Page 19

Chapter 19

Karus

I caught the flash of black at Revich’s back, as I heard the Blightress’s voice. “ It seems I’ve underestimated your cunning, Baron Revich . You’ve already stolen away my prize. Pity .” The Blightress squeezed Rev’s throat tighter, one hand wrapped around his windpipe, her nails sending thin trails of blood down his skin. She held his back to her chest and her iridescent eyes shifted to me. “ I do hope Saelyn inherits the trait.”

Without another thought, I called to the tree behind her, glowing an eerie dark purple in its center where it consumed the power of the channeler it held. A thick branch whipped around her throat, pulling her upwards slightly. She choked and pulled at the black wood encircling her neck, keeping one hand wrapped around Revich’s throat.

“ Let him go or I pull up,” I threatened through gritted teeth.

A gargled laugh came from her, though I did not miss the surprise in her face as she replied, “ Do you really think to stop me with my own syphoner trees?”

“ Most creatures on this isle cannot live without breathing,” I spat. “ Should we see if you’re one of them?”

I yanked on the branch and she squeezed Revich’s throat harder. She had bound his arms to his sides with black vines reaching through the snow at his feet.

“ He’d be dead before you had the chance to see just what I could survive, Little Sprout , so here are your two choices.”

“ Karus …” Figuerah’s voice came as a warning, and I stole a glance behind me to see the three beasts slowly rising, their head wounds healing over into thick vines of Blight .

“ You can walk with me through that portal,” the Blightress offered, jerking her chin to where the black abyss remained. “ Or , you can let your lover die, and I’ll drag you through instead.”

I didn’t miss the flicker of movement on Revich’s face or the way his eyes darted across the small clearing to each of our people, landing on Figuerah and giving the slightest nod disguised as a struggle to be free.

The Blighted beasts left their circle, easing slowly toward Talon , Mychael , and Rell .

I answered, “ Your creatures leave first. Then , you let Revich go, and I will enter that portal.”

She tsked and gave her response. “ You speak as if you have the upper hand here, whereas we both know I could destroy every one of you without a thought more, so I suggest you get into the portal, Karus .”

I pulled at the branches around her throat with my power, and she attempted to lift herself higher.

“ Let . Him . Go ,” I seethed.

“ GET IN THE PORTAL !” she screamed, her fury pulling at my own in a vicious rage of all we had left to see through in our story together.

The beasts pounced, and I turned in time to see Rell falling to the ice. The creature dragged her toward the portal, her shield no match for the beast’s jaws.

“ No !” Renn screamed, pulling on her sister’s arms. Ilyenna yanked Renn away, slamming her to the icy ground before she could follow her sister as Rell was pulled into the darkness.

I let the rage take ahold of me, simmering through my veins and siphoning from that charred maple tree of my mind, demanding Adaynth give me everything from that place where I kept him locked away. Fire poured from my hands like liquid heat, spreading over the ice and snow, melting a path to the syphoner trees and flickering over the grove, licking its way up each one.

Another beast pounced on Mychael , dragging him along the ground. He reached for his sword and cut over the black vines at the beasts’s throat. It yelped, releasing him. He rose and rushed to Talon who fought against the last beast.

My flames burned hotter, and I shaped my green light into a dagger, slicing down the Blight holding Revich’s arms at the same time I lifted the branch around the Blightress’s neck higher.

The Blightress let him go, digging at the tree limbs wrapped around her throat as she was lifted into the air, slamming into the tree alight in my flames.

Revich grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the center of the clearing, rotating his arms to produce five shimmering portals, calling for everyone to get out.

Figuerah raced toward Nyeimah , ducking just as two enormous black cats bounded over her head, pouncing on the Blight beast still dragging Talon toward the black portal. Snarling rippled through the air as the muri fought against the Blight beasts, biting, maiming, slicing through flesh and vines alike.

Ilyenna pushed Renn through one of Revich’s portals, and it closed in a resounding thwap . She then bolted for Talon , bringing him into her arms for a moment, before urging him toward another portal.

Hand -in-hand, Revich and I flew to Mychael at the base of the Blightress’s portal, pooling together our magic in an attempt to pull him back. Blood trickled from his jaw where the beast had sliced through his flesh, leaving an open slash from his cheek down to his collar bone.

I pulled on my fire, now burning fiercely through the syphoner trees and set the creature aflame. It yelped and retreated quickly toward the portal, refusing to let go of Mychael in its jaws.

The scent of burned flesh hit my nose as a hand gripped my chin, claw-like nails digging into my cheeks. “ You’ve brought this upon yourself.” The Blightress shoved my face away, erecting a wall of iridescent light in her wake, forcing Rev and me to fall back into the snow.

“ No !” I cried as she palmed Mychael’s face, lifting him with inhuman strength and tossing him into her dark abyss. His scream washed over me while I pounded on the shimmering wall separating us from the darkness that two of our channelers had been pulled into. Her creature dove through and she turned her head back to me. It was then that I saw the charred flesh that puckered and blistered over the side of her face, the ring of bruised skin at her throat, and the blood that flowed from her burns down to the top of her breasts. At that moment, I understood why she did not want us to follow. The fire burned bright around us, decimating her syphoner trees, killing her power source and weakening her enough that she would not risk a further fight.

“ He didn’t listen,” she growled, spitting blood into the snow and wiping under her lip.

Revich pounded his fists at the wall of iridescence, calling out the Simulair Solum spell. The Blightress flinched and shielded her eyes. The withering sound of the Blight beast behind us met our ears, but we kept our gaze on the darkest threat.

She continued, eyes focused on me. “ I begged Adaynth to take her out. To cut me open and save our daughter’s life. I knew I’d gone too far, carried her too long. I knew her life was dwindling with each day she remained in my womb.

“ When I tried to cut her out myself, he used the power I gave him to tie me to the bed. He refused to let me go and she was born dead. He could have saved her. There was a chance he could have saved me, too, but he didn’t listen, Karus , and I am done waiting.” She pointed a long finger at my belly, flecked in blood. I backed up, wrapping my hands around myself. “ That child is mine whether you come along or not. She holds power that comes from me . She . Is . Mine .”

“ You will not touch her!” I shouted, my flames crawling over the snow, climbing up the sides of her portal. “ She is ours! You cannot?—”

She backed into the portal and the iridescent wall shattered, fracturing into a thousand shards. Revich pushed me to the ground, covering me with his own body, shielding us in a flickering blue flame of his power.