Page 60 of Queen of the Wicked
The python released a piercing screech when one of Izara’s fireballs landed their target, directly into its eye. Taking advantage of the distraction, Alessia sent her tendrils of smoke around its neck, tightening them untilshe was exhausted. The creature thrashed beneath her hold, spewing more venom as a last-ditch effort to save itself.
“It’s also an argentinosaurus,” Erebos panted. Beads of sweat trailed down his forehead as he sank his blade into its stomach. “Mutations can happen. I read about them in the texts. You have to be careful of its?—”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence when the mutated beast swept its tail in the blink of an eye.
Everything that followed happened in slow motion.
The sharp edges of its tail slammed directly into Alessia, stripping the breath from her lungs. Pain exploded down her body as she was thrown into the stone wall, hitting her head with a loudthudwhile losing total power of the hold she had on its neck.
The world blacked out in that moment, followed by another excruciating burst of agony. Her ears rang, overpowering the muffled screaming in the distance.
She needed to get up. She needed to help. But the ground was on the ceiling, and then the ceiling was on the ground. Alessia couldn’t see straight, a kaleidoscope of colors that clouded her judgment.
Stars swam in her peripheral vision, followed by a trickling sensation on her scalp as she tried to regain her bearings. Izara was in her element, expertly rolling and dodging the venom while throwing fire left and right. Eryx held his ground, standing poised with his sword, ready to launch another attack, when Erebos abruptly dashed in front of him.
“Erebos, stay back!” Eryx screamed.
The lord didn’t heed the beast or the general’s warning.His only focus seemed to be onheras he narrowly avoided another swipe from its tail and raced to the other side of the tunnel where she lay sprawled on the ground.
Alessia couldn’t comprehend what she saw. Didn’t understand what was happening when her head throbbed so loudly it sounded like a drumline in her mind.
The mutated serpent swung its head, drool dripping from its gaping jowls, when it landed on Erebos running directly in front of it. Green eyes glowed brighter at the prospect of its next meal, and the air was permeated with a rancid, decaying scent that had Alessia’s stomach rolling.
“STAY BACK!” The general’s voice gave out at the same time Alessia understood the gravity of the situation.
Erebos was risking his life forher.
He was racing into the front line of destruction despite every warning Eryx screamed.
And he was seconds from dying.
Hardly able to keep her eyes open, she stared in horror as the beast lifted its talon and aimed right for Erebos’s spine.
Chapter 26
Alessia
Since Alessia’s powers had surfaced, she’d contemplated a lot whether it was morally right to kill. To take the life of someone orsomethingwas a choice that she would carry in her soul long after it had been made. After Godric, regardless of whether or not he had intentions of hurting her, she hadn’t stopped picturing his lifeless gaze.
But as Erebos braced for the impact of the creature’s talon, Alessia didn’t feel remorse or guilt for annihilating the mutated abomination.
It happened naturally, an instinct from deep within her, despite her injuries. The smoke took on an evil of its own, shooting out like rope to secure the talon aiming for the lord’s spine. It encircled it like a lasso centimeters above his back before pulling so hard that the limb severed and rolled into the shadows.
An agonizing squeal ricocheted off the stone walls, but that’s all the time Alessia allowed it to breathe. Erebos still covered his head as if anticipating his imminent death,and she couldn’t stand the sight of it. The thought of him leaving this realm provoked a wave of fury to burn through her veins. It had her gaze zeroing in on the threat that merelysuggestedtaking his life, and suddenly, she regained clarity as she rose to her feet with one goal in mind.
“It messed with the wrong person,” Eryx muttered as the fifty-nine-foot reptile levitated off the ground, eyes bulging as the tendrils of rope wrapped around its neck.
Izara, panting from the overuse of her powers, stared in awe at the sight before her.
Alessia’s eyes were pure crimson when she cocked her head to the side in an unnatural state.
Take what is yours,the voice within her urged.Decimate what seeks to destroy it.
Alessia flicked her wrist with a satirical grin, finding pleasure when she felt bones snap beneath the smoke. The creature went limp, crashing to the floor with enough force to dislodge more debris from the ceiling.
Eryx and Izara were still trying to process what had happened as Alessia raced to drop to her knees beside Erebos. She wasn’t thinking clearly when she rolled him onto his back and cupped his face with her hands, her gaze roaming over every single detail to ensure not a hair on his head was harmed.
Nothing could explain the relief that swelled in her chest when his eyes met hers. Whether it was due to her harboring his powers, the connection between them hummed happily, and Alessia couldn’t prevent herself from running her fingers through his disheveled curls.
