Page 286 of When Sisters Collide
Panic flared in her chest. What had the Rasennans done to her? What had Dorias let her become?
The steady trickle from the fountain cut through her spiralling thoughts. When her knees touched the basin’s edge, she paused and glanced over her shoulder.
Laran stood where she’d left him. Watching.
“Will we ever meet again?” she asked.
He was arrogant and manipulative—a god who had tricked her, tested her, pushed her to the edge and beyond. But he was still the only parent she had.
Something in Laran’s expression shifted, turning more thoughtful, almost fond. “If you ever need me, I won’t be far.”The familiar smirk crept back in, and he tipped his head towards the fountain. “Now, go. And try not to embarrass yourself too much.”
Katell didn’t hesitate. She leaned forward and grasped the mirror’s polished surface. It yielded as though made of water, light exploding around her in a blinding surge.
I love you. Nothing will ever change that.
Her sister’s rasping words echoed through her, and her heart clenched. “I’m coming, Alena,” she breathed. “Just hold on.”
The mirror swallowed her whole, and Laran’s realm vanished.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
NIKANDER
Pain bloomed behind Nik’s eyes—dull at first, then piercing and insistent, like someone striking iron inside his skull. Nausea churned in his gut, tipping the world sideways. Rain fell in a steady mist, blurring edges and smearing shapes into indistinct forms. He squinted against the stinging light, but it only sharpened the headache.
Mud clung to his skin, while something warmer trickled from his temple.
Shapes shifted through the haze, and fragments of memory returned: the battlefield, the river splitting in two, Rasennans pouring from the shadows, luring Katell to the standing stones.
And then… nothing.
How long had he been out?
Nik forced himself upright, every movement carving fire through his ribs. The stiff leather of his breastplate dug into his side, pain flaring with each inhale. Gritting his teeth, he reached for the shoulder straps, fingers clumsy and damp with rain. He tugged them free one by one, then wrestled with the cords lacing the sides, lungs straining with effort.
The armour gave way with a reluctantcreak. He yanked it off, tossing it aside. Cold rain soaked through his tunic, but the pressure on his ribs eased.
Just ahead, Leukos slumped against a lichen-covered stone, body unnaturally still. One arm hung limp, the other clutched the hilt of a dagger buried just beneath his breastplate, lodged in the seam where leather failed to protect. Blood soaked the fabric and pooled beneath him.
Nik froze—until he caught the faintest rise and fall of Leukos’ chest.
Relief punched through him, sharp and fleeting. Leukos’ face was bone white, and the bleeding wasn’t stopping.
Shit.
Nik’s chest tightened with guilt. He’d let his own emotions take the lead against Katell. He should’ve guarded his prince better. But now wasn’t the time for regrets. He needed to get Leukos out of the rain, into a healer’s hands, or?—
A flicker of movement across the circle pulled him up short.
Katell stood at the far edge of the stones, hand clamped around Alena’s throat, pinning her to a slab of grey limestone.
“No…” Nik rasped.
Before he could move, a burst of brilliant crimson light erupted from Katell, flooding the circle. Magic exploded in a blinding wave, the force so immense it pressed the world into silence.
Alena collapsed onto the rain-slick ground, mud splattering in messy arcs. One hand clutched her bruised throat as she fought for air. Her face was a ruin—one eye swollen shut, the other fixed on Katell. Even through the mist, the shock etched there was unmistakable.
Katell staggered back, chest rising and falling in ragged gasps. Her body quivered as the crimson light retreated, leaving a faint shimmer around her—a fading aura of raw power.
