33. Chapter 33 #3
The air grew heavier the more our Wielding clashed against one another.
The ringing of our contrasting magic echoed throughout our surroundings in high shrills.
With each hit, an irrational anger festered inside of me like a disease that threatened to take over my very being.
The ink that coiled tightly in my head crawled across my mind like a spider and into my extremities.
One moment I was blocking my sister’s magic with my own, then the next, I was fighting the urge to pull on the illicitus.
No. I couldn’t allow it. My fingers shook and my steps stumbled.
Something scalded my skin. I looked down to find burns around my wrist from where Ora’s whip had coiled around my arm. I hissed in pain and the momentary distraction allowed another lick of fire to erupt on my forearm.
“I thought this was just practice, sister.” My teeth clenched so hard they were bound to crack.
“Can’t handle a little competition?” Ora’s glare was covered in ice.
She’s wanting you to lose control. She wants to cage you because she thinks you’re an abomination. Can’t you see it in her eyes? The way she looks at you? You’re the pawn she can’t control, so she’s fighting you to wear you down…
Indignation poured over me like molten rock. Beyond my control, my lips pulled back from my teeth in a snarl. My mind’s eye saw me as a beast, ready to attack its prey.
I’d like to see her try, I spat back to the ink.
“So be it!” I yelled at Ora. My Wielded sword disappeared right before I dove deeper into my power.
The sun around me dimmed. The blue sky lost its luster from the haze that grew in my vision the more I felt my illicitus build.
More plant life in the garden wilted into browns and grays.
The smooth pebbles at my feet were now completely drained of their color.
A high-pitched ringing overpowered my hearing, blocking out the sound of birds and insects.
Something hooked into my spine, leaving me little control of my body, and yanked me back to watch the scene unfold.
My fingers flexed, and when they released, two Wielded shortswords once again took shape from my hands.
Instead of bright hues radiating from them, each one was the shade of night and wrapped in shadows that reminded me of eels from the deep of Aorr’s seagreen waters.
Finally… I could practically feel the ink smile at my obedience.
“Time to play, Deidre,” an otherworldly voice called out from behind my lips.
Someone howled in pain off in the distance but I was too focused on the body before me.
The gray in my sight finally won, leaving me to easily find it.
It was glowing so brightly and beautifully.
The power hummed with energy and rolled out in soft waves, like it was the very sun itself.
It had grown stronger since the last time I locked eyes on it.
I licked my lips, desperate for a taste of the power. I needed it. I wanted to imbue it within my own to make my Wielding greater. It. Was. Mine.
Ora’s eyes widened before they narrowed. “Who’s Deidre?”
The ink hissed against the question.
She mimicked my stance, but instead of daggers, her hands were encased in a bright orb of small ribbons and formed a sword that mimicked my magic.
I sensed my eyes widening at how quickly Ora was able to form her own.
The power that rolled off hers felt different.
Other, yet the same. It pushed against the rising power in my chest as an unworthy opponent. A shrill reverberated inside my mind.
“So, this is what lies beneath, hmm? What you’ve been failing to hide?”
A sneer grew wide and wicked. “Like what you see?” I heard the voice say. “You’re holding back your power. You have Ythos’s blood in your veins, yet you’re like your sister and squander what you have.”
Something shifted around Ora as her Wielding grew blinding bright with a hint of green along the outer edge, rolling like sun rays. “I don’t want to hurt her.” She shook her head, but still kept her hands at the ready. “Ophelia Imily, I know you’re in there.”
The ink cackled, the sound almost a shriek. “Do you want to know what she thinks of you?” Mentally, I pounded my fists against the barrier of my mind, feeling it give. I continued to beat it in fury, breaking the hold of whatever was taking control.
“Frankly, I don’t care what you tell me. If she has something to say to me, she can tell me herself. Until then, I have a score to settle with you.” Ora sprinted in a way that didn’t make sense.
Electricity crackled around us. An eerie wind swarmed, muffling cries and shouts. Shadows twirled faster around the sharpness of my Wielded blade as the green glow from her sword now danced around her. The energy pushed against me to slide me across the gravel.
I saw the whites of Ora’s eyes the moment my body found its balance. Bearing an expression I’d never witnessed before, Ora let out a battle cry as she swung her sword just as mine swung for her. Ready to claim her life.
The moment our magic collided, a painful pressure pulled at my chest—and then there was nothing.