlling my body?
I don’t think she caresss, boy. But she’s not like the rest of them, iiis she? She’s exhilarating when she allowsss herself to be free.
Stay away from her, I seethed through my teeth to the void of my mind.
She’sss not as agonizing as the others when she’s in thisss state, or we would already be the animal in the cage. Look at her. Ssshe’s drunk on this power. She’s like us after all. I felt the voice grin as it said, I think I shall liiike to take thiss one.
If she succumbed to her illicitus fully, she and the Ancient One would be no different. That pair out in the world was unthinkable.
You can’t have her! I roared, but was cut short as I heard the voice speak through my mouth.
My head tilted as the Ancient One assessed her like a predator. “I underestimated you.” It leaned closer, her magic coiling tighter around us.
“They all do,” her voice whispered. Her magic stirred again, enticing us to move closer.
It was intoxicating to be in the presence of something so great.
I felt the Ancient One watch in anticipation as she licked her swollen lips.
She looked up with such curiosity that it was almost innocent. She was anything but.
Do you feeel that? She’s beautiful when she succumbsss. Her lussst for power. She’s like Thuvina herself. We could achieve great thingsss by her siiide.
The smile on her face turned coy, almost bashful, as she whispered, “Kiss me again.” Her Wielding coiled around us and fueled our raging desire.
We wanted to be consumed by every part of her.
The feeling grew so intense I felt my body momentarily locked into place as something was bound around my entire being.
“As you command it of me.” The shared kiss turned ferocious, hands roaming to places only lovers allowed. Distantly I felt that we needed more. Something like silk wrapped around my body and pulled me closer, her leg hooking tight around me, angling herself onto my arousal.
We were lost in the moment, but something caught her off guard and caused her to turn away. The smell of iron and the glow of red on her arm caught the Ancient One’s attention. She was hurt and it whetted its fury. “Who hurt you?”
Ophelia’s glowing eyes looked back. “Make them all pay.”
Without any hesitation, my body moved toward the square and the people in it.
My sword clashed with anyone who stood in my way.
She demanded retribution and I watched it be claimed for her.
Fool after fool met the sword, their blood spilling into the streets.
Screams filled the air and fueled our hunger to serve her in any way she wished.
My hands were just about to strike a young fool, ready to end his life, when the same silky sensation as before wrapped around my wrist and pulled my arm, missing the lad by inches. Our neck snapped to the source to find our Ophelia now laced with panic, and the glow of her eyes gone.
Within the deeper void, I sensed she’d regained her control and could rightly command this entity to stop its attempt at murder.
The silken shadows of her magic pulled tighter and poured into us, commanding us to still.
Even from a distance I could feel her magic shifting and threatening to bind us to her will only, stripping away the Ancient One’s pathetic sense of freedom.
No! She wiiill not have usss! The Ancient One sensed the intent shift behind her Wielding that made her a master over its subordinate, not an equal. I wanted to smile at her for coming back to her center.
My eyes watched her race across the streets, stumbling over her feet. My body shook uncontrollably as the Ancient One’s rage took over. In moments she stood before us; exhaustion was evident on her face.
“You cannot have him,” my voice spewed, using me as a poor means of leverage.
Fear, regret, remorse flashed across her eyes as she brought her delicate fingers to our face. We could feel her warmth in her touch. “L-leave him,” she stuttered as she poured her illicitus into us.
We were now the target of her magic. We felt the pain of her razor-sharp Wielding coiling tighter around us in a vice grip, forcing us into chains. The more her power poured, the more the Ancient One screeched against her hold.
My body shook as rivulets of sweat coated my skin. I felt its talons relinquish its hold on my mind, my eyes, my hands, pulling tissue with it and leaving deep scars in its wake.
My body felt pulled in every direction and I would surely drown in this agony.
The air was stolen out of my lungs as the feeling of hot coals blistered my mouth and my teeth were yanked from their roots.
Bones felt as if they were each snapping, one by one.
I wanted to scream, to rip out my own throat—anything to get the pain to stop.
The pain was an eternity. Please, make it stop.
I found myself on my knees, clutching the stones with such force my nails ripped and blood sprinkled the ground. Fresh air shook my lungs as I took a deep breath on my own.
On my own. The voice was gone—for now.
My head snapped up, taking in what I already knew of being in the town’s center, its citizens backing away from me in fear.
I looked around to see the fires were now out, and all that remained were billowing clouds of smoke escaping the crumbling structures.
My jumbled memory of what had happened slowly cleared as my mind’s fog dissipated.
My vision cleared just enough to spot Aurora and Sury rush over to a woman lying just feet away.
“Wake up!” Aurora screeched.
Fyom rushed to where they knelt on the road.
He mumbled something to Aurora before scooping the woman in his arms. Slowly I rose to my feet.
My head swirled, my vision blurring before coming to focus at my feet.
My boots were covered in dark matter. I raised my hands to find them covered in more blood and visceral filth.
“Make one fucking move and I’ll make your miserable life more painful.” My head lifted just enough to catch the glint of something in front of me. I blinked as my vision focused on the arrowhead that was aimed for my heart.