Page 177 of Between Soul and Vessel
I would kill him.
“Nicholas!” I yelled as I fired my bident at the same time he released his arrow. Our weapons collided, but minecame out the victor—splitting his in two and continuing its deadly path.
At the last possible second, Nicholas jerked behind the wall, out of view, and my bident flew through the window, biting into the wall on the other side of the room.
That was the first moment I was afforded the chance to see that I had a chunk of glass in my arm. Wincing, I plucked the jagged shard out, dipped in my ichor, and tossed it. It fell to the sand.
In my periphery, a blur of onyx—
I spun towardhim—my eyes met my mate’s, but they were not truly his. My movement was far from graceful, as I had yet to adapt to the feel of my wings.
“Aurelius,” I snarled at the imposter. Densely packed water molecules blasted from my hand, conjuring my azure sword. With my free hand, I reached out, calling upon my bident. Obliging, it answered my call, landing in my hand.
“I forgot about how much of a selfish bitch you are,” Aurelius sneered, brushing the dust from his shoulder. He eyed my wings but said nothing about them. “You know this is not a fight you will win, Aurelia.”
Thwishhhh.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of.” I swung my arm, my bident deflecting Nicholas’s arrow before it found purchase—my eyes never straying from Aurelius’s.
“On the contrary, I do. I know you better than you know yourself. You are a weak, useless goddess.” His voice—Von’svoice—turned mocking. “And to think, I gave you everything you could ever want. My patience, my kindness.Mylove. I gave you a position beside my throne, gowns spun of the finest gold, and what did you do? You gavemyheart to the enemy. You betrayed me, led me on for centuries, even when I gave you a second chance.” He shook his head in disgust. “You are the one who broke us. An unloyal, useless whore. You areworthless.”
“You’re right,” I started. “The Aurelia you knew was weak, but the Sage who stands before you now,she is strong.” I pointed my sword toward him. “And you’re about to meet her.” I launched at him, and an animalistic growl emitted from me, coming straight from my heart—
Theroarof a lion.
Aurelius conjured his flame swords, half a sun crowning each pommel—one with a hooked blade, the other straight as an arrow. His wings stroked down, propelling him toward me at a blurring speed, faster than fire moving through a forest.
Our swords sung as they crossed each other—fire against water.
Sun against moon.
Abuser against survivor.
Narcissist against warrior.
This battle wasn’t just for me, it was for those who werelikeme. For anyone who had ever been made to believe they were worthless. For anyone who had been beaten down and told they weren’t enough. For anyone who’d had their bodily autonomy taken from them, who hadn’t been given the chance to sayno.
This fight was for us all, and so wasthis—
I jabbed my bident, aiming low. It was a distraction. Aurelius took the bait, sweeping his curved blade to the side, shoving my bident outwards. For a brief second, it left him exposed, and I took full advantage of it—
I punted him right in the cock.
“Fuck!” he howled, his blade releasing mine as his wings carried him twenty feet back. He tossed his one blade. Sunlight glinted off it as it fell to the ground. Scowling in pain, he leaned forward—his breathing labored as he cradled his squashed sex.
I tilted my head to the side, sarcasm drenching my words. “Considering Von’s size, I bet thatreallyhurt.”
Aurelius snarled at me, nothing but hatred sparking between us.
He thrust his hand outward, and fire blasted from his palm. I answered with my own, my flame barreling into his.
We charged again, straight through our fire.
Our swords clashed, this way and that, as we fired blow after blow after blow. In a stroke of luck, my sword caught the side of his face, slashing a bloody groove. Droplets of red sprayed into the air, drenching the tip of my blade.
Surpassing the loud clamor of our swords, a mighty voice rang out from above. “Enough!”
The empress.
