Lucius strained to push Cole aside, but Cole just dug in with a grunt.
“Sophie, now! Destroy him!”
In her renewed anger, Sophie had already waxed dark again. The human part—the part that loved—screamed in her head. You’ll kill them both.
Everything stilled as she visualized Lucius. And she prayed, Gods of Old and New, only Lucius. A stream of her dark, consuming energy engulfed them.
Her mentor screamed in agony as the periphery of his projection fell off and floated to the floor. His position on top of Lucius made it impossible to isolate her dark rage to him alone. She pulled back her rage.
“I-I... can’t. You’ll be... killed,” Sophie cried.
In his struggle to hold Lucius, he strained to meet her eyes. “Sophie, you... have... to. There is too much at stake,” he said, struggling to
