Page 47 of A Blightress of Wrath
“Wedestroy thisBlight, she’ll be too weakened to stay!”Icalled toKarus, pulling more of my power to surround just the two of us in a new shield.
Ahigh-pitched scream pierced the air, and we stopped to look back asRennfell to the ground besidePhilius, her body wrapped in black vines grown up through the ashes, pulling her into the earth.Witha spark of light, the scent of fire and burning flesh wove through the air as the vines encasing her body burned.Pompeiiwas there, pulling her away asPhiliusknelt to the ashes, the wrappings at his wrists now black from the fire burning with his power.
TheBlightress’shaunting laughter surrounded us, calling more creatures to her side. “Whata foolish attempt at defiance.Thisforest is mine.Youall aremine.”Shebent to the black ashes, flattening her hand on the ground.Inkytendrils ofBlightrose, some of them disintegrating instantly as they were met withKarus’ssun.Blightbeasts leapt atTalonandIlyenna, knocking them to the ground, distractingLiaenough for theBlightressto blast through her silvery shield.
“TheBlightwill just keep growing!”Karusyelled, holding the sun with one hand and grabbing my forearm with the other. “Conjurethe spell,Rev!Wecan fix this!”
Hersun rose above our heads, still growing in the mass of destruction, reducing theBlightto ashes even as theBlightressgrew more of her dark stain on our forest.
“SimulairSolum!”Agreat ball of warmth hovered above my free hand, not even half the size of the oneKarusheld.
“Now!” she called, andIsent my own sun up to hers.Ittouched the surface and then slipped through to form an impossible mountain of unwavering light that burned my cheeks and lips just by standing under its rays.
IpulledKarusto me asIfelt her fading, falling to my knees with her in the ashes.Shegripped the back of my neck with one hand, jutting the other up into the air, sending our joined shape of blistering light and heat further up above the trees.Then, wrapping her hands at the base of my jaw, she actually smiled in glorious brilliance and murmured above my lips, “Withouthope, she walks the earth.”Hergaze shifted to the blistering sun still rising above the trees. “ButIhave hope,Rev.Forthis forest, forSaelyn, for us.Shecan’t take that away.Shenever will.”
Herraw, blistered lips met mine, and we both let go of the weight.Thesun above us, swollen to the size of the clearing we’d made in theBlight’sdestruction, burst at the touch of her mouth on mine, exploding in a boom that reverberated through the forest, raining down fire and light that flew through theBlightas swiftly as aFelgrenwind.
Chapter25
Karus
Acryof rage and pain echoed through the burst of light, fading just as theBlightressdid, just as all theBlightand her creatures quickly disintegrated to ash in our forest.
IkissedRevdeeply, pouring my power over his lips, healing them and mine all at once, shifting my fingers from his sharp jaw up through his black waves covered in ashes.
Inthe last declaration of my power,Ihad filled that blazing sun with hope.Hopethat we’d see this forest as it should be.HopethatRevwould kiss me again, love me again, and many more times after that, as it should be.Hopefor the child we’d made growing in my belly, an innocent life who deserved more than to witness pain and destruction of the isle in the fight to come against theBlightress.
Theflaring tendrils of the sun burned all around us in the wake of theBlight’sfinal demise.Revwrapped his arms around my back, pulling me further into his lap, returning my kiss with one of his own—hungry and demanding.
Ipulled back from his mouth, my heart racing, my body responding to his urgent kiss as it always did when we were in the aftermath of some dangerous event we’d just faced.Iwrapped my arms around him, pressed my cheek to his and whispered in his ear, “Ilove you still.”
Hegroaned, pulling my face back to his, pressing me back into the ashes we’d left in the outcome of the sun we’d made together.
TheBlightresswas gone, her beasts gone, her plague upon the forest gone—disintegrated completely in the smoldering pockets of flame and light still simmering on the surface of the earth around us.Icould no longer feel theBlightor hear the heart of it beating relentlessly as it had done for years.
Hekissed me wholly, fiercely, as if we were the only ones left in our forest.
Weweren’t.
“Isthis what humans do after exhausting their power?”Moiralilted from somewhere above our heads.
Revichstreamed a myriad of curses across my lips before sitting up and pulling me up with him, rising from the ground to survey the damage.Wewere at least thirty feet away from the others who thankfully hadn’t seemed to notice how entwined we’d become since lighting hundreds of acres into little fires.
Irushed toPhiliusandLiahovering overRennwho lay unconscious on the ground.Theright side of her face and shoulder were burned in a streak of raw flesh.
“Ididn’t mean to—”Philiusstarted, unable to finish in his grief, rising and walking away.
“Vennae,”Imurmured, closing my eyes and searching through her veins for a pulse.Itwas there, but weak. “Wehave to get her back to theFortress,”Iurged, calling toRev.
Hewas already there, creating two portals in swift movements of his hands.
“I’lltake her,”Pompeiisaid, helping me pull her to her feet, still unconscious.
“Theselead straight to the roomPhiliusoccupied in the servants’ quarters.”RevichtookPompeii’splace, liftingRenneasily.
“Ishould be able to heal these wounds,”Pompeiiassured us as he stepped into his portal to wait forRennon the other side.
Welifted her to the portal, careful of her raw wounds and gently pushed her through, hopingPompeiiwas ready to catch her.Theportal closed in a rush of power as her body disappeared.
