I fired the golden flames again, and it collapsed like the first.
With every kill, the golden light grew warmer, brighter. Not overwhelming like before—but steady. Like it had found its rhythm inside me at last.
By the time I killed the fifth abyss creature, the soldiers had begun to notice. Some looked toward me, expressions torn between awe and disbelief.
I felt like I was growing used to this power.
And while I was helping out and actually saving people, this very power that scared me before, felt like a gift.
I turned, ready to target the sixth.
But something cold and slick suddenly wrapped around my arms and yanked me backward.
I screamed as my feet left the ground.
Tendrils again—but not like before. These weren’t just slimy coils of abyssal darkness.
This time, they had fingers.
I twisted in mid-air, kicking and clawing at whatever had grabbed me. A hooded figure loomed behind me—shrouded in shadow, their face obscured by a mask stitched with threads of black bone. But I saw the faint glow of their abyss-marked eyes.
I screamed again, tried to burn them—but my arms were pinned. My legs flailed as they dragged me upward and back toward the trees, away from the open battlefield.
"No—no, let me go!" I snarled, fury and panic rising in my throat.
I called to the flame inside me, but their grip tightened around my ribs like iron. I couldn’t breathe. The treetops were rushing closer. My mind spiraled.
I didn’t know where he was.
Still fighting Alishay?
No, I have to fight for myself!
I didn’t get to wonder for long. I twisted my fingers and, despite their grip, I found one sliver of space—just enough to conjure a spark. A flicker of golden fire bloomed in my palm.
It hit the cloaked attacker right in the shoulder.
They screamed—not human, not demon—a horrible, guttural sound—and I felt their grip loosen just a little.
With all the strength I had left, I kicked hard against their body and yanked my arm free. Another flame ignited—then another—and I blasted them in the face.
The trees rushed up to meet me again.
I flipped midair, heart in my throat. Focus. Focus, Aelin. I remembered the safety spell from the book—the one I’d practiced just once.
"Cushion!" I shouted as I neared the ground, flinging my hand forward.
Golden light spiraled from my palm and burst into a glowing barrier beneath me.
I slammed into it hard, but not fatally. It held, slowing my fall, and I bounced slightly before landing on my side with a grunt. My body ached. My ears rang.
And when I rolled onto my stomach, panting, I looked up—
The masked attacker had landed too, slinking out from the trees like a wraith, limping slightly from the burns I’d given them.
I let out a shaky breath. I didn’t pay attention before, but I can use the flame even when I’m not targeting the core. And it hurts these abyss worshippers.
They stood tall. Taller than me. Their form was covered in a black cloak that pulsed with abyssal energy. A jagged blade was in their hand now—dripping some ink-like liquid that hissed as it hit the grass.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
"You can’t win against me." He said
A part of me—an old, fragile piece—wanted to believe him. No, I did believe it. I won against the monsters because I killed them from the sidelines and they aren’t even intelligent beings.
My mana pulsed unevenly in my chest. My legs were sore from the fall, and my arms trembled from the burns I’d cast. I was not used to action at all, so it was taking a toll on me. All the sudden movement, all the quick reactions and magic use.
I couldn’t take much more.
I forced my feet to stay planted. I raised my chin, fire still trembling at my fingertips.
"I can," I said, though my voice wavered. He tilted his head farther. I swallowed hard, lifting my hands a little higher. "I’m stronger than you."
The lie stung as it left my mouth. I wanted to believe it. Desperately. But deep down, I knew I hadn’t trained enough. I hadn’t memorized all the spells, didn’t have the endurance or raw experience they did.
Still... I couldn’t just back down.
The cloaked man didn’t answer.
Instead, he lifted one hand—slowly, deliberately—and pointed a single finger at the sky.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
A blast of black and red magic shot from his fingertip. It streaked upward like a flare and exploded, unraveling into a swirling vortex of smoke that painted a sickening symbol into the sky above us. A giant eye—burning crimson
And then... I wasn’t alone.
A ripple spread out across the clearing, and I whirled around just as two new figures emerged from the trees—dark robes, marked faces, and blackened weapons in hand. Abyss-worshippers. Just like the first one. Their eyes glowed faintly like fireflies in the dark.
They stepped into place around me, forming a triangle.
A gust of wind rustled the leaves, and I heard the masked man chuckle—low, pleased.
"You’re not trained enough to take us all on," he said calmly, like he was pointing out the weather.
"W-what do you want?" I tried to sound confident but I knew I failed at that
"Just come with us quietly," He showed me his hand, "That’s all we want."
"Why?" I asked. They want me to come with them?
"We need you for something important." He replied, "Something only you can do."
Something only I can do? I paused to think about it.
Should I run? Cast a shield? Try to burn them all at once? My legs twitched to bolt, but something inside me held firm.
Even if I was terrified.
Even if the odds were impossible.
I wouldn’t let them take me.
"No," I said, "You can’t take me."