Chapter 25: The Cost
297 Words
“Maya!”
Kade was at her side before she could blink, pulling the obsidian dagger free. Blood poured down her side, black where the Bloodfire had touched it.
“Stop using it,” he growled. “You’re killing yourself.”
Maya tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t hold. The Bloodfire was receding, leaving her hollow and cold. “I have to... finish it.”
Across the courtyard, Darius was laughing, even with half his face burned away. “See? The heir is weak. Give her to me, and I’ll end it quickly.”
Caelen shifted back to human form, stepping between Maya and Darius. “Over my dead body.”
Darius lunged.
Caelen met him mid-air, the two alphas crashing to the ground in a blur of claws and fangs. Blood sprayed the stone.
Maya forced herself upright, leaning on Kade. “The rift,” she said through gritted teeth. “I have to close it.”
Kade shook his head. “Not like this. You’ll die.”
“Better me than everyone else.”
She pulled free and stumbled toward the center of the courtyard, where the air shimmered unnaturally. The rift. A tear in the sky, swirling black and red, spitting out whispers that made her skull ache.
Memories of her mother flooded back. Lyra’s voice, soft but firm. *The Bloodfire is a choice, Maya. It gives you power, but it asks for a piece of you every time.*
Maya placed her hand on her chest, over the locket. “I choose them.”
The locket flared one last time.
Silver light poured out of her, wrapping around the rift. The whispers turned to screams. The sky tore wider, then snapped shut with a sound like the world breaking.
Silence fell.
Maya collapsed.
- Writer
