Althea caught her breath, unable to argue. All she could manage was a faint, “I… I couldn’t just stay hidden. People needed help.”
Before Gavriel could answer, a surge of white-blue light rippled across the square.
Uriel had arrived. He strode forward, his cloak whipping around him, a staff glowing in his hand. With one look at the chaos around them, he raised it high, his voice carrying power.
“By the binding laws of the ancients, I command this darkness to scatter!”
A wave of cleansing light burst outward, striking the cursed. Some screeched and fell, writhing as the corruption burned away. But not all of them yielded—the darkness was too deep, too thick. The spell faltered.
Uriel’s jaw clenched. “No… it won’t hold!” He dropped to one knee, sweat running down his brow. His body tre
