Page 58 of Voices in the Stars (The Lost Witch #1)

The stored magic went shooting out from the dagger in a wave of flames. My screams didn’t stop as I watched the flames overtake him in a wave of blue. They were only there for a split moment before the flames vanished, taking any trace of Kier with them.

Sobs racked my chest as I looked at where he had been standing just moments before. Something cool snaked up my arm. I dropped the dagger as a tingling sensation followed. It clattered to the ground as it moved up my chest, wrapping around the fire in my chest.

I ran my hand over my chest, expecting the flame to disappear once again. Instead, it settled alongside the fire, keeping it burning even as the tears dried along my cheeks. Turning back to the hatch, determination to end this settled within me.

Running up the stairs, I offered a quick hope that this was going to work as I placed my hands on the cold metal. My eyes closed as I willed my magic to listen to me for once.

I didn’t need to try hard. The cool, foreign tendrils of magic snapped down to my hands with my command. It pulled the flames with it. When I opened my eyes, my hands were engulfed in bright blue flames. The metal dripped down onto the stairs until there was a hole big enough for me to fit through.

“Thank you,” I whispered, glancing back down the hall.

“I won’t force any of you to leave.” I raised my voice, calling out to the other captors.

“The way out is open, though. Take your time and I’ll make sure everyone gets out of here safely.

” I hoped my words weren’t a lie as I climbed out of the dungeon.

The sunlight was bright as I stood on the grass, my eyes squinting as I waited for them to adjust. Voices were calling out everywhere around me. Metal clashed against each other as I made my way to the front of the house. Bekah and Leon were here.

My eyes were wide as I took in everything around me.

I couldn’t see either of his friends, but the fighting soldiers around me said all I needed to know.

The men and women fighting in ragged clothes and mismatched pieces of armor greatly outnumbered those in uniforms. Years of Atlas’ hard work stood in front of me.

His men didn’t fight with the elegance of his father’s.

They fought with rage burning in their eyes as they swung on the others.

It was working, too. Uniformed bodies covered the ground.

Nausea twisted as I scanned the city around me.

A twist of black hair moving toward the entrance of the city was exactly what I was looking for. Ivy was trying to leave. Eris might have left already. I sucked in a deep breath before running through the fighting people.

I kept my head low as I ran down the small hill. Clashing metal rang through my ears. Some of the men called out to me as I cut through them. Others swung wildly at me.

A yelp ripped out of me as one jumped in front of me. My hands shot up as I knelt. Please don’t kill him, too . The cold magic expanded, covering every inch of my skin as the man grunted as he swung his sword down. I closed my eyes, waiting for the searing pain.

When nothing happened, I peeked at him. The sword was hovering in front of my face. His arms shook as he pressed against the hilt. It wouldn’t move, though. My brows furrowed, eyes squinting until I saw it. A slight shimmer in the air around me.

My hands dropped to my sides. The sword fell, the tip smacking against the rock path as the shimmer moved with me.

It was a small dome surrounding me. When I stepped back, it moved with me.

As I stopped moving, the man slowly looked over me.

Fear replaced the anger in his eyes as he slowly raised the sword again, bringing it down with less force than he did the first time.

I still flinched even as the blade stopped once again .

“Cece.”

This time, we both jumped. A sword knocked his to the ground as a giant stood in front of me.

My jaw dropped with all the things I wanted to say to him.

Tears burned the corners of my eyes. It had only been days since I had last seen him.

Yet, it felt like a lifetime since I had seen a face I could fully trust.

A scream tore out instead of any warm welcome I could think of as another uniformed soldier joined the first one, jabbing her sword at Leon.

He easily dodged it with a sidestep, raising his sword to meet her next swing.

The first soldier wasted no time in snatching his sword up from the ground.

Then it was Leon against the two of them.

My heart raced as I watched him fight both off while I just stood there.

If I didn’t fear for his safety, I would’ve been impressed by the deadly dance I was watching.

He moved through them with ease. Yet, it was still an unfair fight.

With each successful counter of one soldier, the second one was there, pulling his attention away.

His movements were slowing, the strikes that were coming quickly and precisely now had a hesitance as he was constantly trying to keep an eye on both of them.

I took a deep breath, pulling at the cool magic coursing through me.

To my shock it answered, wrapping closer to my body.

My gaze stayed focused on Leon as I willed it to wrap around him as well.

The shimmering dome expanded. Its wall pushed forward until it reached Leon.

Then it stopped. Instead of pulling him in, it moved around him.

A gasp left me as his next swing bounced off the magic. I quickly pulled away the sides stopping him from fighting back. My brows furrowed as I tried again. This time pushing against his back.

Only to send Leon crashing into the stone path with a grunt. His sword clattered away from him.

“Cece, knock it off!” he yelled back at me.

Everything that came after happened too fast. Leon had pulled himself up to his knees.

A scream left me as the two soldiers charged him, swinging their swords down on him.

Leon yelled as he threw an arm up. There was a sickening crunch as the swords sliced into his arm.

Screams of pain left him as they pulled them out.

An explosion of magic left me as I watched them raise their swords once more.

Fire shot up around us, encircling me and Leon until we were closed off from the rest of the world.

I ran over to him, apologies falling quicker than the tears down my face as I took in the blood pooling around him as he cradled his limp arm.

“I’m so sorry,” I repeated as I kneeled next to him, taking in the damage that had been done.

His arm was still attached, though they had shattered the bone. My hands were shaky as I reached out, not knowing how to help when it was my fault.

“Just heal it, Cece,” Leon muttered through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know how,” I choked, waiting for the magic to do anything.

“What do you mean?” he growled, clenching his arm.

“I’ll try,” I resolved. I mostly figured out the barrier thing. Surely this couldn’t be too hard.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the way Kier’s magic twisted around my own.

I just needed to do this. Just heal Leon.

That’s it. The cold snake swirled around my chest before darting to my fingers.

It wanted to jump out to him. Gods knew I wanted it, too.

There was something I was missing. A step that would let my magic connect to him.

I tried for several moments, pushing everything I had toward him.

I just couldn’t force it to take that final step.

Fuck Eris. Fuck the gods. If it wasn’t for any of them, I’d be able to do this. My father would’ve told me years ago. Instead, I had Leon’s blood seeping through my fingers as I sat here like an idiot.

“Just burn it,” he snapped.

I jerked away, pulling my hands back as I shook my head. Leon groaned as his arm fell back to his lap. “I’ll kill you.”

“How about you don’t? I’d rather not bleed out here, though.”

He was right. If I did nothing, he was losing too much blood to be able to just walk away from this. If I tried to help, there was a high chance I would cause more harm than good. There was no real choice here. I knew what I needed to do.

Sucking in a deep breath, I kept my hands away from him as they caught on fire. Leon flinched away from me as the flames shot above our heads. My brows furrowed as I pulled the fire closer to us until there were barely any flames racing along the palms of my hands.

“This is going to hurt,” I warned him.

Leon opened his mouth to answer the same moment I pressed my burning hands against the slices in his arms. My heart squeezed at the choked at scream that left him.

His arm jerked away. Tears burned down my face as I grabbed him harder, refusing to break contact.

A choked-out sob left me as I pushed away from him, unable to bear the screaming.

Leon was left panting as his yell stopped. His eyes were bright red, tears streaming down his face as he stared down at his arm. Where there had been two gashes, my hands prints were now burned into his skin. Nausea twisted and churned my stomach as I took in what I had done.

“I’m—”

“Leave.” Leon spoke with little emotion in his voice; his shoulder flexed as he tried to move his arm. Nothing moved past his elbow.

“Maybe I can?—“

“Just go, Cece. I will find my way out of this. You’ve done enough.”

My heart sank as he stood, walking to the edge of the fire still circling us, refusing to look at me. I stood, lowering the flames. I’d fix this. As soon as all of this was over. I’d help fix my mistake.