Page 30 of A Rising Hope (The Freckled Fate #3)

30

INSANARIA

M y mighty thorns held the dead Destroyer General up by his limbs, no better than an old scarecrow stretched out on the field. Dark mahogany blood lazily slithered down the straw-like thread connecting my arm to his.

His blood burned. Each drop searing through me.

The pain blinded me. My own magic recoiled at his presence, at such foreign power within me. I clenched my fists, pausing to catch my breath, as agony pushed me to the verge of losing consciousness. A drop of cold sweat rolled down my neck. My shadows swirled around me, calming my racing heart as I attempted to stand up. My vision blurred, and I swayed. Thorny vines moved, catching me just in time before I fell, gently propping me on my throne. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe through the shooting pain in my chest. My head leaned back on the chair.

I managed to take in only a few drops of his blood today. But tomorrow I’d try more. And the day after, I’d take even more until I siphoned him dry.

I would take every drop of his blood like the gods had taken everything from me. Again and again, until nothing but an empty shell would be left. It might not be easy right now, but I would make his magic obey mine. I’d break him just the same way the world had broken me. Day by day, little by little, I’d take it all. Eventually, his fire would be nothing but an echo within me. And then . . . Then, I’d ascend to the gods and take my rightful seat. I would wage war until they’d all bend their knees for me. Then I’d decide the fate of humanity. And of my own.

The darkness swirled at my fingers purring like a cat, nudging me gently, and I opened my eyes. The Destroyer’s body stayed limp, his blood staining the same spot on my floors where his lover’s blood had stained it only weeks prior.

I would feel bad for them. I’d feel bad for everyone if such luxury wasn’t carved out of me from the moment I took my first breath. I motioned with my finger, letting one more drop of his blood trickle down the line to my vein. Searing pain rolled through my entire body once more.

“Hell,” I grunted, as my body trembled on the verge of collapsing, but I let another drop of blood reach me.

The physical pain was nothing compared to what I had endured for so long.

I forced myself to continue, letting yet another drop slither in.

“Hush, my pets,” I calmed the hissing shadows, but then I felt the air shift. My thorns shrunk, recoiling, and my eyes darted to the windows. The cursed shields around the castles stayed untouched. Nothing visible to the human eye changed, but the hairs on my neck stood on end, and a cautionary dread slithered in.

The Destroyer near me grunted, as if he too felt the sudden shift of force in the air. I snapped my fingers, letting the jagged vines twist the Basalt Glass shard deeper into his heart, until his large body fell limp. I turned to the shields, to the empty horizons with nothing but the oceans soaring outside. Bitterness coated my tongue, and time became abruptly so tangible, like sand falling through my fingers.

I writhed in my seat, grinding my teeth as I let one more drop slide down.

Whatever that magic ripple was, it no longer mattered. I had everything I needed to complete my goal.

And that change? The change only signified one truth.

The end of the world was inevitably approaching us.