Page 14 of Blackheart

Maybe Luna knew.

Blue lightning cracked through the sky, and a ground-shattering thunder sent everyone falling to their knees.

It was no natural storm.

“Enough!” a menacing voice roared. A voice I was ashamed to admit I immediately recognized. Witchlord Ansel stood dauntlessly atop the hill.

Sapphires jumped to their feet in defense. Witchlord Ansel just smirked. Lightning erupted from the sky like a web, electrocuting six of them in one precise beat. Lord Dronis chuckled, raising his sword with pride. Lord Ansel eyed Arielle, then the burning building. My building.

Something like panic etched across his face, followed by a deadly darkness. He strode forward, sword in hand. Black cloak billowing in the unnatural wind. He pointed his weapon to the sky, swirling it towards the fire. The skies opened up with a torrential downpour.

I flinched at the bite of cold water.

Arielle stiffened, her jaw tight and face twisted. She wasn’t done. She wanted to burn out. In her gaunt, emaciated state, she must have yearned for death, willing to take anyone she could with her.

“Enough,” Lord Ansel repeated—a warning to Arielle. He offered her mercy, if only she would accept it.

A Sapphire attacked from behind, but he was quick on his heels, whipping around and slicing their head clean off. He turned to Arielle, whose mouth opened, a poisonous flame within growing rapidly. Lord Ansel’s smile curled upwards.

“Sweet dreams.”

His Nature was effortless. All it took was a blink, and she fell to the ground, unconscious. Her poison sizzled away like a bad dream.

“I want him,” Luna breathed.

“I want this to end,” I said, shaking my head, throat dry.

“That too.”

A sword laid forgotten on the ground next to a Draker’s corpse, glittering against the flashes of lightning. I dragged my hand along the cold alley wall, rain running down my face and heart pounding.

Those aggravating dreams had practically forced me to train myself to wield a sword in my sleep. I remembered the way my arms would arc through the air, and the force needed to drive the blade down.

Before Luna could convince me otherwise, I rushed out from the safety of the alley and grabbed the hilt.

I could barely lift it above my waist. My shoulder wailed in pain from the fall down the stairs. There was simply no way I’d be able to swing it.

Only a moment passed, but when I turned back to the alley, a Sapphire was cornering Luna. With her back against the wall, she stared at me with pleading brown eyes.

“I like when my dinner begs,” the Sapphire said greasily. Only the back of his dark blue cloak faced me, but his voice wasugly.

The sword was too heavy. Entirely useless.

I threw my needle at the back of his head, but he didn’t even flinch.

He closed in on Luna, blade nearing her chest. My instincts screamed at me, begging me to fight. I prayed the Drakers would forgive me.

I held up my hand and aimed for his head once more, only this time, I shot a pathetic, violet ball of mist. It flew right past him and hit the wall instead. He hissed, turning towards me, black eyes glowing under his cloak. There were no red flecks from blood magic. He was powerless, but worse, he was thirsty.

Shit.

He stalked towards me with a sinister smile, displaying an array of missing teeth.

“Elora!” Luna called out.

As if my name made the game more fun for him, more valuable, his eyes flashed in excitement. I scrambled to pick the sword back up, the weight of it sagging to the ground.

“Youare for keeping,” he said, the blade aimed at my chest.