From Within
Sienna
“The son of a king. And in all rights... the true heir to the Night Walkers Pack.”
My heart plummets to the bottom of my stomach when those words leave his mouth. I can sense Jayce’s shock even as he keeps his heartbeat steadier than mine.
This is messy, so messy because I’m now looking at someone who is meant to be blood. My father’s cousin…
Jayce exhales before speaking, “And yet Alejandro has no idea you exist… If you had come before him, I’m certain he would have welcomed you-”
“Who said I look for his validation?” Vincenzo counters.
“So all this hatred doesn’t stem from daddy issues?” Jayce mocks, but he’s stalling, and before I can ask him what he’s planning, his voice comes through the mind-link.
The sooner we get to the dome, the better… This… changes things. I don’t know what we should do…
As much as hearing that from Jayce is hard, I get it, because his revelation does change everything – or complicates it.
Vincenzo scoffs. “I have no issues, or I’d have already taken everything from him. Let’s end this, Deimos King. Sienna Rossi will accompany me to the dome, and that army waiting within will be mine.”
Keep him distracted. I need three minutes to open a portal. If you can put space between the two of you, we can port, but ask him: how does he know there’s a way for me to control what’s within the dome?
On it… But are you certain you can open a portal when magic here is extremely unstable? Jayce replies via the mind-link before speaking out loud. “What makes you think she can help you with the dome?”
I think I’ll be fine, I reply confidently as Vincenzo smirks coldly. Be careful.
I will, Darling. You, too.
“What makes you think you are the only one with powerful witches on your side? I have my ways, and I know that the Tribrid is the key to controlling that army.”
As predicted, he doesn’t really give anything away.
“And what makes you think she’ll give that control to you?” Jayce asks coldly.
“Do you want to know something, Deimos King?” Vincenzo whispers menacingly. Unease fills me as a cold, dangerous smile crosses his lips. “There are ways to enslave demons.”
My heart stops for a moment before it begins beating violently.
Gods… He knows. Fuck. He knows.
Jayce doesn’t even react, his heart steady as he simply scoffs. “I’ve never really cared much for that face; somehow, yours is ten times fucking worse.” Power explodes from Jayce, and I fly back, keeping my distance. Vincenzo has an idea of where I am, so I need to be extra careful.
Worst case, if I can’t make it to the portal, you go ahead, get to the dome before me, Jayce adds, his voice rough as he counters Vincenzo’s attack.
Ok. I don’t want to think of leaving him, but this is a battle.
I glance back as Jayce is a blur.
I can see it – the change in the way he holds himself, the way he holds his own against him; I can see the vast difference from the last time they fought.
I turn, scanning my surroundings. To open a portal, I’ll need to put some distance between us; that’s the easiest part. The hard part will be for Jayce to make sure he reaches it in time before Vincenzo can get through.
I’ll need to use herbs, especially with the instability in the air, and I’ll call upon my spirit connection.
It’s not as prominent as Heaven’s because Mama’s Aunty, Janaina, is the daughter of the Silver line, but I’ve been able to secure a connection to their power, and right now I need it – for this portal.
Whispering a spell, I summon my pouches of the herbs I need, sparing a glance towards the chaos behind me as both Jayce and Vincenzo go head-to-head.
Focus… I tell myself, even though my mind keeps wandering over the revelation, over the fact that he knows demons can be enslaved. My stomach twists at the thought of the others. Ahren… What if– No, I can’t think like that. Gods, please don’t let anything happen to any of them.
Focus! I scold myself as I land in my chosen spot and begin drawing the symbols into the snow, the magic simmering at my fingertips, keeping them intact despite the blizzard.
The dome… We aren’t far; we can get there. I know we can. I can do this-
“If it isn’t the Tribrid.”
I jump back, just as something obliterates the spot I was in, and I raise a shield just as Velasara’s power crashes down in all directions.
Gods! I didn’t notice her.
“I knew leaving you alive was a mistake,” Velasara says coldly, blood immediately gathering around her body as if responding to her irritation. She sucks in a breath, glancing towards Vincenzo, then turns her eyes on me.
Her power rises from the snow, twisting around her in crimson ribbons that pulse with dark magic.
The last time I saw that power, it nearly killed me.
I remember desperately unlocking my sigils one after another, using up all my stored powers just to survive her assault, whilst she stood there barely exerting herself. I remember her amusement, her confidence, the way she treated me like a child to play with.
This time it’s going to be different. I am not that girl anymore.
Blood erupts towards me in a crimson storm, thousands of razor-sharp projectiles raining from every direction at once. I thrust my hand forward, and my power answers.
Shadows burst from all around me to counter hers, rising into a tidal wave of darkness that consumes her attack entirely.
The collision shakes the battlefield, blood and shadows tearing through one another with enough force to crack the frozen earth beneath our feet, and for the briefest moment, Velasara hesitates.
The shadows behind me twist and surge higher as my aura takes form, and she rises, wings spread, her enormous form unfolding against the storm whilst glowing red eyes settle upon Velasara.
“How exactly did you create that?” Velasara asks for a second. I see pure intrigue in her eyes.
I shrug. “Apparently, I had what it took within me all along.” My titan form steps forward, becoming one with me, with me at the centre, and I allow it to lift me up.
It was control; I was taught that in Gods’ Realm. My titan form is my armour.
Velasara can no longer see me as I stare out at her through my titan form, as I bring my fist down on the ground, causing it to tremble.
Blood circles around Velasara again, thicker than before, runes forming one after another around her body until the air itself begins to hum with power. I recognise several of them instantly. Draining spells. Binding spells. The same magic that forced me onto the defensive the last time we met.
The runes shoot towards me.
Be careful, Jayce’s voice, filled with worry, comes through the mind-link. He’s caught up in his own powerful battle.
I don’t move, but my titan does. She swings her fist, raising a shield of darkness as more dagger-like spears are aimed at me.
My power surges upwards and collides with the blood magic head-on, consuming some, shattering others and hurtling some right back in her direction.
Then she vanishes. One second, she’s standing several feet in front of me on the ground, and the next, she’s behind me.
She’s fast!
A blade of pure darkness mixed with blood magic slices towards my neck, and I twist aside, feeling it skim past my shoulder before it tears through the snow behind me, causing the rock beneath to explode. The ground trembles from beneath the force of the attack.
I don’t give her time to take advantage of the moment.
Shadows erupt from the ground and wrap around her leg, yanking her sideways before she can recover. She cuts through them instantly, but by then I’ve already moved. Turning, she raises a barrier, the wind whipping through our hair.
My titan’s enormous fist crashes into her barrier. The impact detonates across the battlefield. The ground trembles and piles of snow and ice collapse. I feel the dome pulse, feel the energy simmer in the air.
Velasara is forced backwards through the snow before she catches herself and manages to keep her balance as she stops.
Then we race towards one another once again, a blur of powerful blasts and swift reflexes.
For several seconds, neither of us gains ground.
Blood and shadows collide between us, tearing through the battlefield faster than the eye can follow.
The difference is that this time I’m not desperately trying to survive her assault or burning through years’ worth of stored power just to stay standing.
I’m matching her spell for spell, strike for strike, forcing her to work for every inch of ground she gains, and judging by the way her crimson eyes narrow with growing irritation, she knows it, too.
I’m not using power for the sake of it; I’m using the bare minimum needed for each attack.
The realisation seems to anger her, and she begins chanting a spell.
And that’s perfect because I want her angry. I want her reckless. I want her making mistakes.
Blood gathers around Velasara again, even thicker than before, the dark magic rolling from her in waves as more runes appear around her body.
Once again I recognise several of them instantly, but there are others woven amongst them now, and judging by the amount of power she’s feeding into them, she’s growing tired of this fight dragging on.
The dome pulses again, and I glance towards it; every second we waste here is another second lost.
Velasara thrusts both hands forward, and dark magic surges towards me, swallowing everything in its path as hundreds of runes spin within it. The sheer amount of power behind the attack is enough to make the air tremble, but instead of retreating, I step forward.
I can do this.
I. Can. Do. This!
With that, I drive my full force into it; the collision shakes the battlefield.
Our powers tear through one another, neither side willing to yield as power explodes around us. The pressure alone is enough to shatter stone and send cracks racing through the frozen ground.
For a moment, we remain locked in a stalemate. Her power tries to eat up mine, but I’m controlling it, protecting it from being devoured, and she’s not liking it.