“Speak it again,” I ordered.
She glanced at me and did as I instructed. The more she did, the greater the sparks grew. Each incantation made them stronger and stronger; my only hope was that she would be able to control it. Otherwise, it might hurt her.
“Killian, give me your sword,” I said.
“Isolde—”
“Please, Killian,” I said. He relented, and as he handed me his sword, I whispered, “Protect Ana at all costs.”
Gesalac chuckled as I lifted my blade.
“Are you going to fight me, warrior queen?”
“If you insist,” I said.
Gesalac’s blade came down first. It was a hard move, straight down and directed at my head. I imagine he wanted to split me in two, but I moved quickly. His sword caught the hem of my dress while mine caught his arm, drawing dark blood.
He growled, and I suspected he thought that would be his killing blow.
I had to admit, I was unnerved that he’d cut my dress. It meant I had barely moved fast enough, and if he kept striking like that, I wouldn’t make it.
Gesalac picked up his sword again and swung. This time, I attempted to deflect, but the impact rattled my bones, and I almost lost my grip on my blade. It was a mistake, and Gesalac used the opportunity to swing once more, knocking it from my grip. Just as he moved for what I was certain would be a killing blow, a knife whirled through the air and lodged square in his chest.
Killian, I thought as the noblesse roared, and I bent to scoop up my blade.
“Ana!” I called and flung out my hand. Just as I did, she reached for me, and I felt the surge of the magic she’d summoned work its way through my body into the hilt of the sword. I sunk it into Gesalac’s heart, and he convulsed around the blade. I did not let go of Ana until he no longer moved.
“Is he…？” Ana asked.
“Not dead,” I said. He had no beating heart to stop; the only thing it would do was paralyze him for a few hours. I stared at her. “You never said you were learning spells,” I said, and Ana shrugged.
“You pick up a few things along the way.”
The sound of shattered glass drew my attention.
“No!”
I ran into the library, to the glass cases that contained the High Coven’s relics, and I found each case intact. The Book of Dis was still there, but as I stared, a face looked back at me.
“Ravena.”
She smiled.
“Yesenia,” she said. “Or should I call you Isolde?”
I narrowed my eyes. Did her use of my old name mean she knew my memories had been awakened? Did she know about the bloodletting and the subsequent bond between Adrian and me?
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Taking what was stolen from me,” she said.
“The Book of Dis was never yours,” I said. It was mine—Yesenia’s.
“It’s not about the book. It’s about what it can give me,” she said.
I shook my head. “That book will take as much from you as you ask of it,” I said. “Is that what you want?”
“I want power,” she said, and her voice shook.
Suddenly, the case exploded, and I covered my head as I was showered in glass. Pieces of it bit into my skin, but I did not have time to react, because as I rose from the shelter of my arm, I saw that the book was gone, and in its place was a bubbling, red mist.
“Fuck!” I yelled and turned to run just as Killian and Ana caught up with me. “To the west tower! Now!”
We raced through hallway after hallway until I rounded the corner and came face-to-face with the mist. Killian reached for me and jerked me back. It had filled most of the hallway in front of us, completely barring us from the other side of the castle.
“Fuck!” I said again.
“Isolde!” Ana called, turning to run down the opposite hallway. I knew where she was going, and I caught up with her as she was pulling open a near-invisible door—the secret corridors.
It was quieter in the passageway. Our breaths were ragged, our hearts pounding. I kept my hands pressed against either side of the wall as I followed Ana in the darkness. When we emerged on the other side, the mist was behind us, but it roiled and built, gathering like a wall of cloud and following.
“We have to get to Sorin,” I said.
I wasn’t even sure he would still be atop the tower. It was possible he had gotten my father to safety and left to find us. What if we did not cross paths? What if he got caught in the mist? I pushed my worry away. Sorin could fly; if anything, he had the best chance of escape of any of us.