While keeping me bound, his eyes shift to Willem. Willem pulls his sword from the gut of one of the Huntsmen and turns toward me as if he feels me calling to him. His brow scrunches, and he tilts his head as his eyes slowly maneuver over to Drogaem. He shifts his sword to the other hand and squares his shoulders, preparing to attack. Before he can, Drogaem lets out a deep laugh sending spirals of dark magic flowing from him toward Willem. Before Willem can move, the powers grab him and twist around him.
I whimper, shifting my shoulders back and forth, trying to release myself from Drogaem's hold. The tendrils of dark magic squeeze against Willem's body, and I can hear the cracking of the bones in his wings. Drogaem drags Willem forward until he's hovering right in front of me. I shake my head, a tear falling from my eye. Willem looks down at the dark magic, his sword bouncing across the stone floor. His eyes meet with mine.
"Kill him." With those words flowing from Willem's struggling breath, Drogaem squeezes his hands tight.
I clasp my eyes shut and listen as every bone in Willem's body breaks. I hear a thud and open my eyes, finding Willem's body laid on the floor in front of me, his eyes open staring at me, blood trickling from his nose and mouth, no life left in his body. I want to scream out, but Drogaem has a hold on me that he's never had before. Outside the window, I see the shimmering glow of the shield begin to crumble.
I breathe heavily in and out of my nose, my chest bouncing, tears pooling in my eyes. Fear is taking over, pushing my powers down. I grip my hands into fists and calm myself as much as possible. I don't have long left, and I need to get out of this hold. I focus my mind on Lux, hearing her voice in my head, seeing visions of her from my dreams as she dances playfully along the floor. The vision shifts, and she stands in Drogaem's tomb, holding the dagger strong in her hand. There's a fight within me, the light versus the dark. All the sounds of the war around me fade, and I sink myself into the battle within.
In my vision, Lux snaps her head toward me and gives me a nod. "The power's within you." She steps forward and screams. "Use it! Now!"
A surge of energy burst through me, and I'm filled with light and intense heat. It latches onto the part of my soul that is bound to Kane and expounds on it. It grows faster and faster, covering the entirety of my soul. When it reaches the point where Drogaem has taken over, it breaks through it like a bursting dam.
I yell out as my arms fling to my sides, and I push away Drogaem's hold over me. I jump to my feet and narrow my eyes at him as he looks at me in shock. For just a moment in time, we stand there, staring at each other, caught in a whirlwind of energy and magic. But before that moment can fade, I grab my dagger at a speed in which I've never moved before and leap into the air, heading straight for him. This is it.
I will end him here.
Chapter 23
Briar
My dagger moves swiftly through the air slicing down into Drogaem. But as the blade reaches him, it keeps going, and my body crashes into the ground. I look up, in shock, and watch as Drogaem's body vanishes from in front of me. Standing quickly, I hear him laughing behind me. I swing around and find him standing there, clapping his hands at me, taunting me.
I stumble back, my feet catching on Willem's corpse. I fall over him and bounce across the floor, keeping my eyes latched on Drogaem. He moves toward me, a sword perched in his hand, a sword made of dark magic.
"I really thought that we were going to work out well together, Briar. But it seems you're more trouble than you’re worth. But there's a bright side to it, at least for me. When I stab this sword into your soul, I will not only kill you, but I'll kill Lux once and for all. You'll have to watch your loved ones die and fade off into oblivion."
I dig my heels in and scoot back, shaking my head. I refuse to let this be for nothing. I refuse to allow Drogaem to win. I refuse to have fought and worked so hard to beat him only to die at his hand. If I'm going to die, I'm going to take him with me. I know what to do, but I also know what it'll cost.
I jump to my feet and look over at the battling soldiers, finding Kane swinging a sword, claws out, next to Aiden. He feels my gaze and returns it. The struggle on his face slowly diminishes, and a sadness moves over his eyes. I give him a smile, wanting him to know that everything will be okay. He may lose me, but he'll save so many others. A look of realization washes over him, and he begins to try to move toward me.
I cannot let this happen.
I turn back toward Drogaem and clench my fists. I let out a scream, a bellowing battle cry as my powers pulsate inside of me. The ground begins to shake, and Drogaem looks all around him. As I open my hands, the light bursts from me, lashing out and grabbing onto Drogaem. It hits him hard, and his body flies back, slamming into the wall. It spins around him like a web, pinning him to the cold stone.
I pull my dagger from my side and begin to walk forward toward him. One of his guards rushes me, but I don't even look at him. I fling my arm to the side
