Page 180 of Daughter of the Serpent

She was something else entirely.

She rolled her shoulders, grounding herself. The earth thrummed beneath her feet, the distant salt tang of the sea biting the air. She could feel it - the pull. Magic, alive in her bones. Waiting.

Her veins pulsed with raw power. Magic swirled in the air around her, thick as clouds and curling mist. She could feel it crackling beneath her skin, thrumming through her body, urging her to take control.

And she was ready.

The world felt alive around her - She was the power of the sea. Reckless, wild. She was the force of the wind - untamed and invisible. She was the quake of the earth, steady, unmovable. She gathered all their strength, calling up on the elements to fuel her. Calling upon her emotions to feed her.

Her fingers tightened, and the magic answered. It swelled inside her, a tidal wave gathering force.

“She’s wielding!”

One of Bjorn’s men shouted, panic rising in his voice. His eyes widened in disbelief.

“She’s calling on her magic!”

Bjorn’s low growl pierced the air like a blade. “Actnow!”

The men lunged forward, their movements jerky and erratic, but they never got far.

Not a step.

Not one.

The magic released in a sickening snap, and it exploded from her hand like golden lightning. It streaked through the air, faster than she could blink, slamming into the chest of one of Bjorn's men.

The force of the strike was staggering. His body jerked back as if hit by a battering ram, instantly burning a hole in his shoulder blackening it almost instantly, as though the magic was devouring him from the inside out. His scream rang out - pure, tortured, and he collapsed into a heap of twitching limbs, the wound smoldering on the jagged stone.

She had not wanted to kill. She wouldn’t.

But she refused to be weak anymore.

She refused to crumble.

She was ready to claim her power.

“Stayback!” She spat, and her voice wasn’t one she recognized - it was strong, filled with power.

She wasn’t the woman she used to be.

She was remade.

The words echoed in her ears as the power pulsed again, growing, tightening her muscles, ready to burst forward.

Bjorn’s eyes narrowed, as if her display had only deepened his anger. Others shifted to make their move, but Bjorn’s raised hand stopped them dead in their tracks.

“You forget,serpent’s spawn.” He raged through gritted teeth, fury simmering just beneath the surface. “You’re not the only one who wields power.”

His fingers pressed to his temple, closing his eyes.

And then - darkness.

No glow. No light.

A fog spilled through her mind, thick and choking. Like water pressing in from all sides. Thoughts scattered. Her body swayed.

What - ?