Page 199 of The Dryad Storm

The roaring, lightning-spitting storm band stills before the V’yexwraith, its winds pulling into its center. The storm spiders click into a forward-leaning stance, raising their huge thoraxes toward the wall of storm.

Fallon sucks in a harsh breath of surprise as lightning-flashing columns of storm fly toward the spiders and are sucked into their forms, the blue-and-white lightning morphing to steel black just before it’s consumed.

The V’yexwraith lets out another ground-shuddering shriek and opens its mouth unnaturally wide, row upon row of teeth telescoping outward.

A larger column of storm flies from the storm band and bolts into the V’yexwraith’s most extended maw.

The giant demon lets out a screechingATCH ATCH ATCHas both it and the spiders eat the East’s storm band, siphoning up its power.

Fallon watches, every nerve lit up, as Vogel maintains his hold on the leashed demon, steely lightning crackling through the beast’s tether to Vogel as the storm band’s energy is drawn right into Marcus via his Shadow Wand. Marcus briefly glances back at her, his eyes filling with spitting gray lightning.

As he’s transformed into a living Mage storm.

Electricity crackling off him, he holds up his Shadow Wand, the Wand of Power encircled by a spiral of gray storm, threads of dark, curving lightning flashing through it.

Fallon can’t suppress her smug smile.

The East is finished.

And so is Elloren Gardner Grey and her Icaral demon.

Vogel snaps his fingers, and his Shadow tethers to the V’yexwraith and spiders snap out of view, but Fallon imagines the bindings are still very much there. Vogel lowers his lightning-flashing Wand and sheathes it as the demon and storm spiders turn toward him as if waiting for direction.

Smiling, Vogel meets Fallon’s awed gaze once more.

A shock of want races through her power. She’s suddenly unsteady on her feet, overcome by the ferocious desire to throw ice power through his fireline to find out if it triggers the achingly pleasurable rush of hot steam that she’s felt only once before—when she kissed Lukas Grey.

But Vogel’s Shadow fire and storm...

The entire East’s power isnothingin the face of it.

Lukas’s power wasnothingin the face of it.

“Come with me, my Black Witch,” Vogel croons, that spine-tingling static practically leaping off his skin. “It’s time to fully join.”

Breathless, Fallon bares her teeth at him in a vicious, excited smile because she can guess what he’s alluding to.

A fasting and Sealing to each other.

Vogel gestures toward the multi-eyed, multilegged dragon that flew them through the portal, the Shadow beast standing several paces away. Fallon eagerly strides toward it and mounts the beast before Vogel lithely slides in behind her, his body enthrallingly hot against her chilly frame. Vogel hisses out a command, and they take to the skies, soaring toward the Shadow portal that will speed them back to the Magedom’s Central Desert military base.

Toward her true and rightful destiny.

Reveling in her incoming position of power, Fallon strides beside Vogel through the Magedom’s sprawling military base that used to be Issaan’s capitol. Gray Shadow skies churn overhead, everything stripped of color save for the Magedom’s shimmering green hue.

Erthia’s ruling hue.

Hot static courses from Vogel’s lines to batter against Fallon’s aura of icy wind, their magic crackling against each other’s in the most exciting way possible. Vogel has come away from his consumption of the East’s storm band with a breathtaking level of power, and Fallon is beyond ready to merge with all that power through a Shadowed fasting spell that will tether his lines to hers.

Her excitement surges as she realizes Vogel is headed in the direction of the base’s newly constructed Church of the First Children. White-bearded Priest Sedric stands in the church’s huge, arching doorway, grayed trees devoid of life set into the entrance’s bracketing walls.

“Shall I accompany you, Excellency?” Priest Sedric inquires of Vogel, a hopeful look in the priest’s eyes as they flick toward Fallon, a grayed wand clutched in his hand.

Fallon’s smug smile broadens. It’s clear the priest is eager to be the one to fast them.

But Vogel doesn’t answer him. Instead, he swipes his hand sideward in a gestureof succinct dismissal. Dipping his head, Priest Sedric deferentially opens the door, and Vogel strides through it.

Fallon follows, confusion twisting to brutal life inside her as the church’s door shuts behind them, her outrage rising.

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