Page 4 of Tangle of Lust and Lethargy

Pain exploded through my body as Maci’s powerful shove sent me flying. The world spun, and I smashed into the altar with a sickening crunch.

“Sawyer!” Brody’s voice rang out. I looked up to see him charging toward Maci, moving with his enhanced speed and strength. Yet even his finely honed reflexes weren’t enough. Maci melted into the shadows, reappearing behind him and raking her claws across his back.

Brody stumbled, gritting his teeth against the pain. “Damn it,” he growled. “How do we fight something we can’t touch?”

“I’ve got an idea,” Zara called. Her hands moved in intricate patterns, a faint glow emanating from her fingertips. “Luminos revelare!” she shouted, her voice ringing with power.

A brilliant light bathed the chamber. Maci hissed in pain, her shadowy form becoming more solid. However, the effect lasted only seconds before the shadows rushed back in.

“Nice try, little witch,” Maci sneered. “But you’ll need more than parlor tricks to defeat me.”

A roar of fury shook the chamber. Justice burst in, his eyes blazing with protective rage. “Release her, Maci!” he demanded. “This isn’t you!”

Maci hesitated for a split second as something flickered in her eyes. Then, her expression hardened. “You’re too late, Justice. I’ve made my choice.”

I struggled to my feet, every movement sending waves of pain through my body. Damon was at my side in an instant to support me. “Any bright ideas?” he muttered.

“We need to get that crown,” I gasped, my eyes fixed on the gleaming object in Maci’s claws.

Brody nodded, falling into a fighting stance. “Distract her. I’ll make a grab for it.”

Damon raised his gun again and fired several more shots. Zara began another incantation. Justice moved forward, still trying to reason with his former friend.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and feinted to the left before diving right, hoping to catch her off guard. For a heartbeat, I thought it had worked. My fingers brushed against the cool metal of the crown. But then Maci’s other clawed hand shot out, closing around my throat with terrifying strength.

She lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing, her scales rough against my skin as I clawed desperately at her grip. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision as I struggled to breathe.

Brody rushed her, but her tail whipped around, catching him in the midsection and dropping him.

“Enough games,” Maci snarled as she abruptly dropped me. The shadows in the room seemed to deepen, swirling around her like a living cloak. With a gesture, tendrils of darkness lashed out, wrapping around each of us.

I struggled against the shadowy bonds, but it was like fighting smoke. Beside me, I saw the others similarly restrained, even Brody’s enhanced strength useless against this supernatural force.

Maci’s triumphant laughter echoed through the chamber as the shadows tightened, squeezing the breath from our lungs. The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was the glint of the crown as Maci vanished into the shadows, taking our prize—and our last hope—with her.

Through blurred vision, I saw the serpent lunging toward Lisa. A black, smoky hand emerged from the shadows and grabbed the witch’s hand, yanking her away before the snake’s fangs could sink into her flesh.

Lisa’s eyes met mine. Sorrow and desperation swam in their depths.

“She promised to take me to my phoenix,” Lisa’s words rushed out like a speeding locomotive. “I had no choice.”

In a blink, Lisa was pulled into the shadows and vanished, leaving us alone with the enraged Aegis serpent. The chamber filled with the serpent’s furious hisses. As I struggled to my feet, pain lancing my body, the magnitude of our failure threatened to overwhelm me. We had come so far, faced so much, only to have victory snatched away at the last moment.

The bitter taste of betrayal mixed with the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. We had lost the Crown of Envy.

Betrayed by a friend.

Damon swore under his breath, anger brewing in his eyes. Tears streamed down Zara’s cheeks, which were as red as her fiery hair. Brody shook his head and kept staring into the dark cave. Justice gazed at me with a sweaty brow and sunken cheeks. His vampire strength was losing the battle against the spell.

As I looked at my team’s stunned faces, one thought echoed in my mind.What do we do now?

The question was answered for me.

The serpent hissed again, its scales scraping against stone as it reared up. Its eyes turned molten gold with rage and locked onto mine. I felt pinned in place, my breath catching in my throat as its forked tongue flicked out.

“You betrayed me,” it snarled, a guttural rumble that shook loose pebbles from the ceiling. “Now, you will all perish.”

The serpent whipped its massive tail upward, striking the cavern roof with a thunderous crack. My ears rang from the impact as rocks and stones rained down, pummeling us like nature’s fury unleashed.

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