Page 104 of Ignited Spirits
Lua notices how close we are to her and aims the biggest ball of magic yet at us. My eyes widen when I see a sphere of magic larger than Cerberus in his full form heading toward me.
I throw up a shield, hoping that everyone else is doing the same. I still brace myself for impact, even hoping it won’t get through.
The blast of magic shreds through our defenses like they’re nothing. I cry out as it feels like someone is shoving a blade into my chest when my shield is forcibly broken. But I don’t have much time to do anything other than accept my death as Lua’s magic for me.
Right before it hits me, Cain jumps in front of the magic meant for me in his hellhound form. I guess this form is big enough to block such a big blast because it hits him square in the chest and fizzles out.
I scream at the impact and watch helplessly as Cain transforms into his human form before his body even hits the water. He lands with a sickening thud in the river, his mouth twisted in a grimace and his eyes pinched shut in pain.
Sinking to my knees beside him, I shake him in vain, trying to get him to open those stunning green eyes of his. “Cain!” I scream when I can’t get him to wake up. I shake him a few more times before realizing that he isn’t breathing anymore. Taking a hard look at the bloody, charred mass of his chest, I realize that he’s gone. “No!” I wail as sobs rip from my chest, unwilling or unable to accept what happened.
As I kneel in the Styx with my heart shattering into a billion little pieces, the river calls to me and my magic. Not really caring anymore what happens to me, as I’ve lost my quiet boy, I willingly let my power pour out and into the rushing river. It feels weirdly cleansing, letting my tears and magic wash away into the same waters cradling Cain as he lies there, not seeming at peace even in death.
Letting all my magic flow out of me, I don’t fight the urge to allow my suddenly heavy eyelids to droop. At least until I hear god-awful shrieking start up. Lethargically, I open my eyes and look for the source of the sound. I startle when I realize it’s Lua screaming, not in victory but in panic.
The souls trapped in the waters of the Styx are rising up to surround Lua. With spectral forms, gaping holes for mouths, and glowing black eyes, these are nothing like the souls I usually encounter.
They’re digging their claws and teeth into her as she desperately tries to fight them off, but it’s no use. The damned souls start dragging her with them back into the murky depths of the Styx.
I watch in horror as what little I can see of her is pulled farther into the center of the river before she starts to disappearunderwater, bloodcurdling screams leaving her the whole time. The sound abruptly cuts off when her head disappears underwater, despite her desperate thrashing.
It takes a long moment before the turbulent waters, where she was fighting for her life, finally calm. When they do, the damaged souls she controlled vanish into thin air. I have the briefest moment to realize that that’s it—Lua’s dead and we won—before blackness obscures my vision, and I surrender to unconsciousness.
CHAPTER 34
IZZY
Idon’t know how long I’m staring at my reflection in the mirror when a door opens behind me.
I’ve been looking at the same heart-shaped face, gray eyes, blonde hair with multicolored tips, and pale complexion, and marveling how I can look the same while feeling like a different person.
After everything that happened, all I lost and experienced, how can I look like the same Izzy on the outside?
“You ready, angel?” Cain asks softly from behind me, breaking me out of my thoughts.
My heart still skips a beat every time I see him alive and well.
It turns out that hellhounds have exceptionally tough skin. It’s hard for anything, even supercharged stolen magic, to get past their outer layer. Lua’s magic knocked Cain out and damaged the topmost layers of his skin and muscle but didn’t reach his heart. Falling into the Styx right after had put him in a healing coma, which is why I thought he was dead.
When I woke up from the forced unconsciousness from expending too much magic, I started sobbing uncontrollably when I remembered what happened to my quiet boy. The only thing that calmed me down was Cain walking through theInfernusinfirmary door and proving that he was very much alive.
After Lua was defeated, Hades and the remainingcuraecoordinated bringing the wounded back to his castle for the best medical treatment in the realm. I’m thankful for all the people the healers were able to save.
While Cain didn’t die, hundreds of the people who came to fight for me did. The ones hitting me the hardest are Mateo and the thirty or so mages from Elemental.
Even though they didn’t know it was me, I still worked side by side with those mages through dangerous missions and got to know all of them. My heart hurts thinking about everything they sacrificed.
And Mateo’s death hit me way harder than I expected it to. I didn’t even know the man’s favorite color, but I still feel like I’ve lost a friend and a kindred spirit.
Mateo was a fantastic alpha to his prowl. He’s the one who spearheaded buildingLa Esperanzato keep his people safe. He’s the one who established schools and hospitals and food pantries for his people. He’s the one who took in anyone in need, regardless of whether they were a jaguar or not.
Beyond how incredibly deeply he cared about his people, he was funny, easy to talk to, and had an unshakable faith in me, no matter how much I felt I didn’t deserve it. And now, he’s dead, killed by Lua doing what he did best—saving one of his jaguars from the same fate.
Smoothing down my canary yellow dress, I try my best to keep the tears that want to fall at bay. Mateo was very clear in his instructions that, should he die, he wanted a celebration of life, not a funeral. So, here I am, wearing a cap-sleeve sundress in Mateo’s favorite color, according to Angerona, to a party to celebrate all he did while he was alive instead of dwelling on him being gone.
“Yeah,” I rasp when I can force the damn tears back enough to speak.
It’s been a week since the battle. I was out for two days afterward, and I’ve been attending funerals back to back every day since then. Mateo’s is the only celebration of life, and, honestly, I think we all need it. Our days have been steeped in so much sorrow that we all need a chance to smile.
