Page 116 of When Storms Collide

This time I didn’t hesitate—I extended my palm towards her and released the energy I had siphoned from the storm overhead. My magic shot out of my palm as a steady, pulsing flame. Amethyst energy colliding with hers.

She took another step back beneath the force of my power.

Then another.

I pulled more magic from the sky when I felt myself tire, the continuous stream of energy pushing Donika farther and farther back. I spotted Stormslayer beneath the railing and bent to pick it up, comforted by the blade safely back in my grip.

Donika’s own palm was extended towards me, her energy met mine. Black fire mixing with violet. They pressed against each other mercilessly, the terrace groaning beneath us from the weight of all the energy we were wielding. We appeared evenly matched, her dark energy holding back mine for the time being.

Unless she cut herself and performed a new blood spell, she would eventually run out of energy. My energy was already inthe sky, and the only way I would run out is if I sucked all the energy dry without allowing time to create a new storm.

The storms above us were furious, spitting and crackling with energy I had never seen before. It was truly a sight to behold.

I pulled more.

And more.

Until I was so full of energy, I thought I could fly. My skin was glistening violet as I pushed against her. I was certain my amethyst magic swirled furiously in my eyes. The light of our battle illuminated the surrounding sky, sending a beacon of light directly upwards where our magic clashed.

Donika was straining to hold me off, both hands extended towards me, her teeth ground together from pain.

I bet she wished she wore more practical shoes.

I took a step forward. Then another.

Donika stepped back away from me, conceding. Another few steps back and she would be pressed against the iron railing of the balcony. The slash of a blade across my side almost dropped me to my knees, my focus broken for a single moment.

Nik had been hurt again.

Donika used the momentary lapse in my concentration to press forward, but I was ready. I pulled even more energy from above to fill the void of what I had already expended, and she was forced backwards once more.

Her back was pressed against the iron railing now, my magic threatening to push her over. We were a few stories up, buta fall like this wouldn’t kill her. It would take more than a little height to kill the queen of blood magic.

Was that…fearI saw in her black eyes?

I shook my head, banishing the thought from my mind.

Donika would never be afraid. That was a human emotion, none of which belonged to her anymore. She was growing weaker, my magic funneling straight from the sky and into my core. I would need to push more magic back up into the sky soon, and I prayed that Donika would break before then.

Right as the thought crossed my mind, Donika buckled, falling to her knees, her chiffon skirt so wet around her that it clung to her legs as she fell. Her black energy blinked out, but my magic continued to surge forth.

It exploded into her with such force that I was propelled backwards myself. I twisted my body to land as gracefully as I possibly could, pushing myself back up onto my hands and knees. My breathing was labored, my wet clothes plastered to my skin. I was utterly drained, but vengeance pushed me to continue once more.

Donika lay in a heap across the terrace from me, her white blue hair streaming around her head against the terrace stone. I pushed myself to standing, slowly approaching her with Stormslayer held tightly in my grip.

She hadn’t regained herself, her head limp against the terrace. I used the edge of the blade to turn her face towards me, as she had done in the throne room to me so many times before. When her gaze met mine, her black eyes were filled with sorrow. I wasn’t sure what I had expected… but it wasn’t this. Ipressed the tip of my blade to her chest, pressing down only enough to pierce the skin.

When her blood poured forth across the bodice of her bejeweled dress, it was as dark as midnight. The same ichor that pumped through the veins of her monsters. It pooled at her collarbone, a laugh escaping her lips and causing it to spill over her shoulders and onto the stone below with the vibration.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, pressing the blade harder against her, my brows drawn together.

The ichor mixed with the torrents of rain that still fell from the sky above, causing it to turn a milky charcoal color. The storms overhead had weakened due to the amount of energy I had pulled from them, but the rain continued to fall.

“Because in the end, I always knew it would be you, little Stormshade.”

I glared down at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Her hand fell from her stomach to lie against the stone terrace, straight into a pool of her own blood. It instantly soaked through the delicate lace of the sleeve, but she didn’t have the strength to move it. She had exhausted all of her energy. All of her power.

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