Page 77 of A Kiss of Flame
She swung her hand, slicing one of their heads clean in two with a sharp pulse of dispersal. It gurgled and crumbled into nothingness, while the other barely missed snapping its gnarled teeth against her neck as she dove out of the way.
"You stupid child!" Vane seethed.
The shadowy monster tackled Levian to the ground, pinning her there. With grunts of exertion, she fought against it. Her spell was forced upward, the burst of violet disappearing into the fog. Vane stepped forward as she snarled, reaching straight through the monster to grab her around the throat. A chilling sensation spread through her from where his fingers touched her skin, a cold darkness that seemed to seep into her very bones, much like the Dökk blade had done.
"Do you really think the Order will tolerate your meddling?" Vane hissed, his face inches from hers. “Their reach is everywhere—their patience, infinite. No one will stop them. Especially not a spoiled, worthless brat like you.”
The creature held her down while Vane's grip on her throat tightened, his fingers like iron. Levian felt her vision blur, darkness closing in as she gasped for air.
All around Levian, the sounds of battle raged. Curses, grunts, and the clashing of weapons echoed through the cavern. Flashes of dragon fire lit up the fog, and everything seemed to stand still for a moment. Vane leaned over her, his cold breath brushing against her ear. “I will feed you to the shadows like your father should have," he whispered with maniacal contempt.
Levian's vision was darkening, her body growing limp as the horrid magick seeped into her, numbing her limbs. Merlin hadn’t told her, but Levian had been able to string together enough details to guess that her father would’ve had to pay a heavy price of blood and power to forge a ring capable of wielding the shadows. Merlin would’ve never given his own—the next best thing would’ve been the blood and power of his child. It had been the price he’d not been willing to pay.
A tear fell down Levian’s cheek as she began to lose consciousness. She didn’t care what happened to her. She only wanted Barith to be safe.
Fire spread behind Vane, lighting up the fog in a brilliant blaze. Vane turned, eyes wide, just as Barith's flaming fist slammed into his jaw. The force of the blow knocked Vane sideways, and Levian gasped as air filled her lungs once more, pushing away the darkness. The orb managed to slip from Vane's pocket and bounced along the stone floor before rolling into the fog.
Vane cursed, trying to throw a spell at Barith, but the dragon was relentless in his rage. He drove his fist into Vane's stomach, causing the vile man to double over. Barith was bleeding, his right wing bent and broken, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. Levian’s heart thrummed with relief seeing him free. Barith growled with primal fury, his eyes blazing as he grabbed Vane by the front of his jacket and lifted him off the ground, slamming him into the stone. The shadow creature holding Levian down evaporated, vanishing like smoke.
Vane tried to raise his arm to cast a spell, but Barith reacted quickly, kicking him hard in the stomach. “I dunnae need magick to kick your arse,” he snarled, bending down to punch Vane across the face, each blow more forceful than the last.
Barith glanced down at her, and Levian’s heart pulsed. “I have to find it,” she said, her voice raspy but determined. She didn’t know what the orb was, but she knew she didn’t want any of the Black Masks escaping with it either.
With one last pained look at Barith, who nodded his understanding, Levian scrambled into the fog after the orb. She found it nestled against a bit of raised stone and barely got it between her fingers before a silver blade appeared through the fog ahead of her.
"Give it to me," Tsuki demanded, her voice cold and commanding as she squared off against Levian.
"No," Levian snapped in return.
Tsuki lunged at her, her blade slicing through the air. Levian barely had time to react, sending a pulse of violet hurtling toward her. Tsuki deflected it effortlessly with her sword, closing the distance and hitting Levian right where the Dökk blade had stabbed her. The orb slipped from the mage’s grasp as she was overcome with pain. Both women lunged after it.
Levian fired several pulses of magick, each one narrowly missing Tsuki as she twisted and dodged. Tsuki's blade slashed toward Levian but was stopped by one of Sirus’s short, curved silver blades. The vampire’s interference was enough to give Levian the advantage. She stumbled into the fog, leaving Sirus to deal with Tsuki.
When she caught sight of the orb about to roll into the pit of shadow, she gasped and lunged to the ground. Levian only barely managed to grab it as it plunged over the edge. The shadow slipped over her outstretched hand, sending a cool shiver over her skin.
This was where it had all begun. It was here that Merlin had first touched shadow magick. Merlin had warned her to be careful of the shadows in the pit. He feared it would come to her as easily as it’d come to him.
She should have pulled away but lingered, watching as the shadow slid further over her hand and up her arm. Levian didn’t feel the cold chill of evil as the shadows spread over her. Instead, she felt something unlock inside her. It felt like she was touching the magick of the cosmos— raw and beautiful.
Barith's roar of pain echoed through the fog, and Levian's heart lurched, snapping her back to reality, the chaos around her rushing in once more. A blinding pulse of magic surged through her, and an ancient voice whispered a single question in the Elder, "Aël?”Who?
Levian knew being tempted by the draw of the shadow was dangerous, but she felt no evil intent in its question. All she felt was the touch of raw power. She thought only of Barith. The magick responded, finding him instantly, sending her a vivid flash of his perspective—he was fighting off a slew of Vane’s shadow monsters, his battered body flushed with raging flames.
The magick asked her no other question, but Levian felt it all the same—What was her desire?
Levian couldn’t help but feel her love for Barith and her desperate need to keep him safe. The magick stirred instinctively. She was confident they would survive their battle, but she wasn’t certain, and Vane’s control over the shadows worried her.
Overcome, Levian did the thing she knew she shouldn’t—she asked the shadows for help. “Thalëa en'vorna. Varian täl,” she whispered.Grant me strength.Protect him.
The shadow’s magick burned through her, deciding whether she was worthy of her request. Levian shucked in a shallow breath, her skin and bones flaring with pain as it settled insideher. When she stood, the shadows fell back into the pit, but she felt their touch all the same.
Barith snarled again, and with one last fleeting glance of guilt at the pit, Levian ran into the consuming purple fog—unsure of the full impact of what she’d done.
She found Barith at the edge of the platform, fighting off the shadow monsters that clawed at him. Vane stood nearby, urging them forward.
"Vane!" she called out. He whirled around just in time to see her fist laced with violet magick coming at his face. Vane reeled backward, his feet teetering on the edge of the platform.
"You brat!" he bellowed, his voice breaking with rage as his hands flew up to his nose. He threw shards of shadow like a spray of arrows. Levian tried to throw up a spell, but she only dispelled a few. To her shock, the others crashed against a protective barrier around her, shattering harmlessly.