Page 203 of Heir of Broken Souls

I don’t need to turn to know Axel has his attention, nor do I need to look. I run. Not away but to him, with golden tendrils swarming my entire body, my dragon swords leading the charge.

Peter lifts his hand and Axel’s scream fills the clearing before a deafeningthunkrings out. My chest constricts at the sound of pain wailing from him but I can’t look, not when the fate of everyone’s lives hangs within my hands.

I push my feet as fast I can go. I’m only a couple steps away before—dark shadows snap for me. But they just bounce off my magic and gilded skin.

The dark magic can’t touch me, and by the widening of his eyes, he only just realized.

Lifting my hands, I swarm him with power.

A bright ball of golden power slams directly into his chest. Satisfaction fills my heart as he goes flying, careening through the air until his own shadows rise for combat.

The majority of it sizzles and melts from a mere touch of my magic, but he has so much power behind him that it doesn’t matter. He continues to push his dark magic against mine, forcing me to halt as he gets to his feet.

He screams a war cry and the next wave of his power pushes me backwards, my feet sliding through the mud. My magic protests within me, rising without my consent, swarming him like a tornado of destruction. He wraps himself in his own shadows, mirroring my defense.

My magic alone could only kill him if he was in his true form. I need to get close enough to use the twin dragon swords against his heart.

It’s the only way.

The swarm of black and gold colors in our magic dance before me, ironically the colors of the human court, growing larger with every passing second.

“Cease your power!” he screams over the roar of the magic.

“Never.”

A scream of agony tears through the field.

I don’t lower my shields or drop my power but my head snaps to the side. Axel, suspended by shadows, has an arrow through his shoulder.

“Drop it or I send another for his heart!”

“No!” Axel screams. “Don’t listen to him, Delilah! Keep fighting!”

Gods, where is Aurora?

Where is anyone?

Tears well in my eyes because as much as my heart cries for Axel, I know he is right, I can’t stop this. He’s only shooting arrows his way because he can’t keep this up.

Gritting my teeth, I lock away any and all distractions.

Throwing up a golden shield around Axel costs me a tiny slither of my power, but there is still no end in sight to its flow.

For which no dark magic can escape, the golden tendrils it can create.

The prophecy chants within my mind like a war drum as I continue to fight back.

As I weaponize the pain he has caused against my battered heart.

As I use the strength he thought he broke but instead built.

As I utilize the sheer force of my determination to see him suffer.

I scream, and allow my magic to entirely consume me. The transformation is quicker than the first time, far less painful.

As my wings explode from my back and my fingers glow a golden hue, the magic flowing from my palm pours and pours and pours. It pushes the dark magic back so much I hear him scream.

Another arrow flies for Axel but I can’t look. I can’t be distracted, not as with every step I take toward him the easier it is. My wings start to flap, my feet slowly lifting off the forest floor as the names of my loved ones he has taken ring through my mind.