Page 61 of Bound In Stone, Claimed In Fire

I snarl, wings flaring to block the brunt of the blast from Sariah, but the recoil knocks me back a step. My runes blaze, half-petrifying my arms for protection. Sariah skids on rubble, staff trembling in her grip.Drayveth is out of control.

A screech draws my attention. The brood leaps again, dividing into pairs to strike at Drayveth’s purna. Torn between fighting them or defending Sariah from Drayveth’s next strike, I hesitate. My brand flutters, reminding me Sariah stands with me.We can do this together.

“Sariah,” I shout, voice rumbling with gargoyle power, “lend me your synergy. We must push them back—Drayveth and the brood both.” My words tumble out, half an order, half a plea.She might still be furious at me. This is the moment to test our bond.

She meets my gaze, heartbreak mingled with fierce devotion. Without hesitation, she nods, raising her staff. “On my mark,” she says hoarsely. “Remember the swirl technique—earth and purna entwined.”

I clamp down on my regret, focusing on survival. “I’m ready.” My runes spark as I channel my gargoyle essence—stones underfoot hum in resonance, dust swirling around my legs. Sariah’s brand flares, weaving bright silver arcs that swirl across the battered courtyard. Together, we step forward, side by side, forging a ring of combined power that glitters with potential.

Drayveth sees the surge and curses, staff whirling with greenish necromantic flames. His subordinates scramble for cover as the brood lunges again. One twisted gargoyle leaps at Drayveth, forcing him to defend himself with a wave of blackish fire. Another tries to corner two purna near a collapsed arch. The entire courtyard teems with chaotic battles.

Sariah and I ignore the rest, focusing on weaving our synergy. She chants an incantation under her breath, brand glowing with exquisite brightness. I draw on the earth, feeling the stones respond, a low vibration that rumbles up my legs. Our magics intermingle, swirling around us in a funnel of luminous dust.

“Now,” she whispers, tears glistening in her eyes. “Push them back.”

We release the synergy in a single burst. The courtyard shudders, flagstones cracking as a rippling wave of silver and earthen gold radiates outward from our joined stance. The twisted gargoyles screech, flung aside by the force. Drayveth’s necromantic flames flicker, his staff wobbling as he’s hammered by the shockwave. Debris showers the ruins, columns toppling.

The brood roars in pain, some leaping away into the shadows. One attempts to resist, claws scraping the ground, but Sariah angles her staff, intensifying the synergy’s wave. My runes glow hot, arms half-petrified, grit pressing into my palm. Together, we repel the monstrous creatures, driving them from the courtyard’s center. I sense them slinking around the perimeter, uncertain. Their howls continue, but they can’t breach our circle of combined might.

Drayveth staggers, cursing. Another wave of synergy pulses, rocking him again. His subordinates scatter, battered by the same flood of power. “Stop!” he yells, voice cracking with rage. “You’d dare strike me?”

Sariah trembles at my side, tears streaming. “You left me no choice,” she cries, voice echoing in the broken temple. “I told you to stand aside. I don’t want more bloodshed, but I will not let you kill Kaelith or me.”

Drayveth’s eyes flick with hatred.He might lash out again.But the synergy swirling around us crackles, an unspoken warning. My tail sweeps the ground, stone-laced claws gripping my staff.One more wrong move, and we’ll forcibly drive him out.

A strangled shriek rises from the brood as a new presence enters the courtyard—a tall, regal figure in swirling black. My heart leaps in recognition.Nerezza.Her robes glide over the broken stones, dark hair fanning out behind her. The entire battlefield hushes, illusions flickering at the edge of perception. The brood cowers, drawn to her presence. Drayveth’s purna recoil, staves crackling in alarm. Sariah stiffens, brand flaring in immediate reaction.

Nerezza’s crimson gaze sweeps over the carnage, landing on me and Sariah locked in synergy. A dark sneer forms on her lips. “How touching,” she drawls, voice dripping with contempt. “The runaway gargoyle found his purna again. Shall I bury you both together this time?”

Sariah braces, tears drying into fierce resolve. “You twisted Kaelith’s mind, but he broke free,” she says, brand shining. “Your illusions don’t hold him. Now we stand united against you.”

Nerezza tilts her head, illusions swirling around her ankles like serpents. “Do you think your paltry synergy can match me?” She lifts a hand, conjuring a vortex of obsidian smoke that crackles with chaotic lightning. “I gave gargoyles their might, and I can reclaim it at will.”

I snarl, runes flaring with defiance. “What you gave was corruption, not might. We don’t need your chaos.”

She smirks, illusions intensifying behind her. A half-formed squad of twisted gargoyles emerges from the shadows, eyes glowing with lethal purpose. Drayveth curses, forcibly re-forming his ranks, though several purna remain on the ground, wounded or unconscious. The entire courtyard teeters on the edge of absolute destruction.We might be forced to fight Nerezza with Drayveth’s grudging help or risk annihilation.

But Drayveth’s face twists with undisguised hatred. He points his staff at us, ignoring Nerezza’s brood. “If you two stand in my way, I’ll remove you first. The coven forbids your union.” His necromantic flames swirl, forcing the brood back momentarily, but also aimed at us.

Nerezza laughs, stepping aside as if amused by Drayveth’s rashness. “Yes, kill them for me, puppet,” she mocks. “I have bigger conquests awaiting.”

My chest tightens.We must act quickly.Another wave of synergy tremors through Sariah and me, a whispered promise of power. We share a look—fear, heartbreak, and love in her gaze.We have no choice.

“Sariah,” I murmur, voice raw. “We unite. Let’s purge this madness.”

She nods, exhaling. “Let’s finish it.”

Without further hesitation, we raise our joined magic once more. Earthy might surges up my limbs, meeting Sariah’s purna brilliance. The brand on her wrist blazes silver-white, my runes golden-red, weaving a radiant vortex around us. Dust flies, shattered columns rattle. The brood hisses in alarm, illusions flickering in protest. Drayveth’s staff crackles, but his eyes widen at the raw magnitude of our combined power.

Nerezza stands at the edge of the chaos, illusions swirling around her. She narrows her gaze. “Foolish,” she hisses. “I taught you once, Kaelith, that raw synergy can burn your mind.” Her chaos-laced lightning crackles in her palms, ready to strike.

A pang of fear lances me—we risk losing control.But I sense Sariah’s calm presence, her unwavering faith that our synergy can be harnessed for good. My heart steadies. “We’re not the same as we were centuries ago,” I say, wings lifting in defiance. “We choose each other, not illusions.”

Sariah’s staff pulses with shimmering arcs. “We drive you back, Nerezza—and anyone who stands with you.” Her eyes flick to Drayveth, brand flaring. “Including you, if you keep trying to kill us.”

Drayveth roars, hurling his necromantic flames at us. The wave of greenish fire collides with the synergy swirling around Sariah and me, sending sparks showering. My runes flash, intensifying our shield. The flames sputter, and Drayveth stumbles, cursing.We’ve grown too strong for his illusions of purna supremacy.

A savage shriek tears from Nerezza’s brood. They leap, claws extended, but we unleash our synergy in a rolling shockwave. The gargoyles slam into the force field, howling in pain as it sears them with combined earth and arcane energies. Several careen backward, crashing into broken walls. Another tries to scramble up a collapsed arch, only to be hammered by a second pulse from Sariah’s staff.

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