Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(71)

I let my magic surge through my feet. It connected with the magic of the cobbled street I stood on and grew as it surged through the stones, shaking me as the road vibrated. The cobbles that had been laid thousands of years ago rattled and pulled themselves out of the ancient plaster they had been set in. They hovered above the ground as my magic seeped into them, heating them, melting them.

I watched Edmund’s hands rise toward me, his palms growing white as he prepared to rain down acid through the air around me.

He had his trick, and I had mine.

The molten rock flew toward him as the white light grew in his hands. I shielded myself from his attack, my magic pushing me out of the way as the lava intercepted with him, the molten clumps of rock colliding with his powerful shield. His shield flashed and flickered as the boiling hot earth wove its way through it. It splattered against his hands and his face as his momentum flew him into it, his body falling to the ground as the white magic disappeared.

I could hear the yell of his pain, the agony behind it. He was definitely injured, possibly weakened from the attack, and for one moment, I thought that I might be able to turn him to ash, not just a single finger as I had done once before. I knew better, he would recover quickly thanks to the Vil? poison he infected himself with every night. One bite to strengthen him, and then he would throw the creature’s lifeless body away until there were none left. I moved without looking at him, my bare feet turning to take me in a run toward the river.

I ran through the narrow streets of Prague, the beige rock fronts of the buildings a mellowing calm over the frantic beat of my heart pounding in my chest.

My feet padded against the stones, and with each step, I let my magic surge through the rock, tracking where he was. I had only barely turned the corner before his signature disappeared from the ground. He had already recovered and was chasing after me.

I shouldn’t be surprised.

I brought my magic to me and increased my pace as I raced and weaved between people. I pushed them out of my way, throwing them into walls and small cafes as I jumped and raced away from him. Each step increased my fear, my expectation, but still Edmund had not reached me. As much as I wished I would be the one to kill him, I knew it wasn’t my destiny. My only chance for survival was to get away from him.

I could see the break in the buildings, the grey of the river, and the ú?ad vlády ?eské just on the other side. I had just turned the last corner toward the river when his warm body collided with mine, the force of the impact sending me headlong into the white bricked wall I had been running next to. A loud crack echoed in my ears as the impact split the stone.

I felt my skull crack, my magic congregating at the wound as it repaired the damage. My head swam for a moment as the painful headache grew and then ebbed, my magic doing its best to keep me in one piece.

Edmund turned to face me. I couldn’t help but smile at the red welts of melted skin that lined his face and arms. The angry red marks boiled and blistered where the scalding rocks had hit him, the largest gashes healing visibly as his magic surged.

“Wynifred!” he howled as he slammed his hand into the wall by my head, another crack growing to join the first as he pinned my arms above me.

“Yes, Edmund,” I said causally, as if we were just enjoying a romantic stroll.

“I am glad to see you’re back to yourself, now stop attacking me and get back to work.” He moved his other hand to rest against my cheek, and I smiled. I smiled at him the way I had for centuries, before letting my magic flare through my cheek and into his hand.

He yelled out as pain, his grip on my wrists increasing as his own anger flared.

“You can’t have me, Edmund,” I growled.

I felt the heat behind his hand grow, the temperature scalding me. It hurt, but I refused to scream. I simply smiled at him, narrowing my eyes in a challenge. His anger grew and he howled, my body flying into the air as he threw me away from him only to land in the middle of the murky waters of the Vltava River.

My body hit the water with a loud slap that seized through me in an agonizing ripple and cut all sensation from my muscles. I sunk into the cold water, kicking and squirming as I fought the sinking of my body into the river. Suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around my neck. The strong hand pressed roughly against my water-filled windpipe as it pulled me up through the waves and held me just below the surface of the lapping waves.

I looked into Edmund’s face from where he held me under the grey water, my last breath held in my chest, his crazed face mad with victory. I attempted to fight him, but the lack of air made it more and more difficult.

“Think you can escape me and go back to that little half-breed? I will never let you win. Never!” he yelled, as his manic power convinced him of his imminent success, but no, I was not ready to let him win just yet.

I wouldn’t give in that easily.

The bubbling energy of my magic moved through my veins, boiling within me. I could feel the fire magic taking over.

I smiled at him from beneath the murky water.

His face paled, his crazed energy flickering before growing again, convinced there was nothing more I could do. The light from my body grew, reflecting off his face as I gazed at him from underneath the murky waters.

The water began to boil around me. The river turned into a boiling pot around my super-heated body. Edmund yelled out and attempted to release his hands, but I held them in place, my hands moving to wrap around his wrists and hold them down.