She refuses, so I grab her hair and shove her face into her own bile. Bash. Crack. Then again. And again. Until her skull splits like an egg under my hold. Even then, I don’t stop, relishing the thought of seeing the color of her brain.
“Enough!”
A blast of searing heat slams into my ribs, flinging me into my own veil.
“You dare?” I whisper, rising as the grass grays beneath me and black tendrils writhe at my feet. A portion of my true power is now stirring.
I rise smoothly, brushing dust from my gown as I stare down brilliant silver eyes burning across the field.
His aura intensifies.Someone is showing off.
Recognition clicks as I take in the vessel before me, brimming with energy that practically begs to be torn free.
The failed bond.
The mind intruder.
The one who refused to kneel.
My lips curl as I lean left, effortlessly dodging a volley of darts from the large oaf who first dared to speak to me outside.
Oh, I will have fun devouring them both.
Chapter 45
Cage
HER COLLAR IS GONE, AND so is any trace of restraint. Those collars are rare. Ancient artifacts forged by paladins, blessed by their deities. The only one we had was used on her. The voice that comes from her is wrong. Not Millicent’s. It slithers out, thick and oily, warped into something masculine and unrecognizable. Her once bright eyes are pitch black now, matching the rolling waves of magic bleeding into the air around us.
Kalix attempts to dart her with a sedative, but it doesn’t take. Of course it doesn’t. Her aura has mutated. Millicent was already formidable before, but this is insane. Was it the lord? Did he curse her, or did he simply awaken what was already there?
My own darkness stirs, clawing to be released. I manage to cage it down. If we both let go here, everyone dies.
I shift tactics when a plan finally forms. Tendrils of magic lance out toward her. I keep full command, making sure none of them can be redirected to the civilians. She meets them with no hesitation. Each one dissipates on contact, dispersing into mist before it can even touch her skin.
“The best you got, mage?” she taunts, advancing with fire gleaming in her void-dark eyes.
“I only ever give you the best, Millicent.”
No reaction to her own name, no fiery remark, no flash of recognition. Nothing.
I launch more tendrils, their shadowed points aimed to disable, not kill. It matters little when nothing touches her.
Then she retaliates.
Explosions of black fire detonate against my shield, each impact a shockwave of heat and crackling power. I anchor myself, pouring everything into my defenses as she presses a relentless assault, something I will use to my advantage.
Good.
I pull from the sky, calling my bonded. Vyraxis tears into existence above the garden. Her scaled body shimmers with threads of silver flame. Millicent’s head snaps upward. An inhuman snarl resonates from her throat.
Vyraxis stays airborne, exhaling a storm of silver fire. The heat slams into Millicent’s barrier, cracking and shattering it like black-stained glass. I seize the moment, launching a cluster of tendrils toward her before she can reform the veil. The shadows sharpen to the likeness of spears and soar through the air, aiming to impale her limbs.
She dispels my attacks in a burst of rage, but the crowd is already fleeing. Kalix stands at the shattered wall of magic, ushering the humans through.
As soon as there’s enough space, Vyraxis lands in a rumble of earth and bone. She steps over me, shielding me between herforelegs. Her scales glow with silver heat as she coils her neck and fires a focused stream of fire.
Millicent finally shields.
