Page 56 of Glass Hearts

The smoke quickly dissipates just as fast as it arrived. The first thing I looked for was Arabella, who was nowhere to be seen.

“Grayer is gone too. He is with her. Let’s deal with these fuckers so we can find them,” Sylas says through the bond.

“On it,” Koi says as I hear the other two council people, Mendez and Stalkton, sputter and gurgle as if they are drowning. Leaving Sylas and me to deal with the powerful mage.

“You would really give up all your power for the damaged servant girl?! I knew I was right to take over as the supreme leader. Poor choices all around. It will be easy for your remaining parents to submit once I send them your heads,” Victor spews.

“I would like to see you try,” Sylas growls, sending his power towards Victor, attempting to secure him with the stone floors of the castle. They protrude from the ground, though as they reach the mage, they falter, back into place.

“My magic, it-it is not budging when it gets to him?!” Sylas screams and tries again. Victor laughs as I try to send a gust of wind his way. It deflects.

“What the fuck?!” I yell out loud.

“Again, you boys aren’t ready to lead if you can’t even touch me.

You are not powerful enough to take down a mage with an almighty talisman that repels the likes of your powers.

Once I get more created, my army will be unstoppable.

Taking over all the isles as the king. As it should be.

It has been impossible to make this talisman until that little rat, Elora.

Her hair is quite magical, the things it can do! ” Victor says with glee.

Sylas is the first to run at him. He manages one good punch on Victor until an unseen force strikes him. I use my wind to right him, avoiding his collision with the wall.

Raising my sword, I run to attack Victor, but he murmurs a spell as a fire blade appears in mid-air into his hands. Swiftly, he catches it as it falls.

Our swords meet in a clash, my ears ringing from the sound. The impact rings through my bones as I grit my teeth. We under prepared for just how powerful Victor had become.

Victor laughs maniacally as Sylas joins.

Using my air magic, I propel Sylas into the air as he motions himself to crash into Victor, blade down.

Before his blade can meet its mark, Victor forms a protective barrier, causing Sylas to be expelled backwards on impact.

I also get ejected from his two-meter barrier, tumbling onto the cold stone floor.

The wind gets knocked out of me as I growl in frustration.

“It’s been too long since I have been able to fight like this!” His menacing smile increases as he gets into another fighting stance, dropping his barrier.

“Too scared to fight us like a real man, Victor? Putting up a barrier because you know you can’t properly take us on?” Sylas goads as he cracks his knuckles. His sword bent from the force and impact of the barrier. Fuck.

“Where are those damn mercenaries?! Those fuckers must have abandoned us!” Koi screams through the bond as he continues to fight Stalkton. The other, Mendez, lies lifeless on the floor. Koi will have a hard time with today, I am sure. Out of all of us, he has never had to kill anyone.

Victor wipes the blood from his nose, grinning like a madman even as it drips down his chin. “Before I kill you all,” he sneers, “let me enlighten you on just how badly you’ve failed.”

He paces slowly, savoring each word like a final meal. “Right now, my queen is subduing that pathetic girl. Sure, you never loved the Baudelaire sisters. But you could’ve kept playing, kept enjoying yourself. I wouldn’t have judged. Instead, you chose her. One insignificant girl. For what?”

A low growl rumbles from Sylas.

“You’re wrong,” he snarls, stepping forward. “Arabella isn’t insignificant. She’s the key to saving our people. And more than that—we love her. She’s ours. That will never change.”

Stone cracks beneath his feet as he charges, a hammer of rock forming in his hands. I’m right behind him, blade drawn and high.

Victor barely lifts a hand, just a flick of his fingers, and raw energy blasts us both back.

We slam into the wall. The stone bites into my back before I hit the ground hard, lungs emptying in a gasp. Debris rains around us. Dust clouds the air. I cough, eyes burning, trying to focus.

The room spins wildly. Four Victors blur into one as he advances, boots crunching over shattered glass and stone. Sylas is bleeding beside me, just as wrecked as I feel. We lock eyes for a breathless second.

Victor’s voice cuts through the haze.

“I didn’t want to kill you,” he says, tone almost pitying. “You could’ve submitted like you were meant to. We gave you a place when no one else would. And you threw it all away… for her.”

Between his hands, power coils—deep violet and pulsing with heat. It hums louder with every breath, searing my vision. Still, I don’t look away.

All I can see is her.

Arabella. Laughing in the castle. Curled up beside me, reading, sunlight in her hair. I never told her. Not properly. I never told her how much I loved her, how I wanted everything with her. My land, my life, my future.

And I wasted so much time… hiding behind pride, behind fear.

Beside me, Sylas stirs. Trying to rise. He’s shaking, blood pouring from his face, his body barely holding together.

Then, the air changes. Time itself shudders.

Victor’s magic pauses mid-pulse, the swirling mass slowing to a heartbeat throb. A chunk of ceiling stone hangs suspended mid-fall, frozen in the moment between impact and weight.

Jax.

He’s here.

And he’s freezing time for everyone but us. Victor’s eyes flick wide. Not in anger, but in fear. A blur of silver flashes behind Victor.

The arc of my abandoned blade gleams through the smoky light, wielded by the last person I expected. My golden-haired friend barrels forward, teeth bared in a wordless cry, swinging the weapon with both hands.

Steel meets flesh.

Victor’s head snaps back, and then it’s gone, tumbling through the air. The moment it hits the ground, time slams back into place with a deafening crack.

A shockwave explodes from his collapsing body, pure force knocking the breath from my lungs and launching me backwards once more. I crashed into a stone pillar. The air ripped from my chest.

My cheek kisses the cold floor. Blood pools beneath me, thick and metallic. Mine.

I groan, blinking against the swirling haze. Vision blurred. Ears ringing.

Swiftly I am turned around. A hand thumps against my chest, firm and searching.

“You alive, windy prince?” Jax’s voice cuts through the ringing, strained but steady. His hands press gently against my ribs, checking for damage.

I grunt in response, unable to find the breath for words.

Around me, the room flickers back into clarity. Sylas is already on one knee, dirt-streaked and bloodied, but breathing. Koi pulls himself up with a grimace, hair matted with soot.

And then footsteps. Dozens of them, rushing toward the corridor. Heavy boots against stone. Reinforcements, finally.

“Boys!” Margie and her husband, Councilman Alec Thibaut, come running for us. Bridgette is right behind them with Smith. She has Arabella’s original bow and arrow poised behind his back.

“Can you please tell this prickly woman to stand down? That I was saving the ungrateful lot of them?” Smith gruffs, his hands still in the air.

Margie hugs Sylas, who is struggling to fully stand. Alec comes to my side, using his healing magic to remedy my injuries. He then helps Sylas, healing him as Margie fills him in on all the injuries she found.

“Bri, release him. They are with us. We need to find Arabella and Grayer,” Koi shouts, tense, still looking back and forth at the bloodied sword in his hands and the head on the floor.

“They are in the Dragon Gardens. Elliah is with them,” Jax says as I finally see Koi’s shoulder relax in a breath.

“Are the other staff and council people safe, Bri?” Sylas asks Bridgette, Margie still holding him up, as Alec Thibaut continues trying to heal his twisted ankle.

“Aye, they are safe. The Baudelaire sisters are still in custody in the dungeons, too.”

Sylas nods and closes his eyes, wincing as Alec finishes his ministrations.

“Man, we really need to add a healer to our team!” Jax comments as he watches Alec with fascination.

Koi lands on the ground on his knees, still facing a headless Victor. “I-I killed three people today. I-I am the lover of our group. Not the damned fighter,” he mutters, still not looking at us. I go to my brother, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Koi, you had to. For Arabella. This monster terrorized our girl, and those fuckers over there helped him try to usurp us. I am sorry I couldn’t take this burden for you. This will not turn you into your father. Your father would never kill for the people he loves.”

“I-I don’t regret it, brother. I would do it again. I… I am just processing.”

I nod as I squeeze his shoulder.

“Who are these men, Arch?” Bridgette asks, bow still pointed at his heart. Smith glares at her.

“They are a group of mercenaries. They had captured Arabella at first, but we hired them for their particular skills. Arabella does trust them, though,” I answer. This has her finally bringing down the bow.

“Jax, how did your time power not affect his counter power talisman?” Sylas inquires.

“You can’t spell against time.” Jax shrugs and yawns, looking ridiculously tired. “But that’s all you need to know, rock prince.” He winks and walks away.

His power could be really dangerous in the wrong hands. Sylas and I both look to each other, agreeing that we will need to keep an eye on the rogue group.

Koi is already getting up and leaving through the main door. “I am going to go find my love and my brother.”

The other mercenary better have kept his end of the bargain.