Page 76 of A World of Ruins

I’m the last to race for it, am just about within reach when I’m rammed into by Aurum’s now human form.

He’s straddling me, his lips curling into a snarl. Before he can speak, I kick him off. The portal is within my sight, I’m so close, so, so—

I’m pushed, my feet giving in as I fall headfirst onto gravel. A sharp sting shoots up my shins before I raise my head, and the Isle of Elements stands ahead of me.

No.

I scream as a hand fists my hair and lifts me up from the ground. I cast a glance at Aurum, who is inside the Isle, holding on to me.

The arena is still in view from where the portal is, a few steps away from us. There’s a faint-coloured shimmer covering the rift like the first time I ever saw it, but it is so different now. It’s . . . dying.

I try to run, but Aurum pushes me back down onto the ground. I land on my back with an aching quake inside my head.

Everything is a haze. I’m blinking in the hope of focusing, but all I can see is Darius on the other side, yelling my name as he races towards the portal and shifts into a dragon mid-sprint.

Aurum is saying something I can’t make out, but I know what this must mean from the sneer on his face as he calmly reaches for the pendant.

I stagger up onto my knees, bile rising in my throat as I crawl and grab Aurum’s leg. He kicks me in the abdomen, making me double over with a strangled cry. I clutch my stomach with both hands, helplessly watching Aurum now holding the pendant.

I think I see Gus for a moment, but Darius still seems so far away.

He won’t make it.

He won’t make it in time.

And as Aurum closes the pendant, someone jumps through the rift, falling onto their hands and knees.

Dark hair falls forward, and when the person turns to look at me, the realisation hits – it’s Gus.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

The sky splits with a thunderous crack above me as I shift onto my side. A dull ache throbs at the back of my head, but I push it aside. ‘Gus?’ I croak, and he turns to me, steadying me as I rise.

My eyes meet Aurum’s as a mischievous gleam dances in his working eye.

‘You,’ I seethe, wrenching away from Gus’s grip. Aurum grins, tracing his thumb across the pendant Freya made.

In a burst of rage, I raise my hands, intending to spill every drop of Solaris’s power upon him. Yet nothing comes.

What?

I look at my palms, lips parted in astonishment, as I desperately search for what I must have done wrong.

Aurum chuckles, revelling in my confusion as I attempt to use my powers again and fail. ‘Even Solaris needs to recharge her powers when they’ve been overused.’

No, no, no—

‘You knew this,’ I say, realisation dawning on me as to why he wouldn’t fight me back in the arena.

His smile is like a viper, poisoning me with just one look. ‘You can’t always use magic and expect to be fine, can you?’ He sighs in amusement. ‘A shame you used it all on me.’

Searing rage flares through me as I take a step towards him, but it’s Gus who storms his way, his fists balled at the sides.

‘Ah!’ Aurum holds out a finger while calmly pocketing the pendant in his coat. ‘I wouldn’t try anything, Augustus. Not withthat wound that isn’t healing near your heart – looks like you were struck with Neoma blood.’

I turn to look at Gus. Part of his shirt is ripped, exposing a cut on the left side of his collarbone and down to the upper part of his chest, coated in bright blood. I hadn’t even noticed.

Gus shakes his head at Aurum. ‘Aurelia was right about you.’

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