Page 63 of Of Shadows and Death

My mouth drops open. “What are you talking about?”

Raúl grips my hand. “She fed the vampires.”

Airalin turns her nose up at me. “You kept asking to leave, even with that spell on you. I could not risk it.”

Every instinct in me begs me to slap her. Instead, I head to the window. With one last glance at her, I say, “Goodbye, Mother. Airalin.”

Her hair lifts completely off of her shoulders as rage spills out of her eyes. “I put in the effort, and I will reap my rewards. You will never leave. Your power is mine.”

Raúl pushes me to the floor, shielding me with his body. The bitter, familiar smell of burned flesh fills the air. For the first time, fear races through me. He grunts, falling to the ground next to me. I roll over, quickly moving toward him. He holds his heart, continuing to glare at the witch. Underneath his fingers, I can see charred flesh. Anger rises, meshing with my fear. I will not let her get away with hurting him.

I whip my head to stare at Airalin. Glaring at her, I stand up in front of Raúl, protecting him from any more damage. “How dare you?”

She raises her eyebrows, looking at me with disdain. “How dare I? You are the one with vampire trash. Besides, it was his own fault he moved in front of you.”

“Penny,” Raúl says, his voice weak. “Get out of here.”

I shake my head. “No. She said it herself. She will not let me go.”

“It’s about time you listened to me,” she says with a sneer.

“Oh, I’m not going to stay, Airalin,” I say. “This is goodbye.”

I reach into my storm, only slightly drained from the spells I worked earlier. Instead of a sliver, I grasp all of it.

Chapter Fifty-Two

My eyes burn at the sudden glow of dusting everywhere. I utter a cleaning spell, but give it no direction. Books, furniture fly about the room, heading for Airalin. She crouches her head, holding her hands up.

“What is this?” She sends a fire rope out, wrapping a chair about to hit her and burning it to ash.

“This is me,” I say, my voice echoing. A wicked laugh slips out, and I am exhilarated by the power flowing through me. Reaching forward, I grasp the essence surrounding her. Green, silver, red swirls. Another part of me, a calmer one observing the events, notes they are the same color as her powers, fire and earth.

I pull on the essences, and they flow toward me easily, turning into gold when they join me. Airalin screams. “What are you doing to me?”

“I told you. This is goodbye.”

Tears stream down her face and her skin starts to shrivel. “Wait, wait.”

I don’t even pause, immune to her cries. I continue to pull until only a small dusting is left. Abruptly, I let go of my power. The room crashes down. “Goodbye, Airalin. Do not come for me, or I will finish what I started.”

She lies on the ground, unmoving, her breathing labored. She gasps.

“Do you hear me, Airalin?” I say, my tone harsh, the same one she’s used on me before.

“I… hear… you. Fine.”

I stare at her for a moment. A part of me wants to continue, to rip her apart until she no longer rises. But that would make me just like her. Cruel and unforgiving. Without mercy. I whirl around and study Raúl. His face is wan, and I reach my hand forward, willing some of my essence into him.

“No, Penny,” he says with a wheeze. “That will destroy you.”

“No,” I say. “It won’t.”

My stomach roils, threatening to empty its contents. I ignore it, continuing to weave my essence into Raúl. Ignoring his pleas to stop, I give him enough until he can stand. He pulls me to him and hops out of the window. We fly downward and he crashes to the ground, knees and hands digging into the grass.

I bend down and put a hand on his shoulder, concern etched into my face. I have never seen him anything but healthy, and pain squeezes my heart at seeing him in this state. “Raúl, you can’t make it all the way to the castle like this. We need help.”

He nods his head and pulls out his pocket watch, wheezing. He calls Henry, commanding him to send three vampires to the werewolf castle. Henry agrees and Raúl closes the watch, moving to sit on the ground. He heaves a great sigh and stares at me forlornly. “I am sorry I couldn’t help you more with the witch. It was not my plan, trust me.”

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