CHAPTER 35
I really did have a death wish.
Instead of watching my two enemies destroy each other, I raced toward shore, my only thought on stopping Blaze from killing Alma.
She was on the ground now, screaming in agony as fire engulfed her entire left side.
Even as her body shook and writhed, she raised a hand, clearly trying to call water to her—water that was so close yet too far away.
Before she could, Blaze prepared another attack, his mouth set in an unforgiving leer.
Pure instinct took over. The second my feet found solid ground, I stood up and called on my magic. It eagerly responded to my urgency, knowing exactly what I wanted it to do. With deadly force, it streaked from me like obsidian blades and embedded itself deep into Blaze’s fiery outstretched hand.
The impact knocked him sideways, and he fell against a thick limestone column jutting up from the cave floor.
Before he could recover, I lashed out again, willing the shadowy blades to harden, to solidify.
To become actual knives. It wasn’t actually possible for my magic to take on a permanent corporeal form, but it could temporarily.
And it did.
Almost faster than my eyes could track, the hardened magic streaked toward Blaze and sank into his flesh.
He bellowed in pain as the blades went all the way through his beefy arms and dug into the pillar behind him, effectively pinning him to the stone.
Trapping him. His eyes found me just as I prepared another attack.
Seeing my intent, he jerked against his restraints with a furious roar, murder in his hateful expression.
I flung my magic toward him, gratified when it thunked into his thick thighs and skewered his lower half to the column. He continued to struggle, spittle flying from his mouth as he raged at me.
“You’re dead, stray, do you hear me? Dead!”
I approached him quietly, my entire body singing with revenge. I felt powerful, invincible as I watched my tormentor helplessly writhe against the stone.
Kill him. Kill him! the darkness inside me urged, drunk on the sight of our victim so weak and pitiful before us.
After everything he’d put me through this semester, I wanted nothing more than to sink a shadowy blade into his neck and watch him slowly bleed out. I could envision it now, his hateful words turning into pleading gasps as he realized that the only one who could save him . . . was me.
A yard away from reaching him, I stopped, my need for revenge boiling so hotly that I shook from head to toe. A flick of my wrist. That’s all it would take to end his life.
He must have seen something in my expression, something dark, something malevolent. Because the barest hint of fear flickered in his forest green eyes. The darkness inside me practically hummed with pleasure, basking in his terror.
Kill him now!
It would be so easy, and no one would bat an eye if I did. This was a trial. Killing was allowed, expected even. I could finally prove that I had the ability to be cutthroat, that I was bloodthirsty like the rest of my peers. They’d have no choice but to respect me after this.
Or fear me.
The thought came out of nowhere. It was faint, weak compared to the powerful darkness brewing in my blood. But it gave me pause. Made me think, until painful memories of my haunted past came crowding back in.
They were like a slap to the face, forcing me back to reality, to the realization that I was about to kill again. I’d already been down that road, and it had almost destroyed me. I could practically feel Juliana’s disappointment that I’d let my darkness control me again, consume me.
A tear spilled down my cheek before I could stop it.
Noticing the sudden shift in my demeanor, Blaze’s fear vanished, replaced by that signature leer of his. “I knew you couldn’t do it. You’re too weak, too—”
“Dormeo.”
The spell I pushed toward him immediately shut Blaze up.
His eyes rolled back, his head dropping forward as I forced him to sleep.
At the same time, the blades holding him captive crumbled to dust, and he pitched toward the ground facefirst. I smoothly stepped aside as he fell, feeling a sick sense of pleasure when his big body smacked against the cavern floor with a meaty thump.
Checking that he was out cold, I turned to Alma.
She was still alive, I knew that much, but I braced myself for whatever I would find.
A burn like the one she’d just endured could be disfiguring, and even Sano couldn’t mend something like that.
I found her at the edge of the lake, the burnt half of her body fully submerged in the water.
She was still awake, her breaths coming out in short wheezes, and I grimaced at the thought of how much pain she was in.
When I stopped beside her, she tried to lift her head and failed, laying it back down on the ground. “Is he . . . ?” she rasped, then coughed, unable to finish the rest.
“He’s still alive,” I answered, taking in the angry burns visible above the waterline. One side of her clothing barely covered her charred skin, which allowed me to clearly see the damage Blaze had inflicted. The fire hadn’t touched her long golden braid, though, which floated limply on the water.
A painfully dry laugh left her. “I don’t get you, sombra.” Cough, cough. “At all.”
“That makes two of us,” I muttered, glancing around the cavern. “Is there a way out of here?”
Another cough. “No. We’ve been stuck here.”
Terrific. I assumed they’d come down here the same way I did, so they’d probably already searched for a hidden exit. Which must mean . . .
“It has to be underwater.”
Alma didn’t respond.
“There must be another chamber attached to this one that’s only accessible underwater,” I told her, reaching down to pull off my shoes.
They’d become a hindrance more than a help lately, and I gladly tossed aside the dead weight.
Now that my body was no longer hyped up on revenge, I could feel how fatigued it actually was.
I’d used a lot of magic today, and all the adrenaline spikes and crashes weren’t helping.
Stepping into the water again, I hesitated for a moment before saying, “We need to go, Alma.”
At that, she peeled her eyes back open and barked another dry laugh. “We? I’m cooked, sombra. Literally. This is the end of the line for me. I’ve failed.”
I pursed my lips, hating how defeated she sounded. This wasn’t the confident Water Elemental who’d won first place in the Initiation Trial. “You didn’t fail, Alma. You were betrayed.”
“I should have . . . known better. It’s my fault.”
“Maybe, but you could have drowned me earlier, and you chose not to. I owe you a life debt, so I’m not going to just leave you here.”
She slowly blinked. “You don’t owe me . . . anything.”
“Fine, maybe I don’t. But I need your Water Elemental abilities, so you’re coming with me anyway.”
Without waiting for a response, I bent down and started to help her up. I targeted her good side, doing my best to avoid any burns. Still, she sucked in a pained gasp when I grabbed her arm and looped it around my neck.
“Stay strong, Alma,” I said instead of apologizing. “Pain is temporary. Push through it.”
Something Gran would have told me.
She groaned as I lifted her off the ground, leaning heavily against me with only one good leg to stand on.
I practically dragged her into the lake, grateful when the water took over carrying her weight.
She kept her arm around me as I kicked off the bottom and started to swim, heading for the sheer rockface on the other side.
If there was an underwater entrance to another chamber, then it made sense for the location to be on the deeper side.
Problem was, it was a long swim, and I was already tired—not to mention the addition of Alma’s weight.
“I need you to get us to the other side faster, Alma,” I panted. She didn’t respond. “Alma.”
A weak groan left her.
“You can’t pass out right now,” I told her forcefully. “We’ll both drown if you do.”
“No. Just me,” she quietly rasped.
Sudden anger barrelled through me, and I snapped, “I’m not letting you die, so stop moping and help me.”
Another dry laugh left her, but seconds later, I felt the water stir around us.
The ripples were faint at first, then grew in volume, swirling faster and faster until I felt them push us forward.
It felt like a cresting wave had lifted us onto its shoulders to give us a ride, making it so I no longer had to paddle.
Alma still hung limply from my neck, but she’d clearly found the strength to use her magic. In no time, we were across the lake and grabbing onto the jagged cave wall. My breathing was uneven, but Alma’s sounded alarmingly weak.
“Stay with me, Alma,” I urged her, knowing that the hard part was still ahead of us. “Catch your breath. I’m going to check if I can find anything.”
Lifting her arm off my neck, I made sure she had a firm hold on the wall before filling my lungs with air and submerging beneath the water.
Almost immediately, the world around me darkened, and my heart sank.
Finding an exit was going to be next to impossible if I couldn’t see.
I tried conjuring an orb to my fingertips, but the water quickly drowned it out.
Remembering my Initiation Trial, I willed a shield to form around my right hand.
As soon as the protective bubble was free of water, I conjured an orb again.
Purple light bloomed into existence, illuminating the dark waters.
The magic wasn’t significant, but keeping it steady while I searched for an exit would be draining.
I glanced below, using the light to see just how deep the lake went.
My orb failed to reach the bottom, and I tried not to panic.
Finding an exit could take hours, and I doubted I’d have the strength to last that long.
I started my search anyway, determined not to fail this trial.
I probably wouldn’t come in first place, but I could beat Blaze at least. Plus, I needed to get Alma out of this cave before she gave up.
I could see now that she’d rather die than return home a failure, and that upset me more than I thought it would.
She might have played a part in my misery this past semester, but she’d also tried to warn me about Blaze before the gala.
Blaze was pure evil, and I didn’t care if he rotted in here, but I didn’t want that fate for Alma. We weren’t friends, but we weren’t exactly enemies either.
Riku had been right. Alma and I were frenemies.
That didn’t exactly make us allies, but I didn’t want her to fail either.
With that thought in mind, I continued the search, needing to find that exit for both our sakes. But I wasn’t able to hold my breath for long, and I was forced to the surface way too soon. As I popped up gasping for air, I found Alma right where I’d left her.
“It’s so deep,” I sputtered out, grabbing onto the wall beside her. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
She didn’t respond, and I prepared to duck down again. Before I could, she quietly said, “Let me try.”
I blinked at her. “But your injuries.”
She shook her head. “Not like that. Like this.” Closing her eyes, she inhaled a few raspy breaths, then released a low, lilting hum.
It sounded dry and broken, but after a few moments, it grew in volume, strengthening.
And then, she began to sing. “Water mine, please aid my call. Thine power is great, and I’m but small.
Your grace is unmatched, your path more than wise.
Please guide the way for my failing eyes. ”
I stared in awe at her, at the peace that had transformed her pain-riddled face. The water immediately responded to her song, the spell urging it to seek out an exit. I felt it stir beneath my bare feet, forming a current whose sole purpose was to guide our way.
A small smile curved Alma’s mouth. “Found it. Let’s go.”