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In that moment, something so stark and disturbing snapped in Emara, something that should never have been touched in the depths of her soul stirred.

One woman, full of envy, greed, and jealousy had caused all of this death and pain, fear and chaos.

The Supreme would stop at nothing until Emara and everyone she cared about no longer existed.

Emara felt something unhinge.

A dark smoke started to mist out from her fingers, passing the blade in her hand and making its way out into the open air. Emara shook violently, the magic in her blood thrumming and banging against every door to get out. As the dark mist filtered from her, she could smell sulphur as it came up and wrapped around her neck. The ancient mist gathered, swirling around her throat like a necklace of death.

The Supreme scrambled back, Silas stepping in front of her.

A carnal smile slashed across Emara’s face as the chains around her neck snapped and broke, the sound stopping everything in the room as the metal hit the floor.

She let out a gasp, feeling the darkness curl around her heart as the black smoke gave her air again.

She looked up, eyes catching Deleine. “My mother was never going to take anything from you because it was not yours to have in the first place. You stand there because of my grandmother’s abdication to protect her family. A family which you”—she pointed the blade at her—“ruined. That crown never belonged to you.” The fighting behind her had stopped, and the dark wind that swirled like air and fire combined, built around her like a personal bodyguard. “My mother died because of you. My grandmother died because you didn’t protect your own. And my sister, the only family I had left, my best friend, was murdered in cold blood because you used her as a pawn to get revenge on a dead woman.”

The curl of the Supreme’s lip returned as she wiped the blood from her now-bleeding nose.

She was bleeding? But no one had even touched her.

A split second later, Emara realised that the blood running from the Supreme’s nose wasn’t because she had been struck, but because she was weakening. Her power was failing.

“It appears I still have one bitch to kill in that family, then.” The Supreme flung out her hands, severing her deal to keep Emara alive, and a gust of power surged forward.

Emara’s side hit the ground with a crack, but she tucked and rolled like she had practised so many times with the Blacksteels. Her knees connected with the floor and then she found her feet again quickly. The magic flew past her, narrowly missing her, and slammed against the window on the other side of the room.

The window cracked, but she didn’t have time to study it as Emara moved to dodge a ball of crackling fire.

Heavy footsteps could be heard running along the corridor, and as Emara turned her head, the Supreme struck again, sending out a wave of fire. Emara spun, grabbing a guard who had been travelling to attack her from behind and shielded herself to the flames. She let out a scream as the fire burned the body in front of her, heat coursing through every part of her, singing her hair.

The guard’s soul left his body as he turned to dust. The ashes fell over her bare feet. Vomit travelled up Emara’s throat, but she didn’t have time to hurl it up, so she swallowed.

Steel clashed again, signalling that Torin had commenced his death dance with anyone who was left.

Gideon, Kellen, Artem, and Marcus entered the room, and she was grateful that the running boots hadn’t belonged to more of the Supreme’s guards. They drove straight into combat, no questions asked.

She wondered how they all knew about the Supreme’s betrayal, but that was a question for another day.

“Keep one alive,” Torin commanded. “I don’t care what one.”

Within seconds, they finished off the remainder of the guards, leaving one. They restrained him, and Marcus Coldwell hit a spot on his neck that sent him to sleep.

Emara turned and gathered all the power she could to send a surge of uncontrolled fire the Supreme’s way, but she ducked it.

With a scream of frustration, the Supreme batted her hand, and a whirlwind of air found Emara. She couldn’t duck or dive to miss it. It went straight for her throat.

The weapon she held, fell from her hands and clattered to the floor.

She couldn’t breathe.

Torin was beside her instantly. He looked from the Supreme back to Emara as she clawed at her throat, choking, suffocating.

Her own element had lodged itself in her windpipe, and no breaths could get through.

“No, no,” Torin muttered as he touched her face with one hand. Blood imprinted on her cheek. “Stop. Fucking stop!” he roared at the Supreme. When she gave him a vile smile, he quickly set into action towards her.

Deleine’s bony hand flew up, her normally sleek brown hair all dishevelled, drips of crimson blood falling from her nose. “Don’t move, or I will draw out every particle of oxygen from her lungs.”