I took another step forward, my hands clenched, my voice low and deadly. “And what aboutyou, Rindais? What is it you stand to gain?”
He turned his cold, unfeeling gaze on me, and for a brief moment, something dark and twisted flickered in his eyes. “Power,” he whispered. “I was made for more than this petty existence—to scrape by at the whims of foolish kings and moronic old men,” he spat. “I was made torule. And with a phoenix at my disposal, I shall have the continent under my thrall—or they shall die in flames.” He grinned, his eyes shining green.
A chill ran down my spine, a sickening realization settling over me. He was just like I had once been, a mage with a grasp that exceeded his abilities. He wanted power, and he was willing to do anything to get it.
Just as I had been willing to trap a goddess.
“You’re a fool,” I spat. “You think you can control the power of the phoenix, bend it to your will? The Sun God’s power is not meant to be held in mortal hands. It’ll destroy you.”
He laughed, a harsh, mocking sound that echoed off the stone walls. “I won’t be repeatingyourfoolish mistakes,” he said, smirking. “Yes, I know who you are, Dario Morelli, and I ambetterthan you!”
Quick as a snake, Rindais’s magic struck, his eyes glinting with malice as he hurled a bolt of green light at us.
I pushed Elena back just as it struck, the force of it sending me skidding back across the floor, my shadows struggling against the strange, sickly magic that seemed to gnaw at the darkness I controlled.
A surge of heat flared beside me as Elena raised her hand, sending a wave of blinding light in Rindais’s direction, but he deflected it with ease, his laugh echoing through the chamber.
“So, the phoenix finally reveals herself,” he taunted, his tone dripping with mockery. “I can smell the power in you, Elena. Such a waste, tethered to your Sun Temple, to these pathetic Elders.”
“Power you’ll never have,” she shot back, her voice firm, steady. “You are going to die tonight, Rindais.”
“Then come and stop me, shadow and flame,” Rindais sneered, spreading his arms wide, daring us to attack.
We moved as one, Elena and I, a force of shadow and light, lunging forward, our combined powers moving in sync, slamming into our enemy as I unleashed my fury.
Shadows wrapped around his legs, pulling him down as Elena’s light seared across his chest, but he countered with a burst of that sickly green energy, blasting us both back.
The pillars around us shook, the stone cracking under the sheer force of magic that radiated through the room, and I could feel the dark power that surrounded him.
From the far end of the chamber, the Elders watched, their faces twisted with horror and fury as debris began to fall around them, shattered stone and dust filling the air. Kathar, his face contorted with fear, shouted, “Rindais! Stop this madness and protect us!”
Rindais only laughed, his voice dark, mocking. “Did you reallybelieve I would risk everything foryoursafety?” He smirked, turning back to us as he unleashed another wave of magic, this one more potent, more destructive, the green light filling the room with an eerie glow. “Our bargain was simple—I get the powers of the phoenix, and you get your chimaera. Beyond that, your fates are your own concern.”
I felt a bitter satisfaction as the color drained from the Elders’ faces, the dawning horror in their eyes as they realized the depths of his betrayal.
They had conspired against their own city, their own High Priestess, and now they were reaping the cost.
One by one, they tried to run, but chunks of falling stone and the ricochets of the searing blasts from Rindais’s magic began to cut them down, their cries echoing through the chamber.
A twisted laugh escaped me as I watched them scramble, their desperation a fitting end for the lies and manipulation they had wielded.
But there was no time to revel in their downfall—I turned my focus back to Rindais, my shadows rising around me, wrapping me in darkness as I lunged toward him.
He was ready, his hand raised, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent a surge of green light barreling toward me.
It slammed into my shadows, and it was as I had feared. I could feel them wither, dissipating beneath the sickly glow that sapped them of their strength.
“Elena!” I shouted, feeling the desperation in my voice as I struggled to keep my footing, the shadows slipping through my grasp like sand. “His magic—it’s weakening mine!”
But she was already there, moving with deadly grace, her light blazing as she sent another wave of fire toward him, the heat searing across the stone, leaving scorch marks in its wake.
Rindais deflected it with a flick of his hand, but I could see the strain in his eyes, the faint flicker of exhaustion that betrayedhim.
“Dario,together!” she called, and I felt a surge of hope as I moved to her side, our magic converging, blending into a force that felt unstoppable.
We attacked as one, a torrent of shadow and light crashing down on him, forcing him back, his defenses faltering under the combined strength of our powers.
But Rindais was far from defeated.
