The f*******n Obsidian

Chapter 3 Let Them Choke

Caleb's command carried through the walls of Kaelen's tent and woke me.

"Aurelia! This game is over. Come out now!"

I pushed the furs from my waist and looked through the tent flap. Caleb and a dozen elite guards stood in a half circle around Kaelen's camp.

Their swords stayed sheathed while they waited for my obedience.

Elara had taken the front position reserved for a head healer in hostile ground. She clasped both hands over her heart and watched the tent.

Kaelen stood between them and the entrance, one hand resting near his sword.

"Aurelia, please." Elara made her voice shake. "Don't punish the Alpha for your anger. The North needs you. We all do."

I stepped outside. Elara reached toward me, cried out before she came close, and threw herself backward onto the ground.

She clutched her shoulder. "She's using her magic on me! Caleb, she's trying to hurt me!"

Caleb rushed to her without once looking at me.

"Jealousy has made you a monster, Aurelia!" he snarled. "Attacking an innocent in your rage?"

His guards drew halfway, all of them glaring at me.

They stood at the edge of the Abyss, where one unprotected breath should have burned their lungs. None of them coughed. Even their polished armor remained clean.

Caleb never noticed.

My power shimmered beneath their boots. I had cast the shield by habit, the same way I had purified every road they used for years. I had protected them before I was fully awake.

They accused me from inside my shield.

I tasted blood where I had bitten my cheek.

*Fine.*

I closed my fist and pulled every thread of protection back into my palm.

The grass at Elara's feet blackened first.

Miasma rolled over their boots. The air thickened until each breath rasped.

The first guard dropped to one knee and coughed blood across his glove. The others stumbled back, their faces turning gray.

Elara's whimper broke into a scream. She scrambled through the dirt while black veins crept from her collarbone up her neck. She released her untouched shoulder and clawed at the veins instead.

"What is this?" Caleb's light sputtered as the corruption closed around him. He stared at his own hands, then at me.

He hauled Elara to her feet.

"Retreat! Get her back to the healers. Now!"

The guards dragged Elara away while Caleb shoved them forward. Two men fell in their hurry to leave the corrupted ground.

I watched until the last silver cloak disappeared.

Kaelen came to my side. "They will be back."

"I know." I opened my hand and let the recovered light settle under my skin. "Let them come."

Caleb still called it jealousy. He would carry that lie home.

His kingdom had stood on my power. Now he was marching home without it.