Page 103 of The Sacred and the Tormented

She dared a step, but as soon as her foot touched one of the open books, gravity took over and it all came crashing down.Her magic sprung to life to cover her head as the thick books thumped against shelves and the stone floor. Spines splintered and corners dented as they all landed in heaps.

The shelves hit the floor with loud thuds that had Arianna wincing and the papers float down slowly.

Arianna spun again, assessing the area.

Ellie.

Ellie had been right in front of her before the shelves had started falling. Her heart raced as the books’ screams echoed through her mind. What if her sister had fallen? What if—

A lone figure stood down another isle, an unknown dim light illuminating her round face. She didn’t smile, but at least her little sister still appeared unscathed.

“Ellie,” Arianna tried again. “Ellie, tell me how to help.”

Arianna took one step toward her sister, but instead of running away, Ellie rushed toward her. Arianna stepped back at the sudden movement and lost her balance, nearly tripping over a pile of books.

Her little sister’s magic sprang to life and Arianna’s answered, blocking the sharpened spears with a wall. Ice burst in a kaleidoscope of white shards.

Ellie burst through them without hesitation and grabbed Arianna’s throat before slamming her against a shelf that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Arianna’s head cracked against the wood, then sharp pain lanced through her side. Arianna gasped for breath and looked to find Ellie gripping the knife she’d plunged into her sister’s side.

Arianna reached down and clamped one hand around Ellie’s wrist, freezing the joint up to her elbow to prevent her from twisting the blade further.

Ellie still tried to drive it deeper, pushing her body against the hilt.

“Ellie,” Arianna choked out. Their magic warred against one another, but the creature within Arianna hesitated, as if it cared for her little sister just as much as she did.

“Evelyn,” a voice whispered from the shadows. It slithered over Arianna’s skin and her hairs rose as another figure emerged through the shifting shadows. Those shadows swirled around him, pulling back as if submitting to their master’s will.

Ellie’s head cocked to the side like a defiant teenager.

“Play nice, we don’t want to lose our best piece before the fun’s even begun, do we?”

A terrible smirk spread across her sister’s face. The ice melted away and Ellie withdrew the blade before backing up. She flipped the bloody knife in one hand before slipping it back into its sheath without even bothering to wipe it off.

“Good girl.” He stopped too far away for Arianna to see his face, but some internal part of her knew exactly who he was. “We’ll take her with us. I have a few other matters to tend to before we can play.”

Arianna’s magic nearly growled within her own body, but just as it was about to lash out, the shadows rushed in like a black wave.

Oxygen and light disappeared. Stolen. Arianna clawed at her throat, gasping for breath and watched as her sister’s form slowly merged with the shadows, like giant fingers closing around her body.

Arianna tried to reach out with one hand, but Ellie turned away, leaving Arianna to sink into oblivion.

Chapter Thirty

Rion

Talon lunged for him, ice crackling around his form as both body and magic slammed into Rion, knocking him to the ground.

Rion’s magic blocked the deadly spears of ice, rendering them useless, but he’d barely blocked Talon’s hands in time as they’d reached for his throat.

Talon roared, snapping his teeth and Rion grimaced before bucking him off with his hips. Talon pivoted, landing on his hands and feet like a feral animal before lunging at him again.

Ice snaked up the walls, branching out to surround Rion on all sides. Talon drew his blade and lunged for him again, the ice following in dozens of sharpened spears.

Rion yanked the stones loose, crushing them with half a thought before encasing his body in a protective cocoon. Ice formed at his feet, forcing him to roll to avoid the next attack, but Talon was already there. He grabbed Rion by the front of his tunic and slammed him to the ground before pinning him with his body.

Rion’s magic wrapped around Talon’s arms, stopping the falling blade a mere inch from his throat.

Talon growled at him, his eyes full of rage and grief.

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