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Zuriel’s advice floated through my ears, a whisper from beyond this life.“You have to let the emotions flow through you.”
Clenching my teeth, I let go of the white-knuckled grip and opened the floodgates, freeing every ounce of grief, fury, despair, and heartache I’d ever felt. The depth of the agony stole mybreath, but I didn’t let it consume me. No, I drank it all like it was the most decadent wine, allowing it to intoxicate me. The pain turned into delicious pleasure, and I basked in the power it offered and the black that filled the crystal at the center of my magic.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I let them fall, keeping my gaze firmly on Kazimir as I circled him. My body was somehow lighter and stronger, and my next flurry of attack was faster and more agile than ever before. This renewed vigor encouraged me to continue to open, and memory after memory of torture and abuse I’d experienced flashed through my mind with lightning speed. The swing of my sword was fueled by it, and as the sound of whips cracking the air surfaced in my mind, I dug a flaming blade into Kazimir’s arm.
“You bitch,” he spat out, letting it go limp by his side and tossing his sword to his other hand.
“You’ve called me that before, but I never did anything to you,” I hissed, aiming another strike at his good shoulder. He parried it away, though more slowly than before.
“You manipulated me.”
I arced my sword to his thigh, only to be blocked.
“You lied to me.”
The tip raced up toward his abdomen, only to be swept away.
“You areinsane.”
My second sword sliced forward, joining the first to block his blow.
“I would ratherdiethan have you touch me again.”
That last statement enraged him further, and he pounded forward, his strikes heavy and brutal. Even as I tried to dig my heel in and defend, he backed me up, and my heart thrashed wildly in my chest.
He would not kill me.
My mind flooded with more images and sounds – a poem, a cold bath, rotten meat – and I used each one to hold myself in place. Kazimir’s strikes slowed, blood pouring from the wound on his arm, and I took the opportunity to slip past his blades and come around to his back. Along the way, I landed a hard punch in his side, forcing the breath from his lungs.
But he whirled, catching me with his bloodied arm, moving faster than I had ever seen him move before. “Your precious mate left you here to fight me, alone. He doesn’t even want you. He’d rather see you die or be captured by me than spend one more minute with your whore mouth.”
Over his shoulder, Ruslan approached, quickening his pace when he saw my position. His chest was bare, leaving his tattoos on full display, and should anyone creep up behind him, they’d revel at the perfect circle marking his back – the sign we had been mated.
He glistened with a sheen of sweat in the sunlight.“Keep your attention on him. Not on me.”
I ripped my attention back to Kazimir, his hot breath ghosting over me and making my skin crawl.
“You were always mine, Izidora. Why did you never see that? When this battle is over, I’ll have you, whether you like it or not. It’s time for you to come home with me,” Kazimir hissed, his black eyes reflecting the ferocity in mine.
I spit in his face, causing him to rear back and drop his hold on me. Without hesitation, I kicked out, digging my toes into his stomach and forcing him backward, right into Ruslan’s waiting arms.
My mate snaked them around Kazimir’s throat, holding him tight and cutting off his air. Black ropes burst from Kazimir’s hands, forcing Ruslan to drop him so that he could burn them with his black fire. Kazimir sprinted away, and I chased after him, the two of us closing in on the edge of the ravine.
He whirled to face me, his sword slashing out behind him. I ducked, narrowly dodging the blade, then sprang forward, catching him around the middle and sending us careening over the lip. Ruslan called my name, but I didn’t hear him, not as Kazimir and I plummeted toward the icy, violent waters thousands of feet below.
The force of my assault knocked his sword free, and it fell beside us, just out of reach. He grasped for it, and I quickly stabbed through his wings with my own blades, rendering him unable to fly.
“I loved you, you know. Once,” I snarled, snapping my own wings shut so I had enough force to finish this. Releasing my grip on one sword, I grasped the other with both hands, tip pointed into his chest. White fire burst along its length, and Kazimir wrapped his hands around the blade as if he were trying to stop it from slicing into him. Blood soaked his hands and the scent of burnt flesh filled my nostrils as we battled for control of it. “But you became like every other asshole who tried to hurt me, to use me, to get what they wanted. I am no one's toy, no one's pet, no one's doll. I am Izidora Valynor, future empress of Északi, and you will die by my hand.”
With a scream that held every last bit of unfiltered emotion inside me, I shoved with all my might. The blade pierced his chest, and he caved inward at the pain, his face contorting and a grunt ripping from his throat.
He opened his mouth and moved his lips like he wanted to say something, but no sound emerged. Still, I pressed, using my weight and my fire to ensure this fucking ended. The ground closed in, and I did not surrender my position and provide him any opportunity to escape.
At the last moment, I flared my wings, the wind catching me and keeping me aloft while Kazimir plummeted the remaining distance, utterly alone and destroyed. The jagged rocks snappedhis body with a satisfying crunch. Frothy red water washed over his body, pinned by all the pointed tips.
I hovered there for a moment, watching, waiting for him to rise. Blood rushed in my ears, overtaking the sound of the crashing water beneath me. Trembling, I landed beside him, careful not to slip on the wet river stones.
I toed him with the tip of my boot, searching for any sign of response. The black in his eyes had faded away, leaving only a deep emerald green that stared, unblinking, at the brilliant blue sky.
