“Ouuuu, that felt good!” I hissed, dropping into another attack stance.
“Demons like pain,” Crane bellowed.
Jinx darted overhead, wings flickering. “Heads up, bastard!” she called, hurling a bolt of lightning from her palm. Crane spun, the magic grazing his cheek and searing flesh. He snarled, retaliating with a thrown dagger that caught Jinx in the calf. She crashed to the ground, blood pooling beneath her.
Blair hovered at the edge, hands trembling, torn between love and loyalty. She summoned a swirl of rose-thorns, but her heart wasn’t in it—the vines lashed Crane’s arm, drawing blood, but not enough to slow him. He ripped free, sneering, “I regret laying on top of you! You are a weak bitch!”
Blair’s eyes filled with tears. “Just surrender! Crane, please?—”
Pain flared in my jaw, but I sprang into the air, wings beating hard as I twisted above the arena. My limbs stretched and thickened, bones shifting beneath my skin. Silky fur rippled out, swallowing my fairy form as my wings vanished. I crashed down on all fours, landing with a heavy thud—massive paws digging furrows in the sand. My fur bristled, each strand stiffening and sharpening until it spiked up along my spine like rose thorns. In a blink, I was no longer a fairy but a monstrous wolf, venom dripping from my fangs.
Jinx, wounded but relentless, limped forward, summoning a gust of razor wind that shredded Crane’s cloak and left bloody welts across his chest. He retaliated with a blast of green fire, catching her in the side. Jinx screamed, skin blistering, but she spat blood and didn’t back down.
“I always hated you lil’ dick fucks!” Jinx screamed at Crane, and he blew her a kiss.
Blair tried again, sending a flurry of enchanted petals at Crane, but at the last second, she pulled back, the petals barely nicking his cheek. I saw her hesitation, and so did Jinx. Without missing a beat, Jinx hurled a spear of ice, pinning Crane’s hand to the ground. I lunged, wolf jaws clamping down on his shoulder, tearing flesh and muscle. Blood flowed heavily to the ground.
Crane roared, yanking free, his magic swirling around him. He blasted me with a bolt of pain—I shifted back to my true form, wand now a whip of shadow that lashed his face, peeling skin from bone. He staggered, one eye ruined, blood streaming down his neck.
Jinx, barely standing, screamed, “Blair, now!” But Blair’s hands shook too hard—her love for Crane a chain she couldn’t break.
Crane, half-blind and bleeding, spat, “You’ll never kill me, Blair. You’re too weak.”
I pressed the blade of my wand—now a dagger—into his ribs, twisting. “She doesn’t have to. I will, bitch!”
Crane collapsed, blood bubbling from his lips, but even then, his eyes sought Blair’s. I stood over him, ready to take his head off, but Blair grabbed my arm. “Stop it! They are watching you. They’ll kill you!” I whispered.
“Would you let me kill War? Why is War more important than Crane? They both do evil and wicked things, but you still want him,” she said.
“Die with me,” Crane told Blair, while blood pooled around him. He was on the brink of death and still adamant to take one of us with him. Blair thought it was a confession of love, but I saw through it.
I pulled away from Blair to finish off Crane, who smiled at me with bloodstained teeth. “I gotta admit…this darkness suits you,” he said.
“Let me embrace it!” I replied.
A hatchet spawned in my hand. I brought it down on Crane’s forehead, the crack of his skull echoing throughout the stadium. His body twitched as he gasped, taking his last breath with a smile on his face. The warlocks cheered as I stepped away from Crane’s body, wearing his blood like body butter.
“Eboenia! Eboenia!” they chanted.
War signaled that class was dismissed. The warlocks poured out of the stadium, vanishing through a door-shaped portal. Only seven of us remained. War came over and wrapped his arm around me.
“My Lor Pussy Fairy,” he smirked, proud of my kill.
“I did it for Blair,” I told him.
“I know. Your loyalty is your biggest asset. I might not always agree with your methods, but you’re no traitor. Even through my darkness, you still manage to blossom,” War said, caressing my cheek.
Grim, War, and Crash Out walked over to Crane’s body. Grim knelt beside him, feeling for a pulse. “Yup, he’s gone,” Grim confirmed.
“Damn. I sort of feel bad, but he died true to himself. No matter how you feel, you gotta respect a real warrior. At least give him a proper send-off—burn him, don’t let him rot,” Jinx said.
Grim walked over to Jinx, wiping the blood off her head with his towel.
“I didn’t know you had all that in you. You’re a feisty fairy, huh? How about I take you out to celebrate?” Grim asked.
“I guess I can let my biggest enemy wine and dine me,” Jinx replied, rolling her eyes.
“What about the other one in the dungeon? The one that looks like a woman?” Crash Out asked.
