Page 67 of Chaos Carnival

I fell, the world going dark like a closing curtain. Through blurred vision, I saw Tess watching. The sight of her slipping away, being corrupted by forces beyond our control, hurt worse than any weapon.

Mine,my fading consciousness screamed.My mate. My love. My madness.

I reached for her with the last of my strength, blood-slick fingers stretching toward what was mine. If I couldn't save her, I'd follow her into hysteria. Into death itself.

Because she belonged to me. Body, soul, and sanity.

And I belonged to her. Every broken, bleeding piece of me.

“Finish him,” Ivan commanded, his voice thick with triumphant cruelty.

She stepped forward with inhuman grace, head tilting like a curious predator at both me and Ivan. “The strands say you'll die here.” Her voice crumbled with something almost like grief. “They say I'll be the one to kill you.”

“Tess,” I whispered through blood-stained lips, pouring every ounce of our connection into those next words. “I love you.”

Her empty smile widened, amusement flickering in their endless depths like dying stars in a midnight sky. The energy around her trembled, resonating with a truth stronger than Ivan's corruption. But this wasn't like her usual thread-madness, all scattered visions and broken prophecies. No, this was something else entirely—a perfect fusion of chaos and control. Her words weren't disconnected riddles anymore; they were razor-sharp and purposeful. She hadn't mastered the webs, I realized with a chill. They had mastered each other.

The air glimmered with forces that felt distinctly, painfully familiar, even as it congealed with something darker, something wrong. My witch was in there somewhere, but she'd become something more, something awesome and splendid that made my shadows writhe with recognition. This wasn't Tess breaking free of the streams. This was Tess becoming one with them.

Then everything exploded in light and pain and power.

Pure energy radiated from Tess in waves, the threads exploding outward like a supernova. The mirrors shattered, the world seeming to crack under the inevitability of her awakening. Ivan was thrown back, his smug expression melting into terror as he finally realized what he'd unleashed.

“No one controls me.” Tess's voice resonated with transcendent alchemy, glorious and treacherous as a storm. The ribbons rippling from her hands struck Addie like lightning, and the white glow in her friend's eyes flickered and died. She slumped, the unnatural grace leaving her body as awareness flooded back into her face. Stone and Lux burst through the shattered mirrors behind me, their shadows writhing with battle-readiness.

Tess caught Addie as she stumbled, steadying her with one arm as confused terror replaced the vacant adoration. Herlaughter echoed off the mirrors, sharp and wild and free. “Oh, Ivan, the chords show me everything now. Every little lie. Every manipulation.”

She pushed a trembling Addie toward Stone and Lux as she circled Ivan like a predator stalking wounded prey. My beautiful, brutal mate, embracing her true power. “You never had any real control over me at all. Just smoke and mirrors, like your little circus.” Her voice turned razor-sharp. “The tether was fake. Just another trick to keep me scared and small.”

“You don't understand—” Ivan started, but Tess cut him off with another burst of manic laughter that made my shadows writhe in response.

“Oh but I do, Ivan! I understand everything now.” Thread-magic ignited around her like dark lightning. “I see all the pretty little lies you wrapped around my mind.” Her voice dropped to a whisper that promised violence. “They show me what you really are. Just a sad little man playing with forces he can't control.”

She threw her head back, black eyes gleaming with unholy delight. “You made me believe I needed you. That I couldn't escape.” More laughs bubbled up, drunk on power and revelation. “But look at me now! I can see through walls, through time, through flesh and bone, and lies!”

Her expression suddenly hardened into something ancient and merciless. “You hurt me. Broke me. Made me think I was nothing.” Threads tightened around him like pythons, and my heart swelled with dark pride. This was my mate, not his puppet, not his weapon, but a force of nature unleashed. “But the universe whispers such lovely truths to me now. It shows me exactly what you really are, a coward hiding behind borrowed magic.”

I watched her through blood-blurred vision, awe and possession and love tangling in my chest.

The webs responded to her will now, dancing around her like devoted servants rather than controlling masters. They pulsed with her heartbeat, writhing with a preternatural grace that made my breath catch. She was superb in her fury, monstrous in her awakening, raw energy radiating from her in waves. And she was not Ivan's puppet, not the demon magic's plaything, but a being of pure power in her own right.

In her, I saw everything I'd ever wanted and everything I'd never dared hope for. A partner who could dance in both shadow and flame.

I pushed myself up, corruption coiling weakly around me, drawn to her power. Every tendril of blackness I commanded seemed to pulse with newfound purpose, stretching toward her like starving things seeking sustenance. The raw energy crackling around her called to something primal in me, something that had waited centuries to find its match.

“The wraithshade—” Ivan gasped, fear cracking his arrogant facade.

“Won't save you,” Tess sang, her voice a melody of madness and revenge. “Nothing will save you now. I am hungry now, Ivan. Hungry for your fear, your pain, your destruction.” Her smile turned cruel, stunning in its savagery. “I want you to taste everything you did to me. It's long past due!”

Her vengeance was glorious, darkness bending to her will like an eager servant. My perfect, fiendish mate, dealing justice with devilish dark arcana. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, this sublime creature. Every gesture of her hands sent waves of energy rippling through the air, making my skin tingle and my blood sing.

Fuck, but she was ravishing like this, wrapped in darkness and righteous violence, claiming the revenge she deserved.

“Goodbye, Ivan. You won't be missed.” The threads of arcana hung in the air, tendrils of inkiness that seemed to feed off herrage. Each one writhed and slithered like a living thing, eager to do her bidding as she unleashed her vengeance. They wove through the air, an intricate dance of vice and fury, wrapping around Ivan like razor wire, cutting deep. Blood oozed where the ropes bit into his skin, sinking deeper with every twitch of her fingers. It was a brutal, grandiose display of power, and I couldn't look away. Her anger fueled the magic, making it stronger, darker, and a thrill ran through me as I witnessed the full extent of her wrath.

That vile clown face of his finally showed real fear as they began to constrict, his blood running in black rivulets down his cheeks. Alchemy radiated from her in waves that made my bones ache. The fucker was getting what he deserved, and the witch was serving it up in style. Those threads moved with a life of their own, burrowing deeper, cutting through his flesh like sharp wire.

His skin rippled and distorted as the lines pushed and pulled, like he was some kind of sick, twisted clay figurine. His screams were a thrill, the fear a delicacy, as the ropes dug into his body and excavated his organs. It gave me a sick satisfaction to see him squirm, knowing he was suffering every fucking second of that torture.

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