Page 78 of Draven

I could feel the frost gnawing at my very essence, threatening to freeze me in place.

Tobias's panicked cry echoed in my ears as I sank to my knees, his arms wrapping around me in a desperate attempt to ward off the encroaching cold.

"You're so cold," Tobias whispered, his voice laced with fear and concern as he felt the chill emanating from my body.

"I'll get over it," I rasped out, my words strained as I struggled to push past the numbing cold that threatened to consume me.

Tobias's horrified gaze only spurred me on, igniting a new fire in me. Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I turned my gaze towards Belladonna.

With her injured leg, she looked small and weak.

Opening my mouth, I conjured a ball of searing flame, the heat driving back the biting cold that had enveloped me moments before.

Belladonna's eyes widened in fear as she realized that her spells were no match against me. Not anymore. It was time to finish her off.

My muscles screamed in protest as I conjured another searing ball of flame, hurling it towards Belladonna's retreating form.

The fire struck her back with a satisfying impact, eliciting a pained grunt from the black witch.

But to my dismay, she didn't falter. Instead, she pressed on and frustration welled inside me.

"Dang it," I muttered under my breath.

My body trembled with exhaustion as I tried to summon more fire. But I felt drained, my energy reserves depleted from the fight.

"I can go after her," Tobias offered. "I still have enough strength to shift and hunt her down. She’s injured. I don’t think she’ll put up much of a fight."

I held him tighter, refusing to let him go. I couldn't risk losing Tobias again, not after coming so close to losing him once before.

"No need," I said, flicking my gaze upwards as I sensed a familiar presence approaching. "Zane's here."

Together, we looked up to see Zane, in his monstrous dragon form, soaring through the skies towards us.

Belladonna seemed to sense Zane’s arrival too, halting in her tracks and staring upwards with a mixture of defiance and fear.

"My kin will avenge me!" Belladonna shouted, but her words were drowned out by the roar of flames as Zane unleashed his fiery breath upon her.

She continued to laugh even as she burned, a chilling sight that sent shivers down my spine.

I held Tobias close, shielding him from the gruesome spectacle as Belladonna's laughter turned to screams.

I stroked Tobias's hair, offering what comfort I could as I watched the black witch finally meet her end.

"Is it finally over?" Tobias whispered.

He lifted his head from my chest.

"Yeah," I murmured, leaning in to kiss him tenderly. "It's over."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

TOBIAS/ DRAVEN

TOBIAS

Draven remained conscious just long enough to see Zane land near us, his massive dragon form shifting seamlessly into his human one.

Zane immediately came over to check on us, but his main focus was on Draven. He looked concerned..