Page 93 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

Magic burst across the battlefield.

Cordelle’s eyes flashed with power, and when he pressed a hand to the ground, thick, gnarled roots surged from the earth. One of the Blood Fae shrieked as the vines wrapped around his legs, climbing his body in rapid spirals before dragging him down into the ground. The soil sealed over him as if he had never existed.

Another Blood Fae locked eyes with Tae. His entire body stiffened. Then, without a word, he turned around and simplywalked away.

Tae let out a choked breath and dropped to his knees.

“What in Charrem’s name was that?” Ferrula asked her voice hoarse as she dodged an electric charge emitted by the fae she was fighting.

Tae shook his head and got to his feet. “They have some fucked-up magic.”

Riven let out a furious snarl, her hands bursting into flames. She hurled a fireball straight at one of the attackers. The air crackled, the smell of burning cloth and flesh filling the space as the figure ignited in a pillar of fire. The Blood Fae screamed, stumbling, but before he could fall, another placed a hand on the scorched earth—and ice shot outward in jagged, glowing veins.

The frost struck Zander’s black flames, smothering them.

Zander cursed under his breath and turned his focus on the robed figures, his blade flicking out, aiming to take them down one by one.

I had no time to think about anyone else—I was locked in my own battle.

The Blood Fae in front of me had yet to use magic. He was fighting hand to hand, his speed unnatural, his movements calculated. His blade clashed against my daggers, and the force of it vibrated through my arms.

Every time I parried, he forced me back. Step after step, he washerdingme, drawing me away from my squad.

My boots slipped slightly on the wet stone, but I adjusted, twisting my body as I slashed upward. He dodged effortlessly. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

He wasn’t in a rush to kill me.

He wastestingme.

The Blood Fae danced around me, his movements eerily smooth, calculated. Every strike I threw, he blocked before I even completed the motion. Every feint, every shift in stance—I might as well have been fighting a ghost that had already seen this battle play out a hundred times.

I gritted my teeth and adjusted my grip, switching my dominant blade to my left hand, trying to throw him off. But he didn’t falter. If anything, he seemedamused.

He was toying with me.

I growled, driving my dagger forward in a thrust meant for his ribs. He twisted at the last moment, letting the blade graze just above his hip, but I had no time to celebrate. His foot lashed out, catching my knee, sending me staggering back.

A sharp, electric burn licked up my spine.

No.

Not now.

Heat flooded my veins, burning from the inside out. My heart pounded as my vision flickered—lightning crackled in the sky above, an eerie echo of the storm building inside me.

Kaelith!

I reached for her, and this time, sheanswered.

Do not do this, foolish girl! You are not ready!

I don’t have a choice!

The Blood Fae lunged, but my body moved before I could think. I twisted just out of reach,feelingthe shift in the air around me, like the storm itself was guiding me. When I struck, it wasn’t just steel meeting flesh—it was raw energy, sparking at my fingertips as the clouds crackled above me.

The Blood Fae hissed as the airboomedbetween us, an unseen force knocking him back a step.

His red eyes flickered, and for the first time, he looked... intrigued.