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ERYSS

S omething is wrong .

I feel it twisting through the air, coiling around Catalina like an invisible chain, binding her will, tainting her magic.

Her attacks are precise, too precise, as if guided by an unseen hand. Magic surges from her fingertips, an unnatural, corrupted white fire splitting through the battlefield. She isn’t fighting like her . Catalina’s magic is pure , wild, yes, but never tainted . This? This reeks of something else . Something else .

Naranus doesn’t hesitate. He charges through the wreckage, claws unsheathed, fangs bared in lethal determination. His molten eyes lock onto Catalina, and I fear what he’ll do.

He won’t stop.

Thryx tightens his grip around my waist, his powerful wings beating hard against the smoky air as he lifts me from the ground.

“Let me go!” I thrash against him, my fingers clawing at his arms, my legs kicking against empty space. “Thryx, I need to stop them!”

His grip tightens. “Naranus ordered me to get you out of here, and I’m not disobeying him.”

“Then you’re an idiot! ” I snap, throwing my head back. The crown of my skull cracks against his jaw. He curses, momentarily losing his grip, just enough for me to twist .

I grab onto his wings, yanking him sideways. We spin in the air, and my momentum sends us both plummeting back to the earth.

Thryx roars as we hit the ground. He twists mid-fall, using his massive frame to cushion the impact, his body slamming into the rubble. A sharp crunch echoes as his arm takes most of the damage.

I roll off him, breathless, my pulse hammering.

Thryx groans, shifting, trying to push himself up.

“Damn it, Eryss?—”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, then bolt.

I run , dodging through the chaos, weaving past gargoyle warriors, skidding over broken stone, the scent of scorched air thick in my lungs.

Catalina.

I have to stop her.

She stands in the center of the battlefield, her body rigid, her eyes glowing . Her fingers twitch, and another wave of violent magic erupts from her hands.

Naranus dodges, his wings snapping open as he rolls mid-air, the blast of energy barely missing him. His claws scrape against the ground as he lands, eyes burning, tracking her movements, preparing to strike.

“No— STOP! ”

I throw myself between them.

Naranus halts , his claws inches from my throat.

Catalina staggers.

“Eryss,” she breathes, her voice raw, distant, wrong .

I whip toward her. “ This isn’t you! ”

She shudders, her body trembling, magic still writhing around her fingers.

“You have to fight it!” I plead, stepping closer. “ Something is controlling you! ”

Her lips part. “I… I don’t…” Her face contorts in agony , hands flying to her head as if something is burrowing into her skull.

A cold whisper slithers through the battlefield.

Oh, but she belongs to me now.

The voice is like ice, like poison curling through the wind.

It isn’t Catalina’s voice.

Naranus growls low, his body stiffening. His wings snap out, shielding me instinctively.

Catalina screams.

Magic explodes from her, and suddenly, I see it.

Not just her , but the thing behind her.

A presence. A shadow clinging to her magic, twisting it, threading its will into hers. A puppet master , its tendrils buried inside my sister’s mind, forcing her hands to move, her lips to part, her magic to destroy .

I lunge forward.

Catalina’s eyes lock onto me .

Something flashes in them. A flicker of recognition.

“Catalina,” I say, my voice steady. “You are stronger than this.”

Her breathing is ragged . Her hands tremble.

“I can’t ,” she chokes. “It won’t let me?—”

“Yes, you can ,” I press, stepping closer.

Naranus growls behind me, but he doesn’t stop me.

“Catalina.” My voice lowers . “I am here. I am real. ”

Her hands shake violently.

“Feel me . Not it. ”

The magic around her flickers.

The shadow writhes, as if sensing its hold slipping.

It lashes out .

A whip of energy snaps toward me.

Catalina blocks it .

The magic collides into her instead. She screams in agony, her body convulsing as the thing inside her fights back .

“No— fight it! ” I grab her wrists.

Tears streak down her cheeks. “It’s inside me.”

“Then push it out! ”

She trembles violently.

Then she screams .

Magic shatters around us, the force of it knocking me back .

A wave of white-hot energy erupts from her body, the ground splitting beneath us. The shadow screeches.

And suddenly, it’s gone .

Catalina collapses.

I lunge , catching her before she hits the ground.

Her body is limp , her breathing shallow, her face pale as death.

“Catalina,” I whisper. “Stay with me.”

She stirs weakly. Her lashes flutter open, her gaze clear .

“Eryss…” A weak smile. “I… I heard you.”

A choked breath leaves me.

I clutch her tighter, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Behind me, I hear Naranus move, his presence radiating heat .

“She’s safe,” I whisper, my throat tight. “She’s free.”

But where is Amelia ?

And who —or what —was controlling my sister?

I barely have time to process it before the sound of beating wings fills the air.

More enemies are coming.