Fade

Chapter Five

I had never got to tell him I loved him. That I never blamed him for not standing up for me in the ways I knew he wanted. That he was the closest thing I've ever had to a father. All of it was for nothing.

Flames flared at my command, coiling around me like obedient serpents ready to strike. The faint echo of our heartbeats resonated bizarrely in the tense silence, a grievous sonata of our crumbling ties. I didn't care anymore of the lies Hedrick has been feeding her. If she didn't see it for the truth, she was the one choosing to be blind.

By my side was Coda, whose eyes gleamed with hatred towards my mother. For once, the elements of fire and ice were intertwined, united for revenge and justice. He blasted an icy storm in her direction, but never looked away from me as he placed the cool syringe back into my hand. I didn't even notice him taking it from me, or perhaps it had fallen out, but I was glad he had gotten to it.

As the storm dissipated, our eyes locked onto my mother's. The woman who was once a symbol of love and compassion was now unrecognizable, her eyes burning brighter than any fire around us. The sight troubled me, but within me −a fire was stoked even stronger.

"You will pay for what you did to Zion," I admonished. My voice echoed through the trees.

The sadness she felt for the dead guard at her feet vanished as she saw my display of power. She smirked arrogantly. "We'll see. Hedrick told me you were being misled by Zion, and I see he was correct in his assumptions."

The words were the spark to a rampant fire. No sooner had she finished speaking than I launched my attack — a volley of flaming surges. Coda harmonized his ice manipulation with my fire manipulation, combining our assaults into a formidable fiery cyclone racing towards my mother.

With a swift movement, my mother countered. She raised her hand, and the ground beneath us began to move like quicksand beneath our feet as the layers melted. The forces of fire and ice separated, guttering out against the erupting fire around her.

My heart pounded with adrenaline, the blood rushing in my ears drowned everything else. I held Coda's eyes, and an understanding passed. We needed to make our move now, before it was too late.

Focusing on my Nightrealm abilities, I looked at a spot next to her and begged the shadows to take my body closer to her. It was the only way I would be able to use the vial on her. A rush of wind whistled past me, her powers forming visible currents, like wild serpents ready to strike. I barely had time to dodge her first attack before another followed. Pain seared through me as I got hit, my skin bruised and body singed. Flames were my strength, but my current state was pitiful, each breath as painful as a flame spiked through my chest.

A roar of metal erupted as a hoard of soldiers dashed around us, following any orders the Queen may give, to try to protect her. Even if she needed protection from me.

"Stop!" I screamed, a plea, a desperate attempt to reach my mother hiding behind that spell of Hedrick's. It was a futile hope.

"Zion died because of you!" she screamed; her voice filled with loathing. A lump formed in my throat at the word 'Zion.' His image flashed in my mind – his reassuring smile, his unwavering loyalty – snuffed out, extinguished forever.

Enraged, I rose on shaky legs, ready to retaliate. Hurt, shock, and confusion gave way to anger and determination. I was a Princess, a warrior in my own right and I wouldn't fall so easily. I reignited the fire within me, letting it pour out and dance around me. The flame strengthened me, gave me courage as at the last moment I was finally able to teleport to her position. Before any guards could reach me, in a quick motion, I stabbed her with the syringe.