Page 63 of Magic Claimed
He squeezed his fingers together, and the collar constricted, shutting off my air supply.
Chapter Thirty-One
There was nothing I could do to stop him. The collar was so tight, I couldn’t breathe. My fingers clawed at it, as black dots danced about my periphery.
Esoti advanced into the clearing, looking almost bored. Hatred coloured my blood like acid. I would kill him. I would kill him ten times if I could, but the golden light was out of my reach and the bond magic within me wasn’t enough.
A wolf leaped at Esoti, who flicked his wand and the shifter disintegrated into a blast of black soot. Another snapped at his heels. Esoti kicked the shifter into the line of guards striding towards us. A guard slid his sword through the middle of the shifter, tossing the broken body behind him like a tasty morsel to a dog.
Despair, raw and cloying, rose within me. The manic gleam in Esoti’s eyes told me he would not stop. He was too powerful.
Alerick gathered me into his lap. My face was numb and my eyeballs bulged as the light faded from my sight. I looked into his face, needing my strong Alpha to be the last face I saw before death found me, knowing when my curse reanimated my flesh, I would never see him alive again.
“Bond with me, Little Mate.” Alerick placed his lips to my temple as darkness descended.
I sunk down, down, down. My mate’s beautiful lights followed me into the darkness that swallowed me whole as my body regenerated itself.
Jarom’s rose light and Eike’s cyan light followed us, twining around us, lighting up the never ending dark. Alerick’s silver light streaked towards me. I reached for it, scrambling in the darkness. Their souls glowed around me, sinking into me, becoming me.
The light of the golden ball appeared in the darkness. It glowed, faintly at first, but brightening it burned the darkness away. Golden petals unfurled, blooming open, encasing us with ancient power. The magic cascaded across me, spinning golden thread around me. The lines wove around Eike, Jarom and Alerick, as ancient magic merged with our bond magic and together we became somethingother.
Strong.
Potent.
Supreme.
Our souls merged, and I was finally complete. I basked in our connection, delighted in their essence, but savouring it would come later.
After I had killed Esoti.
My eyes snapped open to see Esoti towering above me. He cackled with wild laughter as he sent an electric blue bolt into Alerick. My mate cried out, his body bowing, his face twisted in agony as magic cut through him.
This. Ends. Now.
I sent a surge of liquid gold into the collar. The metal snapped and fell from my neck. I dragged in a deep, noisy breath, filling my lungs with sweet air. I scooped the collar off the ground and staggered to my feet.
I brushed Esoti’s destructive magic aside with a sweep of my hand. Alerick fell to his hands and knees, his body heaving as he struggled for breath.
“No more,” I said.
Esoti’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened. He threw another bolt of blue magic at me. I swiped it aside with my hand, shearing it harmlessly into the sky.
“This…cannot be,” Esoti said.
Magic flashed as he sent several bolts at me. I directed them aside, amazed at how easy it was, but I wasn’t here to play. With his next strike, I pushed the bolt back. His wand exploded into tiny shards, showering the ground.
Esoti staggered backwards as I approached him, falling to his knees. “Please. Mercy.” He crumbled to the ground, raising his open palm towards me.
Laughter burst from me. I was a naked slave whom he had tortured since I’d been a child. He had killed my parents and would kill my mates, and he was asking for mercy? He, who showed no mercy to anyone. He, who had killed thousands, if not millions of beings, was asking for mercy.
“You’re pathetic.”
I slammed the collar around his neck. He uttered a weak cry. His fingers clawed at the metal, trying to tug it free. Blood oozed from the welts he scratched into his skin in his desperation to free himself. His eyes flared, knowing I was going to do to him what he’d done to me my whole life.
I raised a hand in the air and squeezed my fingers together. Ancient magic merged with the power of our bond, infusing with my will into the metal. Esoti’s mouth opened, his tongue lolled, and his eyes bulged. He choked as he tried dragging air into his lungs. His face reddened as circulation was cut off until finally he crawled away from me, dirt and mud coating his hands and knees, as he tried to escape.
My mates surrounded me. Alerick at my back. Jarom on my left and Eike on my right. Alerick placed his palms on my shoulders, while Jarom and Eike held my hands as together we watched Esoti sag to the ground, twitch and then still.
