Page 82 of The Powerless Witch

I had never seen a dragon in person, but staring at him made me feel oddly insignificant. That was until I heard Allison scream and the dragon suddenly wasn’t important anymore.

I looked back at where Regina was standing—strands of hairs flying from her bun and her clothes wrinkled and splashed with blood and specks of fire. More of the mer shifters had fallen, the rest of them slowly retreating, while my wolves fought and fought, trying to wear her down.

“You think you can win against me?” she snarled, raising her arms by her sides as a buzzing light gathered in her palms. It reminded me of the fire Celeste often summoned, but it felt cold and charged, like a hurricane contained between her fingers.

She threw the spell, catching two of the wolves in it and sending them back with such force that they flew all the way to the house, smashing through the wall and disappearing inside of it.

The second spell knocked down the rest of them with double the force. Anger ruled her features, and when she met my gaze through heavy pants, I saw her fear rising.

“You think to defy me?” she cackled, her eyes roving around as if searching for something. I wanted to tell her that it wasn’t defying what we wanted, but retribution, when she added. “You are bonded to me, you cannot harm me! All of this will be over and then…oh, my children, I will make you pay!”

‘Children? Who is she talking about?’I thought, but everyone on the mindlink seemed to be occupied with whatever was happening inside the house. A shadow passed over us, hiding the pale moon, and we looked up just as the massive body of the dragon dove toward us.

Toward Regina.

Shadows swirled around her, but still, she didn’t translocate.

The wall of the house burst and the fox—much bigger than it was the last time I saw it—shot out. When it was just a few steps away from its mistress, it jumped, slamming into the side of the dragon right before its huge, curved nails reached the woman.

The two monsters careened sideways, rolling through trees, bushes, and rocks until they crashed into the neighboring house, toppling the whole thing over. Panic swirled in me at the thought of the humans who might have been inside, but the notion slipped away as I watched the fox sink its giant teeth into the dragon’s neck.

No, not the neck. The dragon moved, and the bite slid to his shoulder. Realizing it had missed, the fox jumped back, almost evading the wing the dragon swiped with. There was a long talon at the end of it that dragged against the familiar’s side, leaving a shallow incision along its length. Blood marred the orange fur, but it wasn’t its inhuman scream that made me flinch—it was Regina’s. She was pressing her side with urgency, so I half expected to see blood seeping from there, but no matter how much I looked, her body remained intact.

‘She could feel its pain,’I realized.‘Just like Celeste could feel Nym’s.’

The dragon stood up, light flaring in its belly before traveling up his chest, his throat until finally, it gathered in his opening mouth as if he was about to…

‘Shit!’was all I could think as the night brightened, fire flying into the air right toward the fox. The familiar jumped aside swiftly, but the flames latched onto its tail, devouring the fur as it shrieked and hit it against the ground.

The earth shuddered, and I glanced at Regina just when she staggered, the air around her swirling as if she summoned her magic.

This was my chance… My chance to attack her, snap her neck, and end all of this.

I took a silent step toward her, lowering myself to the ground and preparing to lunge when a movement caught my eyes. At first, I thought it was one of my warriors, but their scent was sweet and charged with magic.

‘Fuck, we are too late!’I cursed, preparing myself to charge anyway even when I noticed Samara step from behind one of the ruined hedges. Her face was ashen, sweaty, and pained, and her hands trembled as she squeezed the handle of a long dagger.

I took another step, then another, making my way toward Regina while her magic gathered speed, swirling around her and bearing dirt and leaves along. The fox dodged another burst of fire. Gideon looked so pissed off, I was afraid he might burn the whole neighborhood down.

A pebble rolled under my feet and I gritted my teeth, half expecting Samara’s head to snap toward me, but her attention remained on Regina as if nobody else mattered. Just what was she doing?

Gideon roared and when I looked up, the fox had climbed onto his back and was biting his neck. The dragon jabbed one of his pointy wings into the familiar’s shoulder and the animal shrieked.

Regina sent the spell toward the two monsters, hitting Gideon in the chest right as it lit up with more fire. He staggered back along with the fox, falling over the ruined house.

Samara raised her blade and sprinted.

Not toward me. Toward Regina.

I was so shocked that I froze in my tracks, watching the young woman swing with her weapon. The blade stopped a few inches from Regina’s back, and the Second screamed. Regina spun, her eyes widening when she saw the knife.

Her gaze burned with rage as it settled on Samara. The girl fell to her knees, still screaming even as her voice broke and the sound turned hollow and weak.

“You thought you could harm me, girl? Even if you resist the oath, you can never touch me. Neither of you can!” Regina snatched the knife and pointed it at Samara’s face. “I own you! Your life, your death, your will! You will obey me! And this…” She waved the blade but didn’t look away from the girl. “...this will cost you. I know you must have allowed them in, but for what purpose? They can’t take me down. I am not—”

The fox screamed, and I allowed myself the briefest of moments to look up. Gideon had pinned it down, one taloned foot digging into its belly while the creature struggled to break free. The dragon’s chest lit up as more fire gathered within him and I felt the heat prickle my skin even before he opened his mouth.

My eyes snapped to the two women, and I found Samara watching me while her mistress stared at her familiar with horror.

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