3. Corvus

3

CORVUS

"On three," I say, trying to keep my voice steady, as I know we need to do this whichever way it will swing. She is in agony. I can feel it in my soul, and it hurts like fuck. "One..."

I don't wait for three. It's cruel but kinder in the long run. I grip the hilt firmly and pull the knife out in one swift motion.

Adelaide's scream tears through me, raw and feral. It's a sound I never want to hear ripped from her lips again. I watch her face contort in torment, feeling helpless and furious all at once.

The knife is out, and I brace myself for the gush of blood, for Adelaide's life to start draining away before my eyes. I snap my fangs down, ready to turn her, if that's even possible. I don't know how this works with her kind.

But it doesn't come. I look down at her chest in disbelief, my mind struggling to process what I'm seeing. Where the knife entered, there's nothing. No wound. No blood. Not even a scar. Just smooth, unblemished skin. This is a wooden blade coated with pure silver. She should be dead. She shouldn't even have survived as long as she did. She is a true immortal, and that staggers me to the point of complete speechlessness.

Before I can fully process what this means, the ground beneath us gives a mighty heave. The stone Adelaide is chained to shifts, the cracks in its surface widening. The red mist swirls faster around us, the air growing thick and heavy. It's getting harder to breathe, even for me.

Adelaide is still trapped, still chained to the ground like a… sacrifice?

"Who the fuck did this to you?" I yell at her.

"Rand-Randall Black. My father," she whimpers.

I look at Adelaide. She looks back at me.

There is nothing to be said. Not yet.

I need a moment to come down from the pure rage that is seething through me.

"He went through the portal," she adds, almost blithely.

"What portal?" I croak.

She tilts her head, and I look around. "Holy fuck?—"

My words are cut off as a massive tremor shakes the ground.

"Shouldn't that be unholy fuck?" Zephyr's voice cuts through the impending doom.

I whirl around to see the Dark Fae prince materialising out of the shadows, his purple eyes glowing. Behind him, Ignatius and Zaiah emerge, their faces grim and determined.

"About bloody time," I growl, relief and frustration making me edgier than usual. "We need to get her out of these chains."

Zephyr's eyes narrow as he takes in the scene before him - Adelaide chained to the cracking stone, the swirling red mist, the knife in my hand. His face darkens with fury. "What the fuck happened?" His gaze goes back to Adelaide, but he makes no move to go to her. If anything, he curls in on himself to get away from her. But when his gaze flicks to mine, I see why. He is in pain because she is. He is connected to her on the same level I am, but worse. These chains are enchanted silver. Burns like fuck for vamps, but they are repelling Zephyr.

"No time to explain," I snap. "We need to break these."

Ignatius steps forward, his hands already wreathed in flame. "Stand back," he warns, his voice tight with concentration.

We all move away as Ignatius focuses his power on the chains. The fire burns white-hot, so bright it hurts to look at. But even as the metal begins to glow red, and Addy screams as she feels the burn, the chains hold fast.

"It's not working," Ignatius grunts, sweat beading on his brow from the effort.

Zaiah moves in next, his white eyes glowing as he weaves complex patterns in the air. Reality seems to bend around the chains, but they remain stubbornly intact.

"Fuck," Zaiah mutters. "They're warded against magick."

Another tremor shakes the ground, more violently than before. The chasm nearby widens, red mist pouring into it like water down a drain.

"We're running out of time," I say, panic rising in my throat. I turn to Zephyr. "Hate to admit it, but you are the most powerful being here. Can you do anything ?"

He stares at me, wanting to, needing to, but finding it impossible to move forward, to move at all.

Zephyr's jaw clenches as he fights against the searing pain from the enchanted silver. He takes a deep breath, his body shaking with the effort. "I'll try," he grits out, and then his form blurs, shifting into a dark mist that swirls around the chains.

The air fizzles with energy as Zephyr tries to break the enchantment. Addy's screams grow louder, and the ground beneath us shakes more violently. I look into the growing chasm, the red mist swirling like a whirlpool, and I know we're running out of time. We are all about to be sucked into whatever dimension lies beyond that portal, and something tells me it isn't going to be pretty.

A sudden surge of black power blasts from Zephyr, and the chains holding Addy begin to crumble, turning into dust that dissipates in the air. I waste no time in scooping her up into my arms, cradling her close to my chest, desperate to shield her from any further harm.

Ignatius and Zaiah stand ready, their eyes scanning the area as Zephyr returns to his solid form, panting and clutching his side. He is bleeding from his eyes and nose, but he is on his feet, and that means everything.

The ground continues to tremble, and the chasm is now a gaping maw, threatening to consume everything around it.

Then, it stops.

The screeching of the stones, the tearing of the earth, the mist. It all dies down, and we are left in what used to be an ancient stone circle but is now clearly a temple of sorts, with that portal flickering in mid-air before it vanishes like someone zipped it up from the other side.

"Uhm," Adelaide mutters, staring at it, unblinking. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Wish we knew," I murmur, holding her even closer. "Are you okay?"

She tears her gaze away from the place where the portal was to mine and smiles. "Well, I'll live if that's what you mean."

"Not fucking funny, Dollie. You scared the fucking crap out of me."

"And me," she murmurs.

"We need to get out of here before this whole place comes crashing down, or that portal decides to reopen."

Ignatius nods in agreement. "Let's move."

Zaiah conjures a portal, his white eyes glowing with effort. "Everyone, get in."

We waste no time, staggering through the portal and emerging into a familiar place: MistHallow University grounds. I breathe a sigh of relief as I set Addy down gently on the soft grass.

Zephyr collapses next to her, his breathing ragged and his eyes still bleeding. I frown, concerned about his injuries. "Zeph, are you okay?"

He nods weakly, managing a small smile. "I'll live. Just need a moment to recover."

Ignatius and Zaiah exchange worried glances, but they say nothing.

Searching the surrounding area for any threats, Strix, or anything else that might launch at us, I see nothing but destruction. Students are hurt and bleeding. Staff nursing injuries and helping others.

"Where are Ellis and Blackthorn?" I mutter.

"Blackthorn!" Addy shouts and gets to her feet unsteadily. "He was at the stone circle. He and Randall had a huge fight. Randall struck him with magick, and he went down. I think he was there to save me, not hurt me as I first thought."

"What?" I ask, trying to process her rambling.

She shoves her hands into her hair, clearly in distress. "Blackthorn was hurt. We need to find him."

"I'm here, Miss Black," a croaky voice says behind us.

We turn to it and see Blackthorn staggering out of the forest, a large hole in his chest that is slowly healing.

"You're alive!" Addy says and flings herself at him, but then stops short and steps back. "Were you there to hurt me or save me?"

He gives her a scathing glare, which I snicker at. "Save, obviously, and nearly met my end for my troubles."

"I'm sorry," she exclaims, tears filling her eyes.

"No, no," Blackthorn says, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "That's not your fault."

"Where did the portal lead?" I ask, trying to draw the conversation back around to the matter at hand.

"A place that no one from this realm should ever have attempted to open up," he says, his voice the sound of doom if I ever heard it.

"And it's called?" I prompt when he doesn't say anything else.

"None of your fucking business, Sanguine," he snaps. "Forget what you saw."

And with that, he vanishes from sight in a swirl of his black robe.

"Well, fuck," I mutter. "That was about as helpful as a chocolate teapot."

Addy giggles, and then she lets out a loud laugh. I glare at her, but I think it's nerves or shock. Her hysteria has her cackling, dropping to her knees as she wipes tears from her eyes.

I don't know whether to join in or try to get her to focus again. In the end, I leave her to it and sit next to Zephyr, who looks like he went through the wringer and then got mangled on the other side.