The Queen Of Death and Ruins

A magic so dark

Running towards the castle proved to be a more difficult task than we had expected, considering the portal threw us right in front of the main gate. Bodies littered the ground, some badly injured and others no longer with us. I tried my best not to look at each fallen Mystic as soon as I started recognizing some of them from a past life. There would be a time for mourning our losses, but we had to save our kingdoms first. Another painful twist squeezed my heart when I remembered that none of this would have happened in the first place if it weren't for my cousin.

A swift movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I managed to dodge the attack at the very last second. I was too busy running and trying not to trip over a body to notice the small group of Outliers heading our way. A rush of excitement ran through my veins and my magic leapt forward. Blocking them with a force field to hold them in place, I let electricity fly freely from my palms, tearing through them in seconds.

The Mystics that were fighting around the castle halted their movements and turned to stare at us. Relief coated their features as they realized what happened, followed quickly by surprise and shock as they took notice of me.

"Just keep running,”  Caelum said. "We have to get to the royals."

"I know."

Whispers quickly erupted around us as more and more people noticed Caelum and I. Some bowed for him first, not quite figuring out who I was yet. Others looked at me with that confused, fogged up gaze I got used to back at Coleste.

Right before we made it inside, dodging fallen bricks and curious Mystics, a familiar face popped up from the shadows. I slowed down just a bit to take a closer look and was surprised to find Aesira engaged in a very animated conversation with a man I didn't recognize. Both of them looked like they were faring a lot better than the rest of us. Barely any scratches or tears, their coats —although covered in ash and dirt— seemed intact otherwise. The man looked young, his hair a lovely shade of lilac and his eyes dark as night. Aesira raked a hand through her blond hair and was about to say something else to him when she finally noticed us. She narrowed her eyes at me, as if trying to decipher what was happening, before they widened in shock.

"Aeliana?" She gasped

"Aesira." I sighed in relief, happy my sister was alright.

"How?" She looked between Caelum and I.

"Long story, I'll explain everything later."

The man standing next to her cleared his throat and as I looked at him, I had a feeling he wasn't very happy to see me.

A portal sizzled into existence right behind them and as three Outliers materialized, he turned around swiftly and set them ablaze.

Aesira glanced towards him, her gaze disapproving, before she turned back to me.

"Throne room." She gestured towards the castle. "Our parents need you. We got it here."

I nodded and once again, Caelum and I set off towards the doors.

The castle was not faring any better than the rest of the kingdom. Stone walls had holes the size of planets in them, chandeliers shattered on the grounds, fires sizzling in random corners. Moonstone broke to pieces as we ran, sharp edges threatening to tear us apart.

The throne room loomed in front of us, darker than I remembered. We slowed down a bit, catching our breath and preparing ourselves for whatever waited for us behind those gigantic doors. As we were about to go in, the stench of death surrounded us and those creatures appeared from several corners. A quick headcount revealed we were outnumbered by four Outliers but right before panic reared its ugly head, two of them were nothing but ash. I turned to see Caelum smirking.