KDBookOnline
Share Us
Except this time, they fizzled into ash.
She could feel Soren grinning. He whispered down to her, “Not bad for someone who doesn’t plan on using her magic.”
The approval tugged at her lips. Maybe her heart.
Closing her eyes, plunging into her well within, Thessa became darkness. The sphere she’d conjured encased the soldiers easily.
Without access to their strongest power, she watched them fumble for their air-magic. Air pressed into her shadows,only to be sucked up and away, reinforcing her own shield.
It was not what she was expecting, nor the soldiers.
“How in the—” one called out before taking off.
A smile formed on her lips as she spoke softly to Soren. “Go on, then.”
The soldiers’ screams had not lasted long.
Carving through the trees,Ares and Hades headed north—toward the carriage holding the McPorters.
She’d released the horses from the other carriage at the McPorters, and without ties, Soren’s remaining horses had scattered by the time they’d returned.
As the trees broke, Hades and Ares continued their gallop down the familiar path to Mabelton. Their speed had been an advantage. She caught sight of the carriage just as Soren signaled the horses to slow.
He spoke in a hushed voice. “We attack from behind. The serpents will startle the horses, and the driver will halt at their distress. My shadows will do the rest. The trickier part will be the soldiers inside the carriage.”
A smile appeared on the edge of her lips. “Speak for yourself serpent-wielder.”
For a moment, a flash of joy sparked in Soren’s eyes, but when he blinked, it was gone. What remained looked hollow, like two depthless craters.
As a pair of Soren’s beasts slithered toward the carriage, their black and blue scales shimmered in the bright sun. They were juvenile, about an arm’s length. All his serpents had appeared that way, even after the slicing and regrowth. It waslike they worked together too, with one mind, controlled effortlessly by their master.
The slimy pair parted ways around the carriage.
As predicted, the horses side-stepped in an attempt to avoid what was tickling their hocks. The carriage veered into the long grass, and the driver leapt out. His footsteps must’ve alerted Soren’s beasts, or the control he had on his magic was just that good.
Greeted by slithering shadows, the driver had no time to retaliate. They launched.
The serpents wrapped around his head and neck, occluding all air. Collapsing to the ground, the driver clawed at his face and kicked his legs for mercy he wouldn’t find.
Thessa swallowed, recalling the look on the last driver’s face—the one from the remaining carriage at Emiel’s property. Soren had opened the door and was greeted with begging.
There’d been no use.
Part of her wanted to run then. Pull away from the vicious shadow-wielder and never look back. Except one thought had lingered, as if it were engraved inside her mind. Her purpose, it turned out, was a necessary evil.
End the culling.
Soren and Thessa eyed each other, their unspoken plan intact.
Stop the fire-spewing witches.
“Now,” Soren shouted, charging forward atop Ares—as fearless as he.
His bellow had sent Hades flying.
When they reached the carriage and dismounted, things were quiet. Too quiet.
Breath steadying, she conjured enough magic to protect them both. She was a ball of night, and he was her fury.