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ERYSS

T he world as I know it crumbles.

My sister is gone.

Her last words, her last touch, vanished into nothing but light and warmth, into magic so ancient, so powerful, it crackled in the air like an untamed storm.

I scream, an agonized, wretched sound that rips through my throat, splintering into the battlefield like a blade against glass. My hands, still outstretched, reach for ashes, for something, anything, that isn’t fading light and empty air.

But there is nothing. Catalina’s sacrifice is final.

Inside me, something snaps.

Magic erupts, surging like an uncontainable force, wild and feral. The barriers that once bound me, that choked my power into dormancy, are obliterated.

I feel it.

Every thread of power that was stolen from me. Every inch of magic that had been bound, shackled, hidden away, Catalina’s final gift to me.

It bursts free.

Lightning races over my skin, my hair lifting in an unseen breeze. The ground trembles beneath my feet, energy radiating outward in waves, churning the earth beneath us.

The enemies surrounding us, those who stood in the wake of Catalina’s sacrifice halt.

Amelia.

The Elders.

The traitorous gargoyles who had allied with darkness.

They feel it.

The change.

The power.

Their faces twist in shock, in realization. I am no longer weak.

I am no longer bound.

I am power itself.

Amelia’s lips part, her confidence wavering since she revealed her betrayal. She stares, watching as the magic swirls around me, forming radiant tendrils of energy that crackle and lash like the storm of the gods themselves.

Now, I see it, fear in her eyes.

I step forward, slow, deliberate. The weight of my magic is crushing, pressing against me from every angle, as if the very world is bending under its force.

“Eryss…” Amelia’s voice falters, hesitant, cautious. “This is?—”

I don’t let her finish.

With a flick of my wrist, the air explodes around her, sending her slamming into the ground with bone-rattling force. A crater forms where she lands, dust rising in thick clouds.

Gasps fill the battlefield.

The Elders stagger back, their golden robes fluttering in the storm I have unleashed.

But I don’t care. My gaze locks onto Amelia, who coughs, her hands clawing at the earth as she tries to rise.

She looks up at me, her dark magic swirling, but weaker now. Because I have become what she feared most.

I am no longer a pawn.

I am the storm.

“You took everything from me,” I say, voice cold, echoing with power. The wind howls around me, my magic pressing outward like a force of nature itself.

Amelia’s lips curl into a sneer despite the blood dripping from her mouth. “You don’t understand, sister,” she spits. “This was never about you.”

Something inside me flares, rage, pain, loss. And yet, through it all, Naranus is there.

Standing beside me, silent, watching.

His body should be broken, his magic depleted. He should have collapsed the moment Catalina took his curse.

But he doesn’t.

He stands, towering, unmoving, the golden glow of my power reflecting in his dark, intense gaze.

Watching me.

I am not the same woman he once held in chains. Because I have become something more.

And even though I am filled with a storm of magic, of vengeance, of loss so deep I feel like I will never breathe again, he is there.

Grounding me.

I inhale sharply, my hand trembling as I lift it, the magic around me coiling, seeking release.

One spell.

One strike.

I could end Amelia.

Destroy her for everything she’s done.

For manipulating me. For controlling Catalina. For forcing my sister to die in my place.

Through the roar of my newfound power, through the agony twisting inside me, I hear Catalina’s voice.

Soft. Fading.

"You always were my little sister."

Something inside me fractures. Amelia was my sister, too. Maybe… I don’t have to kill her.

I lower my hand.

Naranus exhales beside me, like he can sense my decision before I even make it.

But Amelia moves.

She lunges, a dagger flashing in her hand, a spell forming on her lips, her eyes dark with murderous intent.

I don’t hesitate as my heart breaks. Kindness has no place in war. Narinus looks at my with approval.

My power erupts.

The force of it slams into Amelia, sending her flying backward, her body hitting the remains of a broken pillar.

She doesn’t get up. Silence falls.

The battlefield is still.

Suddenly, the Elders run.

The ones who had sided with Amelia, the ones who had conspired to bind me, to use me, to sacrifice me for their cause, they flee.

Cowards. I could chase them.

I could kill them all.

But I don’t because I have already lost too much tonight.

Instead, I turn, my magic fading just slightly, my limbs suddenly heavy with the weight of everything that’s happened.

Naranus is there. He reaches for me, his hands steady, his touch warm, despite the cold magic still swirling between us.

My body trembles. My knees threaten to give out.

His arms catch me before I fall.

Our gazes lock, and he whispers, “Sleep tight, my little bride. Tomorrow will come with a brighter sun.”

He kisses my forehead, giving me the reprieve that I so need.

Sweet oblivion takes me under.