Kohl
My muscles were so tense I was afraid they might snap under pressure. Nothing and no one made me fearful, but whatever was in that mirror was so evil that I could taste its threat in the air.
An oddly familiar laugh came from within the mirror, and Icelyn gasped behind me. I reached around and pressed her closer to my back. I could feel her tremble against my skin, which made me angry. So angry, in fact, that whatever comes from within that mirror, better be prepared for instantaneous death.
I drove Icelyn back with my body as a grotesque, bony leg pushed through the glass and stepped onto the floor. The creature that followed was nothing like anything I had ever seen before. Its body was spindly, and its dark, gray skin drooped from the bones like this creature had wasted away to nothing. The haggard appearance does not bother me in the least. What bothered me was that it had the book and seemed a little too familiar with it.
My mist began to swirl, putting a protective hedge around everyone in the room.
"Now, is that any way to greet me, Kohl, after all these years?"
My mind would not accept what my ears had just heard, but there was no mistaking that sultry voice.
"Isadora?" I hissed as the haggard creature smiled at me.
"I'm touched. You do remember me after all these years. You'll excuse me while I refresh myself."
My heart clenched as she caressed the book in her hands. This cannot happen, not again. I sent all the power I had hurled toward her and tried to shatter her brain with her fears. Instead of her body falling dead to the ground, she looked up at me and smiled.
"Silly Night King, you know that never worked on me." Her crusty lips perked up into a devious smile, making my stomach churn.
I glanced back at Icelyn and then rushed toward Isadora. If I could not kill her with my powers, I would do so with my bare hands.
"Aperta!" Isadora spoke to the book while caressing it with her fingers.
I was quick, but not quick enough. The book opened quickly to her command, the force of its magic bounded from the open pages like a tsunami, its power knocking me and everyone else to the far wall. I bounded to my feet, scooped Icelyn up off the ground, and shielded her protectively in the cocoon of my arms. I didn't miss the hate in Isadora's eyes as she looked down at Icelyn.
"Yes! I have been waiting for eternity to feel this power again!" Isadora leaned her head back and cackled like the witch she was as she absorbed the book's power.
What was left of her skin began to glow, and the book's magic soon encompassed her entire being. I shielded Icelyn's face from the glow of the magic as it hissed and popped through the air.
Once the magic had settled, Isadora reemerged from the mist, completely restored. Her once charred and ashy skin was renewed to the purest of ivory, and her curves and edges to their former glory. She pressed her blood-red lips together as she swept her long, straight silver-blue hair behind her pointy ears. She was everything I remembered from years ago. She disgusted me then, just as she did now. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and blew herself a conceited kiss.
"Thank you, Leon." She smiled at the mirror again and turned her black, lifeless eyes to my brother.
I followed her gaze and stared at him. I knew he was in love with her all those years ago, but I would have never believed that his love went so deep that he would double-cross me, especially after all the havoc she had caused before we stopped her.
"I didn't do this for you," Leon clarified, pushing Jen behind him.
"Didn't you?" Isadora batted her now full, black lashes at him. "That's right, you did it for yourself, but a bargain is a bargain."
"E contrario maledictum," Isadora said and waved her hand towards Leon.
Little by little, his beastly appearance disappeared until he was completely whole again.
"I hope this was worth it to you," I cursed him as he downcasted his eyes.
"Enjoy your little tryst while you can, Isadora, because once I regain my strength and have my full power, I intend to send you to hell where you belong," I said to her between clenched teeth.
"I can hardly wait," she said, her voice dripping with desire as she sashayed toward me.
My skin crawled as she placed her palm against the flesh on my chest. She was so transparent. I knew she cared for no one but herself. What really turned her on was power. That was why she had always been attracted to me, but once she realized I would not fall prey to her womanly wiles, she turned to my brother, who apparently was a bigger fool than I realized.
Icelyn tensed behind me, but I held her back. My mate was undoubtedly enraged by another female touching me, but this was no time for her to bring attention to herself.
"So you are the queen of the Night Realm? Really Kohl, I expected much more."
My efforts to conceal Icelyn were in vain as Isadora peaked around my board form, her eyes shooting daggers at Icelyn. I could hear Icelyn as she gnashed her teeth and tried unsuccessfully to push around me.
Icelyn huffed when I pushed her closer to my back and gave up on her struggles when she realized there was no way she was removing the barricade of my body.
"I thought all witches wore pointy hats to hide their unsightly cone head, and you, my dear, should really consider getting one."
Frustrated, I closed my eyes as Icelyn pulled on Isadora's vanity string. Isadora's eyes rounded at Icelyn's audacity.
"You, little human, need a less in humility."
"Give me my powers back, and I will show you humility."
Isadora smiled at Icelyn's last threat. "No, I'm afraid I cannot do that. I have other plans for you."
I felt the magic sizzle through the air, but before I could move, Isadora swept Leon and me out onto the balcony and away from Icelyn.
I had never felt helpless in my entire life, but as I struggled to rise against Isadora's oppressive magic to no avail, helpless was an understatement. Try as I might, I could not return to Icelyn's side. I watched in horror as Isadora circled Icelyn like a vulture after its next feast. Icelyn never wavered under Isadora's harsh, evil glare.
"Oriri." Isadora hissed in Icelyn's face.
My heart sank to the pit of my stomach as Icelyn's body slowly lifted from the ground. She kicked and sputtered like there was an invisible force around her neck, choking her.
"Isadora, stop!"
Finally, I forced my way to my feet, but I could not manage to make it across the room to Icelyn; my powers would not penetrate Isadora's mind.
"Oh, mighty Night King, will you beg me for her life?" Isadora turned her lifeless eyes to me with a sinister smile on her face. Begging was beneath me, but Isadora knows for Icelyn, I would grovel at her feet if I had to.
"Don't...you...dare." Icelyn hissed as she struggled to breathe.
Isadora's attention turned back toward Icelyn.
"You believe yourself strong because of your mate bond to the Night Realm King?" Isadora walked around to Icelyn's back so she could look me straight in the eyes.
"You broke our bond...remember, but you...cannot break our...love."
Isadora's eyes took on an unholy sheen as she stared at Icelyn.
"True. I was sure he would cast you out once your bond was broken, but I was wrong. I may not be able to break your love, but I can break you as a human."
I pushed against Isadora's power with all my might, but I could only watch in horror as she flung Icelyn through the air. Icelyn's body flew over the top of me. I reached up, my hand barely brushing Icelyn's leg as she soared past me.
My entire world tilted on its axis as I watched Icelyn's body plummet over the railing and crash into the swirling waters below.
"I'm really not playing fair, am I?" Isadora sashayed toward me and ran her black nails across my cheek. Her proximity was of little concern at the moment. I desperately searched the water, hoping to see Icelyn break the surface.
"Oh, she's not coming back up, Kohl, my love. Humans are far too easy to kill. All I have to do is hold her below until she drowns."