For the first time in forever, Makaela's head was quiet.
After binding her soul with Lumi's bright, otherworldly essence, she expected things to be a bit more...noisy. Lumi had existed for millions of years; surely, her head must've been filled to the brim with a hurricane of thoughts, memories, and whatever else gods held in their brains—if they even had them. But there was no noise. No inner turmoil.
She now had three separate entities living within her—herself, her Nightling, and now the goddess of light and prophecies. A perfect trichotomy of mortal, celestial, and demon. Light, dark, and everything in between. Someone else might've branded her a schizophrenic. She would've been inclined to agree. But nothing about her psyche was fractured. Quite the contrary. For the first time in her life, she finally felt herself. She finally felt whole.
A serene smile graced her lips.
What she'd just accomplished shouldn't have been possible. Aside from Thorian Tedorof—the prophesized Black Lotus—she was now the most powerful caster on the planet. Soon, it would be time to put her newly acquired power to the test.
The hidden room at the top of Lumi's tower returned to her just in time to see the ice barrier Ismael created explode. Shards of ice sprayed her in the face, cutting her skin and drawing blood. She pressed a finger to one of the tiny wounds. She felt no pain. The cuts closed before the blood could even hit her fingertips.
She rose to her feet.
"Well?" Karin gave her a look. "What happened?"
"I did it."
"Did what?"
Ismael smiled knowingly at her. "She saved Lumi."
"Yeah, but how?" Karin asked.
Makaela didn't have time to explain. The Illumio on her hand glowed brightly. Its twin—the Obscurio—was nearby. She ventured to the hole in the floor and peered through it. At the base of the library, she found him standing near the railing wrapped around the cylindrical chasm running through the gut of the tower.
Despite being separated by hundreds of feet, the pair locked eyes with silent intensity. They both knew what had happened. They both knew what needed to happen now.
She turned to her friends. "Find a way out of the tower."
Karin frowned. "What are you going to do?"
She didn't answer.
"Makaela, now is not the time to be a hero. We've got two artifacts on us. We can't allow the Order to get ahold of either one."
"That won't happen."
"Yeah, it won't as long as we don't split up—"
Makaela cut her golden eyes at the girl. "Listen to me, Karin. You all need to go. I will hold Thorian and the Shades off for as long as I can. I will find you. I promise."
Karin attempted to continue arguing, but Ismael intervened by placing a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. The heir of House Vaya's shoulders slumped in defeat; her cloudy eyes welled with frustrated tears.
Ismael then turned and nodded at Makaela. She did the same.
Han, who'd been silent thus far, examined her with the curiosity of a scholar gazing upon a new equation or theory for the first time. Finally, he asked her, "How does it feel?"
She didn't know how he knew what happened to her, but he did. Han always was intuitive like that. "It's hard to explain. But there's power in me now, tied to my very soul. I feel strangely at peace. I feel...free."
Han smiled.
There were no words yet invented for how she felt. Her veins surged with energy. Each muscle in her body was taut with anticipation as she mentally prepared herself for battle. When she decided to bond with Lumi, she half-expected to share her mind and body with the deity. But she heard no other voice inside her head. The goddess wasn't there in the way she'd been expecting. Makaela was still herself, but with a slight shift. Her thoughts filtered through her head differently. Her emotions were walled behind an invisible dam, unable to escape, resulting in the permanent stoic expression on her face. Fear didn't exist anymore, nor its inverse. Her mind was a blank slate. The only thing in her peace-filled head was Lumi's soothing light.
Makaela peered through the hole in the ground again. Then she jumped through.
#
Six Shades immediately formed a circle around her once she landed. Her body absorbed the impact of her descent. It should've shattered every bone in her body, but bonding with Lumi gifted her with numerous abilities. Durability must've been one of them. She wondered what else she could do now.
Thorian stepped through the ring of masked magicians. He removed his hood. His mercury braids spilled from the folds of his night-colored robes. Around him, his magicians held up their hands and stood by, ready to cast. The tar-black lines originating from the dark lord's infected eye had worsened. They were darker and pressed against his white skin as if they were worms burrowing through the soil. The color drained from his once bone-white complexion, which was now a dull grey.
Mauvorin was close to taking control.
Did he know?
Did he even care?
"I want to thank you for leading us straight to the tower," Thorian rasped. "You made our search much easier."
Makaela said nothing.
Thorian continued. "You think Lumi will save you? Her power is nothing compared to mine." A switch went off in her head. He did know. "Even she won't save you from what's coming."
Mauvorin's grip on his mind warped his reasoning. There was no use speaking to him. He couldn't be saved. But that didn't mean she couldn't try with his magicians. They might've been loyal to Thorian, but were they aware their master was being controlled by the god of death? Did they know they too would be destroyed if Mauvorin got what he wanted?
They couldn't have. They wouldn't be standing with him if they did.
She peered at the man wearing the silver face of a ram standing to Thorian's right. Emile. One of the only friends she made during her time with the Order of the Black Lotus. If any of the Shades had a moral compass, even a sliver of goodness in their blackened, tainted hearts, it was him.
"There is still time to do what's right." She spoke to him, but her words were meant for everyone. "You do not have to follow this tyrant on his quest for destruction."
The Shades glanced at each other. Their faces might've been masked, but she could feel the uncertainty radiating off them in waves. They said nothing, though, afraid of the scathing glare thrust upon them by their withering master.
"The man you serve is dying. He might already be dead," Makaela told them. "This whole time, you've believed you shared the goal of bringing magicians back to the forefront of the world. You want to correct the wrongs done against our people. I want those things too. But your master doesn't. He never did."
Thorian's eye twitched.
The Shades shifted in their positions uncomfortably. Emile removed his mask.
"What is she talking about?"
"She knows not of what she speaks," Thorian said lowly.
"I believe she speaks the truth."
Thorian dipped his head slightly, his eyes reduced to threatening slits. "Careful, Emile."
"I've noticed a change in you for a while now," Emile revealed. He dipped his head ruefully. "I tried to ignore it. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you were meant to be our messiah. But it was a lie, wasn't it? You never wanted what was best for us. You wanted what was best for you.
"You wanted power. That's all you ever wanted. You sacrificed Xandra for it. You pushed Sebastian so far away that he joined the other side just to get away from you. Countless magicians—Shades and our enemies—have been killed in your name. And for what? What was it all for?"
"Emile, please—"
The Shade shook his head. "I'm done turning a blind eye to you. I am blind no longer."
Makaela watched as the men glared at one another.
"Don't do this, Emile. We were meant to rule together."
"It was never we. It was always you, Thorian. It was always you."
Thorian released a disappointed breath. In an instant, Emile readied a spell, his fingers twisting and turning as the mark in his palm burned with vitalae. She saw the magic forming in his palm. But he never got to finish it.
The Black Lotus' vayrir was already in his hands. He swiped the scythe at his second-in-command's neck with deadly accuracy. Emile dropped to his knees with his hands pressed to his bleeding throat. The light quickly faded from his warm, brown eyes.
The remaining Shades jumped back, their eyes on their fallen magician. A few looked on in horror while the rest tried their best to keep straight faces.
Makaela looked at Emile's dying body. He fell to his side, his eyes fluttering closed. He was at peace now.
He'd finally broken free.
Thorian ran his hands up either side of his face before sucking in a deep, ragged breath. A choking sound rose from his throat as he vehemently shook his head. He scowled at the body near his feet. He then directed his grimace towards Makaela.
"Your death will be slow and painful."
His threats didn't faze her. She wasn't afraid of him. Not anymore.
Thorian attacked first. Dozens of spears crafted out of literal darkness manifested out of thin air before hurtling toward her. Her shield was up not even a moment later. The dark projectiles collided with the golden barrier before turning to smoke.
Makaela went on the offensive. Every move she made was precise. Once one spell left her hand, another was already in the wings. Bolts of blinding light flew from her palms. Her vitalae was practically infinite as she peppered his shield like bullets from a machine gun. Around him, his Shades joined in to help.
One lashed out with a whip of crackling energy. She sidestepped and retaliated with a spell of her own. Shards of light tore through their robes. Their body fell backward, hitting the floor with a chilling thud. The potent smell of iron wafted through the air.
Makaela didn't want to hurt them, but they left her no choice. Thorian took advantage of their blind loyalty, and his Shades paid the price for it. But now wasn't the time for mercy.
She thrust both hands forward, producing a concussive blast of light that knocked everyone bar Thorian to the floor. She faced the silver-haired tyrant.
"You can't handle me by yourself?" A teasing smile formed on her lips.
Her words did their job. Thorian lifted his chin, his eyes narrowed. He removed his robes, revealing the sleeveless tunic and pants he wore beneath. More black veins protruded against his chalky skin, nearly covering every inch of his being.
"Leave us," Thorian ordered his subjects.
The remaining five magicians shadowjumped away, leaving the pair of them alone in the tower's expansive library. Makaela couldn't see her friends from where she stood, but she hoped they made it out already.
"Let us see how resilient you truly are."
Thorian dropped to one knee with his hands pressed to the ground. Sucking in a breath, he moved his fingers in a quick, precise motion against the stone. Dark energy—originating from the ring on his left hand—poured into the floor, snaking through the tiny cracks in the tiles and cascading up the walls. It choked the light filtering through the stained-glass windowpanes, darkening the inside of the library. Makaela watched helplessly as the entire structure tremored.
Dust rained from the ceiling. Tiny chunks of rock followed suit seconds later. The walls cracked and groaned, fracturing like a broken spine. Her eyes widened as they collapsed upon themselves.
Thorian's wicked smile was the last thing she saw before falling debris and ravenous clouds of smoke swallowed her whole.