Page 15 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
Rakel.
Her stomach dropped. She was too late.
5
FIVE – KOLFINNA
Kolfinna foughtagainst the smokeless shadows, her fingers grasping at nothing as she tried in vain to free herself. Rakel’s shadows disbursed over her in waves, each stronger than the previous, until she tripped over something and fell to the floor, her limbs swinging in every direction.
In the back of her mind, she knew she couldn’t unleash her own magic, not when she couldn’t see anything. Someone could get hurt, or worse, die.
She still remembered the feeling when she had inadvertently killed Hilda’s men, who had been keeping her captive, with her shadow magic. She remembered the frenzy of the inky shadows that had burned and overtaken the men and women responsible for her pain and suffering.
She couldn’t release her power, but her control was slipping. The more Rakel’s magic ate away at her, tugged at her skin, and seared her body, the more Kolfinna’s mana bubbled at the surface. She tried to rein it in, but it grew restless within her and writhed beneath her flesh defensively.
“All you had to do was stay put.” Rakel’s voice boomed from every direction. “Why do you insist on making this so difficult?”
“Stop!” Kolfinna shrieked. She wasn’t sure if it was meant for Rakel, or for herself, because her control was waning with every passing second. She tried holding it in, but her magic was rebellious—it wanted to protect her, it wanted to lose itself against the oppressive shadowy whips consuming her.
“Commander Alfaer could have kept you like a mana slave. He could’ve had you drugged and bound until we needed your power. But no, he gave you respect, dignity, and freedom. And this, Kolfinna, is how you repay hiskindness?”
Kolfinna couldn’t see Rakel through all the black blanketing the room, but she could hear her steps closing in. The other prisoners screamed, groaned, and cried out loud. Her mana continued to thrash within her. She couldn’t lose control, she couldn’t.
“Shut up,” she whisper-shouted, scratching at her own throat to free the wisps of magic clawing over her. “A prisoner is a prisoner, no matter how gilded the cage is.”
A short, haughty laugh filled the room, drowning away the screams of the prisoners. “Is that what you think? Because, dear, it can get much, much worse.”
Kolfinna couldn’t keep it in anymore. Her own shadows burst from her skin, fending off Rakel’s in seconds. They warred with each other, pushing against each other until slowly, Rakel’s shadows pulled away from Kolfinna’s skin and flesh.
Kolfinna’s mana drained faster as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. She could actually see the cracked gray floors now, as opposed to minutes ago.
All at once, Rakel’s shadows receded to one end of the room and the darkness faded until they could all see again. The prisoners were huddled against the walls, holding onto their chains like anchors. Their bodied were stained purple from the magic. Fear and panic made their eyes widen, and Kolfinna’s chest panged at the sight of it.
Rakel’s full lips curled into a dark scowl. “You dare lift your shadows to fight me?”
Kolfinna’s shadows moved on their own, lunging at Rakel without waiting for a response from their wielder. Rakel dodged, her own magic swarming over Kolfinna’s.
Just like all the other times, Kolfinna had no control over her shadows. They attacked instinctively like they had a will of their own, but she noticed that they avoided the prisoners. Almost like … they knew who her enemy was. She also noticed that unlike last time, where Rakel had been stronger than her, this time the elf woman seemed to struggle against her relentless shadows.
“You ungrateful—” Light materialized in Rakel’s hand and she sliced Kolfinna’s shadows into thinner ribbons, where they fell to the ground limply and dissolved into dust.
Kolfinna raised her hands and hurled stones from the ground at Rakel. The elf woman swatted them away with beams of light, and they ricocheted off her magic and buried themselves into the skull of one of the prisoners. The man’s head smashed into the wall with the force, blood splattering behind him. The prisoners beside him screamed, scrambling further away from the dead man.
Kolfinna’s stomach twisted, but she didn’t have time to think of the man, because Rakel shot light rays at her again. She rolled on the floor, dodging them and sending a torrent of stone spears in her direction. Her own shadows continued to warp the space around Rakel, whipping around her violently and obscuring her vision.
Suddenly, the temperature rose and a burst of purple fire shot at Rakel, burning the elf woman’s shoulder. She shrieked, falling to her knees and clutching her injury. The smell of smoke and burning flesh filled the air immediately.
Kolfinna whipped her head behind her to find Herja outside the doorway of the room, flames flickering on her fingertips. Shewas outside the runes, Kolfinna realized with a start. She could use her magic.
Herja’s blazing blue eyes connected with Kolfinna. “Let’s go!”
She didn’t wait, didn’t think, just ran after Herja. They both sprinted down the corridor, Rakel’s shouts and screams following behind them. Kolfinna twisted around and raised a hand, pulling out the stones from the hallway walls and collapsing them to close off Rakel.
“We don’t have much time!” Kolfinna said. “That’ll only slow her down for a moment.”
As if on cue, she heard the crashing and crumbling of stones. They both hurried their steps. An elf soldier rounded the corner of the hall, and before Kolfinna could do anything, Herja blasted him in the chest with a ball of purple fire. The soldier fell on his knees, screaming, as they ran past him.
“We can’t leave everyone else behind,” Kolfinna said, guilt forming in her chest thickly.
