Page 59 of Demanding Discord
“Which one?” Her gaze bounced from the goddess’s arm to her ankles.
“What feels right?” I asked, sending a pulse of magic into my witch, bringing clarity to her thoughts.
“None of them.” She shook her head, and I released her.
“Help me,” Hecate rasped.
“Just choose one.” I stepped away, giving Cinder room to work.
“Okay, I’ll try the opposite ankle.” She lit another soft flame and sent it into the shackle.
Hecate mumbled something inaudible. Her head jerked back, and drool ran from the corner of her mouth. Cinder cringed, her brow crumpling as she poured her light into the second shackle. Her breathing grew shallow with her exertion, but she continued feeding her light into the darkness until the sigil popped and the bind dissolved.
Hecate wailed in pain.
Cinder shook her hands. “This isn’t right. She’ll die if we keep doing this.”
“What else can we do?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
I grasped her shoulders once more and sent a wave of magic into her psyche. She gasped, her eyes glazing, and through our bond, I felt her connect with the goddess’s mind. The sheer power of her light nearly knocked me from my feet.
I closed my eyes, focusing only on my soulbride, my magic, my essence, mingling with hers until I couldn’t tell where I ended and she began. Light and dark, high and low, evil and goodness mixing and melding, creating a symphony of indisputable power.
“Her heart!” Cinder’s voice brought me back to myself, and I released her. She climbed onto the altar, her hands trembling above the goddess’s chest. “We have to break the heart bind. Come here.”
I joined her atop the stone table. “Tell me what to do.”
“Exactly what you just did.” She took my hand in hers and hovered her other over Hecate’s heart. Lighting a soft golden flame, she focused her intent on freeing the goddess and opened herself to me once more.
Our magic melded instantly, as if it were two halves of the same whole, and my skin turned to gooseflesh. Cinder’s high vibration hummed in my muscles, making them twitch as she used my essence to fuel her own and focused it into the invisible chain.
Searing pain lanced through me as the bind fought back, and I absorbed it, channeling it away from Cinder so she could continue her work unhindered. Her palm heated, slick with sweat, and a prickling sensation shot up my arm, igniting in my chest.
Hecate groaned. Cinder wheezed. An earth-shattering snap echoed through the chamber.
The shackles dissolved, and Hecate fell to her knees on the altar. I caught her arm before she could tumble to the ground, and an electric jolt ricocheted through my body, setting every nerve ablaze.
“You dare touch me?” The goddess yanked from my grasp and floated to the floor, her hair whipping in an invisible wind.
I slid from the table and lowered to one knee, casting my gaze to her feet. “My sincerest apologies, goddess. I am sorry…for everything. I knew not what the amulet meant when I wagered it.”
I dared to look at her. White flames flickered in her silver eyes, and vibrating energy gathered around her, making my body itch.
“I will return it to you,” I said. “You have my word.”
“Please, goddess.” Cinder pressed her palms together and bowed. “My sisters are searching for it as we speak. We will make things right.”
Hecate straightened her spine on a quick inhale, her fury dimming to a simmer. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I know.” Cinder dropped her arms at her sides. “We’ve unraveled the veil by freeing Discord and his brothers, but we intend to fix it. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
The goddess scoffed. “You speak of ‘we’ as if you share the burden.”
“We do,” I said.
“Not you.” Hecate glared at me, and I clamped my mouth shut.
