When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AERYN'S POV

Bastion spread his arms out and bowed, saying, "The one and only."

His palms faced me and the Insignia of the third eye was no longer visible in the center of his hand. Instead, jagged scar tissue in the shape of an "X" crossed out the symbol of his power. He dropped his arms to his side when he caught my line of sight, and his eyes fell to the ground before returning to mine.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, hand shaking around the hilt of my dagger.

Utter seriousness transformed his joking features, and he looked over his shoulder at the havoc still going full throttle.

Taking a step toward me, he reached out a hand and urged, "You need to come with me."

"Why? So you can hand me over to your Ravos prince who you know wants to kill me?"

Ice materialized around Bastion's hand and hardened around his wrist, climbing midway up his forearm.

"Yeah, that's not going to fly," Zoran interrupted, shouldering me out of the way as a pale blue light glowed from his palm and he unfurled his impressive wingspan, blocking my view of the traitor.

Zoran's power might as well have been the ability to wield frost fire for how swift his treatment of me shifted from cold to hot.

"Nice pun," Bastion remarked. "Let me guess, I'll be the sixty-third demon you kill in a week?"

Caught off guard by Bastion's knowledge of the actual number of demons he managed to kill during the challenge last week, Zoran's shoulders straightened, and he said, "No. You'll be the first demon sympathizer I take down."

"I don't take kindly to threats."

"It wasn't a threat," Zoran challenged. "It was a promise."

In a flash, he was airborne as he launched himself at Bastion. Wrapping a gloved hand around Bastion's throat, Zoran strangled the demon shifter and slammed him against the padded wall. He tightened his grip and obstructed Bastion's airway, causing the veins along Bastion's forehead to bulge a dark green that could be mistaken as a faint black. The rim around Bastion's irises smoldered a vibrant red as he grappled to pull Zoran's hand off him in desperation.

Tears pricked my eyes as I watched my best friend get killed in front of me for the second time.

"Stop!" I screamed, sprinting after them.

Zoran shot a look over his shoulder and his eyes darkened as I gained speed. Dismissing me, he turned back around and lifted his other palm to the ceiling. A gray cloud formed above the training room, covering the hole in the ceiling. A crack of thunder boomed and rattled the room, sending demons and Draconians to the ground as the foundation shook. Bolts of ice crackled and speared the Ravos demons as a twister spinning with hail touched the ground from where it grew beneath the cloud.

I was tossed onto a mat when another clap of thunder reverberated. Even with Armaeda's essence causing the Draconians' powers to weaken from her being trapped so far away, Zoran was still a menace to be reckoned with. I could not fathom the true extent of his strength if Armaeda was in the empire to amplify his power.

I landed in a sticky, purple substance that was unrelenting and I sunk deeper into the slime. My muscles screamed in protest as I tried to lift my arm to no avail. I could not even raise it a fraction of an inch.

I was beyond frustrated. It fueled my motivation to prove everyone wrong, including myself. I could make it in the Fire Force. I'd just killed a half dozen demons – albeit with the help of Serene, but I wasn't completely vulnerable.