Page 86 of Midnight Witch

Nikolai pressed his hand to her belly and brought his face within a mere whisper of hers even as Brimstone and Hellreaver moved to attack him, his pupils blazing with white fire.

“Subjugate.”

CHAPTER35

The spell roaredthrough Mae with a violence that robbed her of sight and breath. Brimstone and Hellreaver’s tortured voices reached her dimly as fire consumed the core of power in her belly.

My witch!

Mae bit the inside of her cheek. Blood flooded her mouth.

Her cry of agony choked off to a ragged moan.

Nikolai’s face swam before her eyes. The expression of pure cruelty and loathing he wore as he attempted to undo the red bond that linked her to Brimstone and Hellreaver shattered her heart.

“Mae!” Vlad raged. He hammered at the shield still protecting him and Tarang with his fists. “Stop, you crazy bastard!”

Nikolai ignored the incubus. Whiteness flared around his body and that of his crow familiar.

He brought his lips to Mae’s ear. “Once this is done, you will be nothing,demon!”

Terror knotted Mae’s gut. She could feel his magic building up where his fingers scorched her skin. Her consciousness flickered as the ties that bound her to Brimstone and Hellreaver started to waver. She gritted her teeth.

Soul…Shield!…Multiply...Guard!

The spells trembled around her core and those of her familiar and weapon. She didn’t know how long they would last in the face of Nikolai’s moon-powered magic. Her eyes welled up.

Brimstone and Hellreaver’s voices grew even fainter, as did Vlad’s desperate shouts. Darkness encroached the edges of her mind.

Is…this…how it ends?! Have I…failed…again?!

A presence Mae hadn’t sensed for some time swelled deep within her as her awareness started to fade.

—ae! Mae!WAKE UP MAE!

Mae flinched.Na—Na Ri?!

Invoke Purge!

Mae swallowed convulsively, struggling to make sense of her first incarnation’s words.But—we don’t possess the necessary white magic to—!

We do! We have a second core, remember?!

Mae’s pulse stuttered.

She gritted her teeth and grabbed on to a semblance of her consciousness. Fire licked her veins as she reached for the power inside her heart. The one she rarely called upon but that Barquiel had attempted to destroy every single time they’d faced one another.

P—Purge!

Incandescent radiance flooded her world on a wave that smelled of Ran Soyun’s sweet summer scent. The point of heat that detonated in her chest brought with it Na Ri and their mother’s white magic as the spell took form.

Ran Soyun’s voice fluttered through her mind.I can only grant you this power for a brief moment…Use it well, my daughters…This war is far from over…

Mae’s heart swelled.Thank you, mother!

Na Ri’s voice hardened.Let’s do this, Mae!

Mae clenched her jaw. A violent detonation boomed around her when they linked their two cores.

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