Page 83 of Blood Freed

The doors blast open at my touch, ancient wood splintering. Inside, magic crackles through the air, leaving the taste of ozone on my tongue.

I race down the center aisle, past broken pews and shattered stained glass. The church is abandoned and disintegrating, but this rubble isn’t from neglect. This is a war zone.

Ahead, Mia faces Lucien, her body wreathed in dark energy.

“Mia!” I shout again, my voice echoing through the cavernous space.

She turns, and my heart clenches. There’s almost nothing about her that I recognize. The magic has taken her completely.

Then I see it – the spell Lucien has woven, invisible threads of deadly power spiraling in on her. Before I can reach her, before I can help her, the magic ignites.

Flames erupt around Mia, but these aren’t ordinary flames. They’re black as pitch, consuming her from within as the dark magic turns on itself. Her scream pierces my soul, sending shockwaves rippling through me.

Beyond her, towers a tall figure: Lucien in his signature black suit, his dark hair swirling around his face. Trust the fucker to dress for the occasion.

“Ah. The hero arrives…in the knick of time.” He laughs. “Or maybe not.”

“Marlowe!” I snarl, wanting to rip out his throat with my bare hands. But there’s no time for that now. I have to get to her.

I lunge forward to where she seems to be trapped within the flames, but the heat drives me back.

“You’re too late, Daire.” Lucien’s voice oozes satisfaction. “The darkness has taken her completely. Quite fitting, really – the corruption of a Blackwood witch.”

I ignore him, focusing on Mia. Through the flames, I catch glimpses of her face contorted in pain. The magic wreathes her like a deadly shroud, eating away at her very essence.

“Mia!” I push against the barrier of black flames again. “Hold on! I’m coming.”

Her eyes meet mine through the inferno. For just a moment, I see a flash of recognition, of the real Mia beneath the darkness. The flames flicker, weakening slightly.

“No!” Lucien snarls. He gestures sharply, and the black fire intensifies.

Mia screams, the sound tearing through me. The pain drops me to my knees. Looking up, I see her body beginning to dissolve within the black magic.

“Motherfucker!” I growl at Lucien. “This was your plan all along.”

Lucien holds up a small crystalline sphere, its surface gleaming with an inner light. “You’ve all played your partsperfectly. The Blackwoods, the Assembly, even you, Daire. Like pieces on a chessboard, moving exactly where I needed you to be.”

I barely hear him through Mia’s screams. The flames are consuming her, and every second of her pain is like molten silver in my veins.

Lucien turns the sphere in his hand, admiring how it catches the light. “So much fuss for this.” He chuckles. “But it will be worth it in the end.”

I don’t bother with an answer. There’s no time for Lucien and his games now.

Turning back to the fire, I step into the heat. The flames sear my flesh as I force my way through them, but I don’t care. Nothing matters except reaching her. The magic crackles and snaps around me like a rabid animal, trying to drive me back, but I push forward step by step.

“Please…God, please!” I don’t know who I’m speaking to: her, myself, or some higher power. The fire burns hotter, eating into my skin, my muscles, my bones. Each step is agony, but I keep going. I feel her fading, slipping away with every second I waste.

Just a few more feet.

The blaze roars higher, determined to keep us apart. I grit my teeth and lunge forward, throwing myself through the wall of black fire.

And then…nothing.

The flames vanish as if they never existed. The sudden silence is deafening after the roar of the inferno. Mia crumples, and I catch her before she hits the ground.

My heart stops.

Her body is charred black, her skin cracked and peeling like burnt paper. The dark magic has consumed almost everything that made her Mia. Her clothes are ash, her hair gone. Only hereyes remain unchanged – those bright green eyes I fell in love with stare up at me from a face I barely recognize.

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