Page 67 of Darkest Heart

My mouth dried, throat closing as every part of my body screamed to run.Sebastian.The time for talking was done. The curiosity about the goddess, or this insane plan of theirs, including the prophecy, dissipated the moment I knew Sebastian was in danger. He’d come for me, as I knew he would. Now they were heading straight to him, Erianna, Zach, my dad, probably my mom too.

Hamza had taken so much from me. The demon in front of me was a darkness in this world. He was out for himself and didn’t care what damage he left in his wake.

This was the end. I wasn’t going to see anyone else I loved go through hell, including myself. Draven was already gone because of the evil in Sanmorte. I had half a mind if I survived this to grab Sebastian and my friends and flee from this awful place for good. The desire to take the throne and fulfill my purpose from the gods was less compelling than ever.

He bared his teeth, growling as he sped toward me. Talons pierced through his fingers, tearing skin. Blood gushed down his hands as he slashed them through the air. I ducked, rolling across the ground, snagging my dress against a thorny vine. I jumped to my feet, hearing his breaths as I raced into the cemetery. I needed to put a little distance between us. Stopping by the wrought-iron railings, I gripped the metal bars. A whoosh of air hit the back of my arms, and I spun just as he reached me.

Inhaling deeply, I placed my arm out just as he brought his talons down into the side of my neck. Pain seared as his nails bit into my skin, blood spattering over the both of us. Adrenaline numbed the throbbing ache, and I grabbed his wrist, preventing him from pulling away. While his talons were still inside of me, I allowed him to feel the thrum of my power.

His eyes widened as I let my barrier fall, but this time letting it flow like a waterfall. Every negative emotion I’d suppressed since coming to Sanmorte flowed into him.

There was no better torture for a psychopath than to make them feeleverything. His scream rattled the night, animals scurrying from the cemetery, leaving just us and the dead. He wrenched his arm, but I kept him in place.

Grief stole my breath, but hit him harder as he experienced the anguish he normally kept away. He dropped to his knees, and I kneeled with him. Staring into his eyes, I forced every ounce of pain into him. I wasn’t sure how I was doing it, but my magic worked with my empathic abilities in sync. Tears fell as I felt it all alongside him. The guilt from killing the boy was overwhelming, stuttering my heartbeat.

He let out another scream, and I clamped my eyes shut. Forcing the emotions further from me, until he took the brunt of the hit.

“No,” he yelled, and scorching heat seeped into my palm, through his skin. Embers rained down upon us, lighting up the sky as he toppled back. I grabbed the railing for support, barely catching my breath when he growled like a beast, roaring his anger into the night.

Flames licked the ground, turning roots to ash. Smoke billowed upward as he raised his hands. White flames flickered from his fingers, as if he were the embodiment of a wildfire. It spread from him, destruction seizing the graveyard. Sparks died as he laughed, sucking the flames back into himself.

The wound on my neck and face was already healing, but I couldn’t bring myself to touch them. Adrenaline charged me forward, residual smoke filling my lungs. I touched his torso, feeling my magic pulsate into him like before. But this time, he wasn’t a vampire. The heat did little to the demon standing in front of me.

The world spun around me. Hamza threw me through the air. The air whooshed from my lungs as my back hit a headstone, sending an aching through my ribs.

Why won’t you just die?

Light filled my vision, orange scattered in my pupils. I rolled out of the way, embers landing against my skin. Another fireball arrowed through the night, charring the grass as I jumped up, my breaths uneven and shallow as I ran.

I narrowly dodged a third fireball, but this one hit a tree. Dry leaves and moss quickly caught alight, the combination a quick disaster. Fire spread from one tree to the next, each lighting up the night sky as it spread through the forest.

Hamza growled, sending another fireball, and this time I ran. My mind raced as I pulled out a spell Azia taught me from somewhere in the back of my head and whispered the incantation. A bubble appeared around me, shielding me from the flames. But with a wave of his hand, my protection was gone.

Water.

The realization splashed through the panic. Hamza’s ammunition was mostly fire. I was out of my depth here. I sped quickly, farther into the outskirts of the small, seaport town. The briny air was a relief to my lungs as the trees grew sparse, and the fire turned into a distant flicker in the background. Hamza's scream echoed around the desolate beach as I reached the pebbly beach.

Waves lapped ashore, dragging the reminiscence of a shipwreck back into the sea. I slid over seaweed-stricken rocks, feeling his presence growing closer. I glanced over my shoulder when the water hit my feet and opened my mouth as he reached for the back of my neck.

Shouting sounded in the distance. I wondered if Sebastian had made it here okay. I thought about the boy, my friends, my parents as I waded into the sea. Hamza growled, slowed by the current as I lured him deeper. Moonlight shimmered against the top of the water. My magic liked it here. My fingers danced through the waves, enjoying the rippling sliding over my hands.

I kicked back, slices of my dress tugging at my waist as the ground disappeared beneath me. My gaze drifted from Hamza, who swam toward me to the beach. I swam back further, not realizing how far we’d gone. The shipwreck was small from here, and I realized if I died out here, no one would find my body.

I shook my head, refocusing on Hamza. I had to kill him. It was him or me.

His eyes lit up, the only light except for the moon’s pale rays. I kicked my feet, keeping myself afloat when Hamza disappeared completely.

My scream was silenced by the icy waters, as I was submerged into the inky depths, fighting against Hamza pulling me downward. The chilled darkness seeped through my pores, muddying my visions as I desperately tried to claw against his hands. Instinct drove every movement, as I fought to survive. My magic moved inside of me, like tendrils of darkness. It seeped from my body, my intent on getting Hamza away from me. For the seaweed to entrap him. Anything.

His fingers loosened from around my legs, and I kicked up. The sea was unforgiving; when I surfaced, the waves dragged me back under. My heart pounded vigorously. I fought against the freezing temperatures and pushed myself toward the sky again.

I gasped for half a breath before I was pulled away by a strong current. Hamza pulled at me, but didn’t tug me under. Talons tore into my thigh, but I couldn’t feel a thing. I was numb all over. My head pounded as I grasped around at the empty blackness around me.

“Olivia!”

My name had never sounded so good.

Sebastian. He was alive.

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