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More and more and more, I took.
Josephine shook like a brittle leaf on a windy day. Rage marred her face, and, with painful cry, she broke free from my spell. A pop rang in my ears, and the sudden disconnection knocked me off my feet. I quickly stood and fought to ignore the burning of my blood. My skin.
Too much magic roared inside me.
I took too much.
“You foolish girl,” she growled. “This is on you.”
Josephine reached under the slit of her dress and pulled out what could only be the Bloodblade. As she hefted it to the sky with a roar, it glowed crimson. Dark magic, thicker and more suffocating than ever before, descended over the battlefield.
Walker was going to die.
Josephine pointed the Bloodblade. I screamed, but an unnatural silence muffled the air. Heartbeats turned into years.
No, I realized. She’s aiming for Cadence.
Arachne’s web burned where it lay against thigh. I reached for it with blessedly nimble fingers and threw it with all my might.
Crimson lightning stretched across the battlefield. It was so bright, it hurt to look at. Every hair on my skin rose. Where the Bloodblade's lightning trekked, charred earth was left in its path. Witches and vampires jumped out of its way, but one vampire wasn’t fast enough. The Bloodblade’s power grazed his foot and he crumbled into a pile of ashes.
As it soared through the air, Arachne’s web shimmered under the blood moon’s light. There was no way to tell which would reach Cadence first—the crimson streak of death or the iridescent shield.
Please, I begged the goddesses. Please save her.
The web wrapped Cadence in a cocoon of safety, and the Bloodblade’s magic plummeted against it. As red lightning raged around the web, I held my breath.
Brilliant streams of light erupted from the web. They shone in every color and destroyed the Bloodblade’s electric veins of magic. The silence lifted, and relief bloomed in my chest. The web fell to the ground and revealed a perfectly whole and healthy Cadence. She stared down Josephine with bravery even my mother would’ve been impressed by.
This is on you.
Josephine would’ve killed and Embraced the girl just to earn back a scrap of the power I’d stolen from her.
But, I thought, why didn’t she just use the Bloodblade against me?
“Mercy, dearest,” Josephine said and clenched her teeth. “I wanted to show you mercy, but you’ve left me no choice.”
I hadn’t realized I’d asked the question out loud, but it was hard to think over the magic roaring in my ears. It was no wonder bleeding me dry of my magic and killing a child with a vile weapon had become merciful to her. No one could carry all this power without going mad.
“Mercy?” Walker shouted. “This is between us—you were supposed to leave my damn sister out of it!”
“You should’ve used more careful wording,” Josephine chided. “The rules stated no interference, meaning no one could intervene between our fight. Dear old Gloria never said we couldn’t intervene with the rest of the battle as long as we’re both alive. Don’t worry, let me handle dearest Freya, and your death will be arranged.”
I tried to understand their words, but my thoughts were consumed by the magic wreaking havoc on my body. I studied the black, swollen veins on my hands and the flush of my skin. Josephine had taken months to acquire the magic I’d stolen in mere seconds. If I didn’t get rid of all this power soon, it would kill me, but I couldn’t. If I loosened my grip on it just a hair, it would overwhelm me. I could kill everyone in the five-mile radius. I could kill everyone in Hol Creek.
Panic clogged my throat.
Walker stood only a couple feet from Josephine and stared at me in wide-eyed horror. I glanced down at my hands and grimaced. Light moved beneath my skin. Josephine snickered.
“It’s too much, isn’t it?” Josephine taunted. “You Embraced magic I’ve taken months to consume. You signed your own death warrant, dearest.”
I had to be able to control it. I would control it. One easy kill shot, and Josephine would be gone. Screw her mercy. I took a deep breath and prepared a spell. If I could contain the magic in a spell rather than using raw elemental magic, I had a chance at saving everyone.
Just not myself.
Binding this magic into a spell would take everything I had. I knew it, but the realization didn’t fill me with trepidation. An odd sense of peace settled in my bones. My mother had died in the most noble of sacrifices. I could follow her into Summerland doing the same.
“Kill me and you kill him!” Josephine shouted. Her harsh words were enough to grab my attention. “He’s blood-bound to a dual, remember? Can you hear me past the magic's roar? No interference.”
