Shadow guards ran through the ballroom floors to reach Killian, grabbing Oltan by the collar of his shirt and tossing him away from the king. I tried to run to help him; he fell hard and looked to be in pain but was stopped by a guard, with a sword drawn, readying to attack Edwin and me.
"I got this. You save your courted!" Edwin yelled, taking the blade of his sword and blocking the enemy guard's attack.
With a nod, I ran towards the boy, who crumpled with pain. "Oltan, are you okay?"
Oltan nodded with a wind-knocked grunt, but his eyes focused on a figure behind me. "Eve, Look out!" He shouted. I turned, and there stood a guard, sharp dagger in hand, readying to sprint forward to kill.
Instinctually, I raised my hands, and a streak of pure white light rose from my hands and flew through the air, striking the shadow guard in the chest and causing him to vanish into a cloud of black dust.
I sat in shock for several seconds. I just killed someone. It was a shadow, but...
My heart ran faster than the rest, and an adrenaline-caused shock ran over me. Oltan stood from where he previously laid and knelt beside me. "You did what you had to. These shadow monsters will hurt someone if we don't strike first. "
I knew what Oltan was saying, but my mind couldn't wrap around what I had done to the shadow guard. With a senseless nod, I stood and returned to the battle in the ballroom.
Edwin became surrounded by guards, and I ran to help, but he shifted into a giant silver bear and crushed enemy guards with a single swipe. To my left, Oltan ran beside Kayden with regained strength and began fighting guards together. Liana posted herself on Killian's throne as she pinned down Shadows with her bow and quiver full of white tethered arrows.
In the center of the chaos and fighting, Killian stood in a dark loom, shadows and pure ebony ink pooling around the psychotic relic user. I stormed forward with ire and chance glittering through the light-filled magic summoning in the palms of my hands.
I sent a portion of the light magic toward the pool of ink and shadows- the pool vanishing back into a gold wood again. Killian looked up with fury radiating through his poisonous emerald eyes. "That was quite a show, Evalyn. You have grown into your power."
"How dare you speak to me! You took my kingdom and people, imprisoned me and my family, and abused the cycle of the Naimore and fates!" I screamed. Anger boiled in my blood, and the light magic glowed brighter and more aggressive alongside my fury.
"Evalyn, now think about what you're saying; I didn't do anything to this kingdom. I just made some minor adjustments." He shrugged.
I flung my arms out in frustration, but spheres of light moved and flung towards Killian dodged, and pure ire reflamed in his eyes. "You little wench!"
He stepped backward and drew his arms from his sides. "If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" More ink spilled from his hands onto the floor and bubbled into a dark, shadowy sword.
Killian grabbed the shadow sword and grinned (maniacally). He lifted it and lunged it towards my chest.
I dodged out of the way, the dark blade a little to an inch from the fabric of my dress and even less from my skin. I let out a small yelp of surprise and stumbled back. Like the battle back at the Fate's temple, I shielded myself in invisibility and swerved between the columns and curtains in the ballroom.
Thankfully, the shadow guards that the others were fighting slowly fell, and only a handful left that Kayden, Edwin, and Oltan were fighting hands-on. Liana snuck around the throne room and helped trapped guests and nobles exit the throne room.
Killian stormed through the room, slashing anything he came across. "I know you're here, Little Princess. I have spent two thousand and eight years preparing for you and your brothers' deaths!"
I looked to where the boys were fighting the remaining shadows, but Edwin stood frozen in horror- sword lowered, and a fear-filled look danced in his eyes.
"There you are!" Killian screamed, lunging at me again with the shadow sword grasped in his hands.
The sword struck as I struggled to get away, slicing the sleeve of my dress and cutting the skin of my arm. At least it wasn't my leg.
The cut stung, but I needed to get away. I became invisible again and secured my magic so it wouldn't drop again. I ran to the opposite side of the ballroom, where Kayden and Edwin finished their final fights.
"Edwin, toss me a sword!" While running towards Oltan when he was injured, I dropped my sword, and through all the fighting and chaos, it was kicked around the vast room, becoming lost in plain sight.
My brother scrambled, looking around the floor, but eventually dove for a simple shortsword that a shadow guard had dropped. "Here!" He yelled as he slid the sword in my direction, timed perfectly so that I grabbed the hilt and spun to block Killian's incoming attack.
"Can't kill me that easily." I prodded. For extra measure, I summoned a bit of light and blinded Killian as I ran to get a distance to form an attack.
I lunged to attack, but he blocked me with a flick of his wrist and a shadow wall summoning.
I glanced away for a second to see the final guard fall into a pitch of black ash, the same kind that littered the rest of the flooring. Liana was nowhere to be seen- hopefully in a good way, but Oltan and Edwin ran to my side as Kayden left the ballroom in a hurry.
Killian attacked again, and in my distracted state, I failed to block, meaning the man struck blood. The sword hit my lower abdomen, and I stood in a huddled shock as the serrated edges sliced across my skin, dragging deep cuts along with it.
A deep wolf growl sounded from my right, and a dark gray wolf pounced on Killian, crashing the relic user into the floor.
"What in the?" Killian started. Another growl from Edwin's wolf persona hushed Killian but was soon replied with more shadows being summoned from Killian's hand.
"What's his relic? He has to have one." Oltan asked, drawing his sword to prepare for the incoming shadows.
"He doesn't have one." Killian snarked underneath Edwin's claws. "I have pure power." Killian chuckled darkly, and then he threw Edwin's wolf form off, my brother crashing into the ground and shifting back into an annoyed and angered Edwin. "Bloody idiot." He mumbled in anger, retreating into a defensive pose, ready to attack again if needed.