“As are you.”
Her smile vanishes. “You noticed… That could be a problem later…” The latter part of her sentence is addressed to herself.
She moves impossibly fast.
A blur of darkness and bloodlust as she lunges, and I barely have time to summon my shield. Shadows swirl around me, thick and impenetrable, as they shield me from her attacks.
I can feel her power hammering against it like a storm, desperate to break free. Her rage is a wildfire, her hunger for death a suffocating force pressing down on me.
Devour her.
For the first time, I don’t flinch at the voice. I welcome it.
I came here to help Jayce. I will not be a burden to him today. I refuse to see the disappointment in his eyes. I want him to see my strength — not my weakness. I want him to look at me the way he did after I destroyed the training room.
“Now that’s a Rossi…”
I want that again, want to see him impressed with me.
Velasara whispers a spell. It’s fast and just a mere few words, yet it’s so powerful. Something invisible twists around the barrier that surrounds me, tightening like a vice.
I gasp, feeling it suck the very essence of my powers. My heart hammers as I unlock one of my butterfly runes and unleash the excess power stored within it. But just like before, her power drains me. Fuck!
Three butterflies later, I’m still struggling to break free from her death hold.
Focus!
Rage and chaos burn through me, and my power erupts just as Velasara manages to shatter my barrier completely. Shards of darkness explode outward. I flick my hand, sending them slicing through the air.
A sharp cry escapes me as I feel her magic burn through me. I blast it away, the smell of blood filling my nose when it hits my barrier.
Blood Magic.
My stomach twists.
I’ve heard of it. The darkest form of magic, feeding off sacrifice. She most likely has an element, but she’s infused it with blood, and blood magic needs sacrifices to fuel it. The air thickens with something evil and vile, and I step back.
She’s playing even when she doesn’t stop. Attack after attack, relentless and ruthless, she’s teasing me, as if she’s enjoying taunting me. I block her attacks, a few nicks getting by, but my chest tightens; I’ve burned through my stored power. How can power accumulated over the years suddenly just be used up so fast?
How strong is she? I see her expression shift. Amusement is now replaced with annoyance, and she’s studying me now, calculatingly.
I may be using my stored supply, but I’m holding back, too.
Never show all your cards. That’s the first rule of survival.
The howling of our whipping magic swirls around us. We have created a violent storm, one that remains within my barriers, three more butterflies to go. What will happen when I’m all out?
I glance at Jayce, who stands there, his moonfire aura swirling around him, his fists clenched and his eyes blazing blue. The three others are nowhere to be seen.
Darkness and blood churn through the space between us. I hear Jayce shout something, but it’s too loud in here and I can’t make out what he’s saying!
I whisper a spell, sending a rain of knives at her. She deflects them as she waves her hand, making them all fall to the floor. Droplets of blood linger in the air.
“You are getting annoying,” she spits. “Time to put an end toyou and your friend.”
I frown, not on my watch.
Taking a deep breath, I raise my hands and force my chin up. Even though I can see she’s scratch-free, her clothes and body don’t even have a fleck of dirt on them.
