Soul of Flame (Imdalind Series #4) (38 page)

I said nothing in reply; I didn’t dare. I just stayed still, not daring to let my eyes leave Ovailia’s, to give her the upper hand that I could tell she had been hoping to obtain.

Ovailia inched her way closer, her icy eyes digging into mine. This wasn’t like with Cail, when I had feigned strength to give myself the upper hand. I had strength now, and I wanted her to know it. I wanted her to fear it. I narrowed my eyes as my fingertips sparked, her lips peaking in excitement.

She walked steadily with her long, blonde hair looking strangely out of place against the elegant black outfit she wore. She looked like she was dressed for a club, not a fight, right down to her cherry red stilettos. I wanted to smile at the image, yet kept it inside, knowing exactly what Ovailia had planned. She wasn’t here to fight me; she was here to break me.

I was already cracked; they had seen to that. What they didn’t know was that my crack was healing, and I was going to fight against it.

“What? Not going to say hello?”

“Hello.” I let the darkness that was in my heart seep into that one word, hatred and malice fueling the heavy tone as I smiled. The wicked line of my grin spread over my face and she flinched ever so slightly, her feet stopping her in place as her eyes trailed over my small frame. Her eyes widened at the long, golden ribbon that trailed over my shoulder.

“You little bitch,” she snapped, “cheating on Ryland like that. Just wait until he finds out, he’s going to track you down, hunt you. He will kill you.”

I flinched at her words, my heart rate increasing so fast I could barely control it, but I could. I would.

I grit my teeth and snapped my fingers as I brought my magic to me, a wall of power soaring away from me and right into Ovailia, sending her tumbling away.

She screamed as she slammed into a large tree, her face shocked as the attack she hadn’t been expecting carried her away.

Her head snapped up to me as her magic surged, her eyes blazing in an angry heat of malice. The emotion was stronger than I had ever seen from her.

I knew the look was meant as a threat; I could see the warning behind her eyes, however, it didn’t faze me. I just matched it, my eyes narrowing as I waited. Waited for her to fight back, knowing that if she didn’t, I would finish her anyway.

She jumped to a standing position as my eyes met hers, the scorn on her face making it clear she wouldn’t hold back.

That was good because neither would I.

Twenty-Three

Ovailia rushed me as she screamed, her hair a streak of white light behind her as her magic pushed her forward.

I took one look at the anger in her eyes and exploded into the air, knowing I couldn’t face her head on. I soared through the smoky air until I was high above her, my magic changing directions as I slammed myself down on top of her. I landed in a rush of wind and magic, pushing her into the hard ground as a bolt of lightning struck only feet from where we had collided.

The earth vibrated with the power, the air prickling with the electricity that lingered in the air. I felt the heat of it against my skin, almost like it was trying to find a way inside of me.

My teeth grit in anger as I pressed my hand against Ovailia’s neck, my palm heating and pulsing as my bones tensed, my pressure against her wind pipe increasing. She began to choke and laugh underneath my hold, her snide glare boring into me and I hesitated, giving her just enough time to slam her hands into my chest with a hot wall of force.

I called out as the pulse of her attack rippled through me, the violent magic sending me hurdling through the air away from her. The slow burn of her magic flooded through me only to be extinguished by my power as I fell.

Air and ash swirled around me, the long, golden ribbon whipping about before I brought a strong gust of air against me, the strength of my magic aligning my flailing body before I even hit the ground. I glowered into the stoic blonde before me as I dug my heels into the dirt. The grind of dirt and rocks rumbled through the small clearing as I skidded to a stop, the sky opened up in a deafening groan.

A sharp crack of lightning erupted behind me, the clearing illuminating with a blinding light. I didn’t dare take my eyes off Ovailia from where she stood before me, my heart thudding in my chest as I looked into the icy blue that was so different from her brothers.

The golden ribbon that was bound in my hair glowed as the long end trailed softly to the ground in front of me. I watched the delicate ribbon glide toward the ground while my eyes remained trained on Ovailia as she stood, her hands balled into fists. The ribbon landed against the dirt between us and I jumped into action, my feet pounding as I rushed her, my fist a hard rock as it intercepted with her stomach.

She yelled at the impact before shoving me away, the powerful jolt of her magic increasing the force, but not as much as she would have liked. I let my determination rip from my throat in a yell as I rushed back at her, my magic speeding behind my fist as I punched her hard in the jaw, sending her and her ridiculous stilettos skidding through the dead leaves of the forest floor.

“I don’t know why you are even trying to fight me,” she taunted as she wiped the blood from her lip, her voice the same acidic tone I had always heard from her. “There is no way you can defeat me.”

I said nothing, I only glared into her, a small smile playing on my lips as I panted, waiting for my fear and anger to settle into something I hoped I could manage.

Ovailia’s hands fanned out, her fingers stretching as sparks of fire spread between them, the rainbow of colors flashing violently. Her eyes flared with a wicked gleam before she brought her hands together, the colors and magic colliding in a bang that echoed through the forest.

I cringed at the sound, my anxiety sparking as a wall of fire and smoke erupted from her hands. It stretched across the entire length of the clearing, the height of it kissing the top of the lightning strewn sky. My teeth clenched as I watched it grow, watched the flames flow and swim through the barrier that was now sneaking toward me.

The fire Ovailia had sent at me deepened to a blood red as the earth rumbled and lightning sliced through the air on either side of me, the two giant forks framing me as I faced Ovailia, who stood hidden behind the attack that would devour me.

The jolt of electricity sped through the earth, and pressed against my body, seeping into me as it electrified the frantic energy that pulsed through me. I felt my magic bubble in reaction; I felt it crush against me as it tried to race out of me. I pressed my hands forward, letting the earth’s magic swell through me and out of my fingers. The stream of crackling power collided with Ovailia’s wall in an explosion of air and fire before it melted to the ground, leaving her hard, hatred-lined face glaring into me.

I dropped my hands as the last of the liquid fire seeped into the ground around me, the useless attack turning to little more that ash. I was unable to stop the fiendish smile that spread over my face, the gleam now a stark contrast to the fear that was seeping through Ovailia’s eyes. I said nothing as I stared into her, knowing full well that she had just sent her best weapon my way, and I had demolished it.

“I am going to destroy you!” Ovailia screamed as she rushed me, her intent clear. If magic didn’t work, she would do her best to rip me apart with her bare hands. Good thing I didn’t mind playing dirty.

My heart thudded with adrenaline lined fear as I ran at her. Ready to meet her head on, ready to finish this.

We met in the middle of the clearing, our magical pulses colliding in sparks of black and grey as fists met skin. Ovailia threw frantic punches as she screamed, my own retaliation serving more as a block while I tried to claw and scrape at her in any way I could. I reached forward blindly, winding my fingers around her long hair before I took two wide steps forward, pulling her by the long strands as I whipped her around behind me. My hand slammed into the small of her back as my muscles pulsed with a maniacal energy. I threw her through the air, sending her hurdling away from me.

“You are not who I am meant to fight,” I screamed in frustration, hating the way my voice deepened, how my sight fueled the words and told me they were true. Even if they were true, I didn’t want them to be; I didn’t want the words to escape me.

My muscles tensed and flexed as I faced her, the strength that I did not know I had engulfing me. Ilyan’s magic surged as I screamed, my magic stretching toward him, pressing into him, his pride for me surging as Ovailia ran back to me, a long snake of an attack dripping like tar from her fingers before she sent it through the air at me.

“Do you really think you can fight Edmund? That you can defeat him?”

My heart thudded at her words, at the meaning behind them. Everything in me tightened as she rushed me, my anger rippling over me as I pressed my hand toward her attempted attack, one pulse of my magic turning it into smoke.

“I know I can!”

“And stay alive?” she taunted, her tactic changing as she tried to pull out the madness that they had implanted in me.

I swallowed as I tried to control my panic and narrowed my eyes, fighting the fear that tried to pull into me, desperately fighting against her games.

My magic moved, unbidden, to Ilyan as I focused on her, the spaces of each Trpaslík laid out as Ilyan twisted and turned in his fight with them. As soon as he felled one, another one would stream through the trees toward him. One after another I could feel them as they ran toward him. I could feel them cut him, feel his blood drip over his skin. He needed help. I needed to get over there, but with Ovailia breathing down my neck, I knew there was no way.

I didn’t pull my scowl off Ovailia as I let my magic surge into Ilyan, pulsing through him as his attacks grew in strength and exploded out of him as he wielded my power, taking down several with one simple attack.

That’s my girl,
Ilyan’s voice filled my head, and I fought the smile that wanted to seep over me.

“Didn’t think so,” Ovailia said, pulling my mind right back to her, only to see her move from my line of sight.

She moved so fast I barely saw her, her body right in front of me one minute and behind me the next. My body tensed in fear as her hand wrapped around my braid as she pulled it down, my back arching uncomfortably at the forced movement.

“You might as well give up now,” she grunted in my ear as the smell of burning hair met my nose. “Die now, die later, what does it matter?”

Her voice ground between her teeth, her words a taunt that hit more in fact than in fiction. She just didn’t need to know it, and right then, it didn’t matter.

I screamed as she pulled me down further, my back aching as the fragile bones bent unnaturally. The smell of the beautiful braid as it burned beneath her fingers hit my nose, the heart-wrenching aroma growing as she destroyed the most precious thing that anyone had ever given me.

I screamed louder at the smell, my heart ripping open at what she was doing. My magic surged in my frenzy, the air prickling as my magic exploded in a flame of white light, the pulse of energy releasing my hair from her grip as she fell away from me.

I had wanted to fight her, to defeat her. But now, smelling the charred remains of Ilyan’s gift, it became more than that. It became an angry flame that wanted to destroy her. I lunged at her as she stumbled away from me, my legs locking around her waist, pinning her beneath me as I compacted her into the dirt. I pressed my hands against her face, my fingers clawing into her as I kept her in place, the fire of my magic working through her body as the earth attempted to swallow her.

The earth beneath us rippled like quicksand as I screamed in anger. The dirt swallowed her body as the ferocity of my magic led it on. My body ached as my heart thundered against my chest, my blood heating as I stared into her, watching her fear seep through her eyes before the movement stopped, her own magic beginning to fight back. The dirt that had been engulfing her began to shake, small explosions popping around us as Ovailia screamed against my hands, sending an explosion of earth right into my face. I fell away from her as the pulse threw me to the ground, the simple weapon blinding me as I scooted away from her over the piles of dirt I was now surrounded by.

I wiped the dirt from my face in a panic, my chest heaving in fear as I tried to regain my vision, knowing she wouldn’t wait. I wiped the dirt from my eyes when her fist made contact with my stomach. I could taste blood and bile on my tounge as lightning struck into a tree right behind her, sending it into a blaze, the dried leaves that covered the ground catching and spreading the fire as it moved to surround us.

The rumble of the earth’s energy roared through me as Ovailia’s hands moved to wrap around my face. She clenched her fingers into my cheeks, pressing against the gentle bones before her hands lunged forward, sending my face into the hard surface of her knee. I screamed in agony as the pain rippled over my face and down my spine, the bones snapping as my nose broke. Blood flowed freely down my face as my magic swelled to heal it, but I knew it wouldn’t be fast enough.

I knew it would be foolish to wait.

My head spun as the blood flowed, a sight I knew would kill me threatening to break through. I fought it, knowing that if I were to black out for even a moment, Ovailia would end me. I couldn’t let that happen, even if I were to survive it; I couldn’t risk Edmund finding out that I was a Drak.

I was beginning to understand why Drak’s did not have offensive magic.

The fearful pressure in my chest ached as I spit the blood out of my mouth and pushed the sight away with a gasp, my blood-covered hands jutting forward as I pulled at Ovailia’s slender legs. The action was unexpected and she tumbled to the ground in a heap right onto the already smoldering leaves. She screamed as the fire surrounded her, rolling away from it as she extinguished her now-singed clothes.

I shuffled away from her just as the air prickled with the storm, the magic of the earth screaming into my heart, crying through my fear and telling me what to do.