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“No,” I say. “You’renot dead. You’re more than Fury. You have Vortex’s magic in you—you just have to stop holding back.”

He looks at me like I’ve punched him. “I don’t know how.”

“Yes, you do,” I say softly. “You feel it. I know you do. Let it out.”

Zeryth is staring between us. “Vortex’s magic? I don’t believe you. Prove it if you can.” And then she sends a wave of deadly shadows straight at me. “Die, bitch.”

Khaosti moves before I can. He throws himself in front of me and takes the hit full force. The blast lifts him off his feet and slams him into the ground. He doesn’t move.

“No!” I scream.

Grimlet skids to a halt beside him, his tiny face twisted in something like panic. He punches Khaos on the arm. “Get up.”

And then…he does.

Slowly, painfully, Khaosti pushes to his knees. His eyes burn—not with rage, but with something deeper.

The air around him shifts. It thickens. Crackles.

A low growl rolls from his chest—not wolf. Not human.

And then the fire erupts. Not from his hands, but from beneath his skin. A golden-red glow flows in his veins like liquid metal, licking up his arms, his throat, his chest. His eyes flash—blinding, molten.

The sorceress stumbles back, the smugness slipping from her face. “What—what are you?”

“You’re about to find out.”

I turn to him. “Wait,” I say. “Where is Hecate?” I ask Zeryth.

“You’re too late. They’ve gone to the mirror. Once he’s free of this place, it’s over for all your kind. You’re finished.” That’s not good news. There’s no time to waste. I look at Khaos and nod.

The fire doesn’t consume him—it becomes him. He raises his hand and opens his palm. “Burn.”

A beam of searing light shoots from his hand, slicing through the air like a lance of living fire. It hits the sorceress square in the chest. She screams—high and inhuman—as the flames curl around her, swallowing the shadows, devouring the dark.

When the light fades, there’s nothing left.

Not even ash.

The collar around my neck snaps and falls to the ground with a hollow clink.

Chapter 51

Where Things Don’t Go as Planned

My magic floods back in a single rush as if I’ve been underwater and finally break the surface and gulp in air.

Khaosti turns toward me, the fire fading, his chest rising and falling. He smirks. “I think I figured it out.”

I run to him and grab his face, kiss him hard. “You are totally badass.” I study him for a moment. “Is it the dragon?”

“Maybe. But I tried to shift and nothing happened. It’s not like Fury. Or maybe it is but just needs…more magic.”

“Well you did the job.”

“I nearly failed. I couldn’t awaken it. Not until she meant to kill you, then I could hardly hold it back. Maybe that’s my purposein all this. I was given these powers to protect you while you do what needs to be done.”

Yeah. Destroying my father and everyone else who’s unlucky enough to be in Hell at the time.