Kiss of Fire (Imdalind, #1)(103)

The Trpaslíks weight left my hips as he fell to the side, his lifeless body slumping onto the cold floor. I sat up, my vision returning. I didn’t wait to find out who my savior was; I simply turned and jumped, taking off into the air again. My fear had supercharged my magic, and I slammed into the balcony on the opposite wall, unable to stop myself in time.

I panted as I stood, my back seizing in pain. I ran forward, toward a door that would lead me out, my left leg dragging a bit. If I could just get to the door, I could make it to the large, second-floor balcony and escape as Ilyan had wanted me to. I didn’t make it far before another body landed in front of me, the body unfolding to face me.

“Cail,” I gasped.

“Awww, you remember me. How sweet. Probably not as well as I remember you.” He raised his hand to me and a bright red light flew toward me. He didn’t let it build as he had before; I had no warning this time. I leapt to the side, my back flattening against the hard wall. The red ball erupted right where I had been standing, sending out the wood and stone of the wall in a splintering explosion. Cail looked at me and smiled.

I raised my hand and released the prickling energy in a rush. It slammed into him, but the energy wasn’t strong enough to do any damage. He laughed as he straightened out to face me, while I turned and went to launch myself off the balcony again.

My feet had just left the ground when Cail’s wind intercepted me and slammed me back, hard against the wall of the balcony I had just left. The wind continued to move around me and hold me in place, my shirt whipping around.

“You and your mother,” he mocked as he walked toward me, his steps faltering as an explosion from below shook the room. “You are both such fighters. Why can’t you die easily? But, you know it’s going to end the same way, don’t you?” He came to stand right next to me and I cringed against him, my body unable to resist the pull of his magic.

“You both end up dead.” He placed his hand against my stomach, his palm against my skin. I could feel it grow cold as his magic entered me before beginning to warm as he generated a ball of energy. He formed it inside of me, the weapon building underneath my skin. I screamed out as the warmth turned into a burning heat.

“Let her go.” Ryland’s powerful voice filled the air as he landed roughly on the balcony beside us. He leaned against a large pillar, his body obviously weakened as he continued to fight his father’s invasion of his mind. His body twitched uncomfortably, but his eyes were back to a bright shade of blue.

“Really?” Cail mocked, the heat continuing to move and grow inside of me. “You think you have enough energy to fight me?”

“I don’t...” Ryland panted, “but she does.”

The ball of fire within me grew to a tumult as my energy drained away, filtering out of my body. I could feel my magic move into Ryland, the power increasing as our magics intertwined with one another, growing stronger with their union. My magic drained as Ryland shot a ball of intense golden light toward Cail. The impact sent him flying, his body tumbling off the balcony into the fight below. Ryland collapsed to the floor, his body twitching as he sank.

With no wind to hold me up, I fell roughly to the ground as well, the heat from Cail leaving a terrible pain in my stomach. I crawled to Ryland, placing my arms around his neck when I reached him. He twitched again, and I forced his face up to look at me, thankful for his beautiful blue eyes.

“How did you do that?” I panted, the pain still lingering in my belly.

“I can do anything with you.” He tried to smile, but it was only a grimace.

Ryland reached forward and placed his hand on the skin of my stomach exactly where Cail’s hand had lain. I felt my magic swell and grow as Ryland pulled it toward him, stopping it right before it left me to join him. The warmth stayed there and took the pain away almost instantly.

“How...?”

“Anything... with... you...” He twitched again, his whole body was shaking, but he refused to take his eyes off me.

I reached my hand forward; he grabbed it, pressing my fingertips to his lips.

“Love... you… always…” His shaking became uncontrollable as his eye color began to fade. I watched in agony as Edmund took over.

“No!” I clutched his hands desperately. “Don’t leave me!”

“Always.” His voice was broken and wispy in my ear as he pulled my hand against the side of his face. He pressed my fingers roughly to him, his grip tightening in his fear of losing me.

“No!”

Before the change could complete, the balcony shifted and collapsed. I held tightly to Ryland’s hand as we were thrown over the edge, our bodies tumbling toward the fire-filled conflict that raged below. I swept wind to us, hoping the weak energy would catch us before we landed hard against the floor; instead, the wind flung us into a heap in the corner.

My body was entangled with Ryland’s as we collided with the wall, but I wasn’t there for long before Ryland grabbed me and shot me away from him in a surge of wind and energy. My body slammed into another wall, and I felt my back pop. There was no agony with it, so I stood, thankful that it had not broken again. I steadied myself just as Ryland landed in front of me, a wave of energy slamming into my stomach. I felt no pain; only pressure as the energy surge pushed me back, trapping me in place.

“Hello again, little pet,” Ryland sneered as he walked toward me, his black eyes shimmering wickedly as he laughed. I cringed away from his advance, but my body was restrained again by his magic.