Page 154 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“I should have killed you that night!” he seethed, reaching for another dagger, but my shadows beat him to it, slamming it into the wall behind us.
“Which night?” Elena purred. “The one when you killed my mother, or just the other night when you tried to take me in the forest beyond the castle walls?”
A guttural growl tore through my chest at the information my Wildfire had left out.
“Y-you’re…that girl on the floor in Lostburrow. All those years ago…that was you, wasn’t it?” Brand’s chest heaved as shadows wrapped around his body, squeezing him tight.
Elena moved towards me, and I steadied her as she manipulated the shadows around Brand. He thrashed against the shadow bindings, groaning each time Elena constricted them, and his face began to turn a deep scarlet.
When a cry of distress fled from his lips, I wrapped a shadow around his mouth to silence him. “You don’t have to do this, love. Taking a life leaves a scar on the soul, no matter how much they may deserve it.”
Her brows pinched, creating a wrinkle as she tried to hold in her frustrated tears.
“There are other ways, it’s okay,” I whispered against her temple, wiping the tears that had fallen.
She lowered her trembling arms. Her shadows receded with them. Brand fell to his knees, gulping for air through his crushed lungs.
The clang of metal and boots of the guards finally filled the doorway.
Five guards began their assault of dynamis, and we both released ours in return. We dodged their dynamis left and right, while eventually knocking out three of them.
Lena suddenly shrieked, and I whipped around to see Brand had risen once more, his hand wrapped firmly around her neck. The dagger now in his other hand rising upwards.
With one hand I blasted turbulent winds towards the remaining guards, with the other I launched my shadows around Brand’s neck.
The guards tumbled to the ground, but Brand continued to squeeze the air from Elena’s lungs as her feet thrashed in the air.
Time slowed. She mouthed words I’d seen her use before when her anxiety overwhelmed her, just as her entire body came alight with white flame.
Brand’s screams tore through the room as I zephyred towards her and wrapped her in my arms. Unlike last time, I felt no sting of ice from her flames. Instead it felt like a calming warmth as I tore her away from Brand.
Residual flames flickered over him as he fell, convulsing on the floor. In a matter of moments his body went still.
Lena trembled uncontrollably. The guards on the floor stilled at the sight, but now scrambled to their feet to stop us.
I lowered my head towards hers and cupped both sides of her face. “We’re going to have to fight our way out of here, love.”
She nodded solemnly, igniting her palms in icy white flames.
Elena and I used shadows and flames to force our way out of the small room and past the guards. We ran down the hallway into the grand hall, all while dodging blasts of dynamis.
Just as we made it in, Liam and Killian came running in from the opposite direction. Liam blasted shards of ice towards the guards still chasing behind us. Both fell to the ground with a thud.
“Thank the gods.”Elena’s exasperated voice rasped inside my head.
The reprieve was short lived, as the front entrance of the castle swung wide open and in walked Alastor and my father. Behind them two guards dragged Clara.
Her swollen eyes met mine as she mouthed, “Sorry,” then met Lena’s eyes to do the same.
Three of the guards who were following us finally made their appearance, and four more stormed in behind us.Thank all five gods. They were from the Rebellion.
Lena ignited her palms in white flames, and my shadows burst free. Killian and Liam stepped beside us at the ready.
“Don’t make one more move.” Alastor’s deep voice filled the hall. In a move of dynamis I’d never seen before, he extended his hand, and Clara flew out of the guards’ hands and into his grip.
Killian cursed and launched a dagger towards Alastor. To which he zephyred away from just in time.
Damn.
