Chapter 56
The rune you used when Shay died. Remember it.
Fenn’s words echoed in my mind, circling over and over again as I faced Rosalina, the two of us now alone in the clearing in the forest. I was simultaneously relieved and devastated that Fenn and Mal were gone. Their presence had given me strength, but it had also added to my panic and turmoil, knowing Rosalina could hurt them with a mere wave of her hand.
I faced Rosalina, my chin lifting. “So, now what? Will you put me in chains? Force me to relive my worst memories?”
“There’s no need for that,” she said. “All I need to do is wait for your energy to drain and the bond between you and your dragons to snap. I don’t need to resort to any unpleasantness as long as you can remain civil.”
The rune you used when Shay died. Remember it. My mind strained to recall the specific image the witch had drawn on me when my magic first awakened in the witches’ encampment. It was… a circle of some kind. With lines protruding from the center. But how many lines? Runic magic had to be very specific, and I couldn’t risk getting this wrong.
Rosalina was watching me, waiting for a response, so I forced a laugh. “I find it hard to believe you don’t want any unpleasantness. ”
She sighed. “Think what you will about me. I said it before: I do what is necessary to protect myself. No more, no less.”
The Awakening Rune, Shay had said as she’d painted the rune on the back of my hand. The circle represents your magic. The lines extending from it represent your body and your soul .
Two lines. There had been two lines on the rune. I was certain of it.
I started pacing the length of the clearing, keeping my steps slow and casual, as if I didn’t care where my feet took me. “I’m curious,” I said. “Why a spinning wheel?”
For a moment, Rosalina blinked at me. Then, she said, “Do you not recall what my role was within our clan?”
I halted and sifted through the memories that had only recently returned to me. After a moment, my eyes widened in surprise. “Ah. You were a weaver.”
“Yes. Weavers can create powerful spells. I found I was able to create the most powerful ones using a spinning wheel. The intricate workings of the machine helped weave the layers of magic perfectly.” Her tone became wistful, and I knew she was remembering her past life, just like I had been.
“Am I allowed to roam?” I asked. “I want to know what else is here in this dreamscape.”
Rosalina’s eyebrows narrowed. “No one here can help you, Aurora.”
“I know that,” I snapped. “But I would like to pretend I am home once more. Before my strength fails me.”
“If you wish, I can pull you back under my influence. Make you believe you are dreaming once more.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I—I want to be lucid for this part. When my connection to the dragons is lost, I won’t be myself anymore, will I?”
“No,” Rosalina said, her tone cold and indifferent.
I nodded, forcing my face to crumple in grief as if I were fighting back tears. I turned away as if to cry, when really I was trying to scan the area for some kind of substance I could use to paint the rune. If this was all just an illusion, would something like dirt even work?
A rune is most powerful when blood is used, Fenn had told me.
I surveyed my hands, thinking hard. “You… probably have better things to do than watch me waste away,” I said.
Rosalina chuckled without humor. “I’m not leaving your side until the transfer is complete, Aurora.”
“Aurelia. My name is Aurelia. ”
“I refuse to refer to you by a false name. Your given name was Aurora Briarcliffe Gaelania. That is who you were when you and my other sisters cast me out. Nothing will ever change that.” Her words were clipped and full of malice.
I turned to face her, nostrils flaring. “You attacked our people. Can you blame us for retaliating?”
“You would not see reason!” she seethed, drawing closer to me. “You were squandering a powerful energy that could have been useful to us.”
I shook my head, turning away from her. Something sharp. I need something sharp. I rubbed my hands down my face, then lifted my fingers, pretending to scratch just above my ear. My fingers met a long pin still holding some of my curls in place. I turned, continuing my pacing, waiting until I fully faced Rosalina before I slowly removed the pin from the back of my head and closed my fist around it.
“Did you think I was lying when I revealed the prophecy to you?” I asked, trying to keep her distracted.
“I believe you could have been the savior of the realm,” she said.
“Really? Even after I destroyed that village?”
“It was a minor setback.”
I turned away from her once more, my feet continuing the same path up and down the clearing. With my back to her, I glanced down at the pin in my palm, then dug the sharpened point deep into my finger. Blood welled, but I kept digging. I would need more than just a few drops to paint this rune.
“I don’t consider the loss of hundreds of lives to be a setback, ” I said.
“That’s why you never should have had this power,” Rosalina said, her tone harsh. “You are weak. You refuse to do what is necessary for the good of the realm. For the good of the witches.”
More blood flowed until it was dripping down my finger. I coated the fingers of my other hand in the blood, then painted the marking on the back of my palm, just as Shay had.
A circle… and two lines… My hand shook as I drew.
“What are you doing?” Rosalina demanded, finally noticing my attention was elsewhere.
I finished the final line, completing the rune. The moment I lifted my hand, the rune glowed white, searing into my hand. A blast of energy exploded from within my chest, sending me flying. But instead of careening into a thick tree trunk, I floated, hovering in the air, my feet dangling just above the ground. My arms spread wide, and I threw my head back as a burst of power flooded my veins, my blood, my very soul.
Rosalina screamed something unintelligible, but I paid her no attention. Power swarmed inside me as if a dam had broken, gushing and flowing without restraint.
It was so similar to that day in the witch encampment. The day Shay had died. My arms trembled, and I drew in a sharp breath, trying not to think of those screams and shouts, of the horrors of that day.
No, right now, I needed that power and devastation. Right now, it was just me and Rosalina.
So I let it all go. I unleashed everything I’d been holding back. With an almighty roar, I poured every drop of power and strength into the air, letting it encircle me. White sparks shot from my fingertips. And from deep within, a low, rumbling growl resonated.
My dragon had returned.
Rosalina was rushing toward me, but it was too late. As the rune’s magic faded, I gently sank to the ground once more. The moment Rosalina reached me, her hand whipping toward me as if to strike, I shifted.
My body elongated. Wings sprouted from my back. Claws extended from my hands and feet. Sharp scales coated my body, and my teeth sharpened into fangs.
The transition was seamless. Effortless. In mere seconds, I stood before Rosalina as a dragon, intercepting her blow with a swipe of my claws. I tore through her sleeve, cutting into her flesh. She fell, cradling her arm as it bled freely. Her murderous gaze fixed on me, her eyes blazing. With her uninjured hand, she flicked her fingers toward me, and a blast of purple magic speared into my chest.
I folded my wings around me, but the impact still sent me staggering, crashing into trunks and branches. Branches and twigs broke my fall, and my impenetrable scales protected me from any pain.
She couldn’t stop me. I was too powerful. Too indestructible .
“You cannot defeat me!” she screeched, standing tall before me. “Not in my domain!”
She seemed taller than before. No—She was taller. Her body grew in height, lengthening and stretching until she resembled a giant before me, towering over even my bulky dragon form. She was a mighty beast, her eyes glowing red as she advanced, each footstep making the ground rumble.
I ducked to dodge a swipe of her massive hand, then clamped my fangs down on her ankle. She cried out, the sound reverberating around me, making my ears fold back. Using my wings for momentum, I darted behind her, just out of reach as she grabbed for me. She might be a giant, but I was quicker. Faster.
I could also breathe fire.
I inhaled deeply, then unleashed the blue flames, scorching the backs of her legs. She bellowed in agony, crashing to her knees. The ground shook again, and I teetered, unable to keep my balance. My wings stretched wide, allowing me to float instead of fall alongside her.
But I was so distracted from losing balance that I didn’t notice her fist until it collided with my left side. With a howl of pain, I was sent toppling, rolling and crashing among the brush. When I finally stopped, I tried to rise, but a fresh wave of pain held me down. My left wing wouldn’t move. Only then did I notice it was bent at an unnatural angle.
It was broken.
Growling, I staggered to my feet, pushing past the agony throbbing in my wing as I made my way toward Rosalina again. She grinned widely, her expression demonic with those glowing red eyes.
“Your strength is failing,” she said, her voice echoing. “You won’t be able to fight me for long.”
She was right. Already, I felt too weak to continue.
But I had to try. This was the only way.
I had to strike her where she couldn’t reach me. Slowly, a plan formed in my mind. Digging my claws into the earth, I pressed down and launched myself forward.
Rosalina was ready for me, arms spread, prepared to strike me once more .
But instead of aiming for her chest, which was what I wanted her to think, I turned at the last moment, diving between her legs and circling around. Using my claws, I dug into the backs of her legs, making her shriek in pain. I continued climbing, making my way up her legs until I was clinging to her lower back. My claws pushed deeper into her flesh, drawing blood.
She thrashed, arms swiping blindly, trying to remove me from her back, but she couldn’t reach me.
I opened my jaws wide and clamped down on a piece of flesh, tearing, tearing, tearing…
Her screams made my ears throb, but I continued biting, ripping her apart piece by piece, until a mess of mangled flesh and blood surrounded me.
At last, she fell, careening to the ground, her body spasming. I continued climbing up her back until I reached the back of her neck. With a deep inhale, I unleashed my blue flames, igniting her hair and setting her head ablaze. Her body twitched, but she was in too much pain to even scream.
I pounced off her, landing hard on the ground, winded and gasping for breath, my tongue lolling and my throat dry. But I wasn’t finished yet. As long as she still breathed, she would be drawing strength from me. This wasn’t over until she was dead.
Using my snout, I pushed underneath her massive body, straining until I had rolled her onto her back. Then, I leapt onto her chest, climbing until I reached her throat. Her pulse was faint, but it was still there.
With a swift motion, I dragged a claw deep in her throat, sliding from one end to the next. A fresh river of blood flowed, dripping onto the ground and staining her dress. I jumped off her just as the enchantment on her body wore off, making her shrink down to her normal size once more. Her body jerked violently as she choked on her own blood, her face pale as death.
I shifted to my normal form as well, massaging my left shoulder, which was bruised and bleeding from her attack. Slowly, I approached her, my expression stony and unyielding as I watched her die. Her wide, vacant eyes fixed on me.
I could have taunted her. Said something fierce about how I had won and she would never take what belonged to me .
But instead, I looked on with pity. This woman, this witch, had been so consumed by her thirst for power, that she hadn’t loved anyone other than herself. And for that, I was sad. I was sad for her loneliness, for all the lives she had already destroyed, and for how the world would not mourn her passing.
Her eyes eventually glazed over, and she took one last wet, ragged breath before going completely still.
When I was certain she was dead, my strength gave out, and I sank to my knees in the dirt, my head spinning. I didn’t know how to get back to the mortal realm, but I had nothing left to give. I fell backward, my head meeting the hard ground as oblivion took me.