Descent - Mattheo Riddle

Chapter thirty-five

Lucia

June 21th, 2:55 p.m., Arabian desert

The desert was alive with the oppressive heat of the midday sun, and the hiss of the sand wraiths chasing us, their bodies shifting like shadows in the shimmering air. My heart raced as I ran, Mattheo's hand tightly gripping mine. The air around us crackled with the dark magic of the creatures, their screeches growing louder as they pursued us over the dunes.

"Mattheo, they're getting closer!" I shouted over the wind, glancing back at the swirling figures.

"I know!" he barked, his eyes sharp as he scanned the horizon for something, anything that could help us. "We need to slow them down—use that ancient magic of yours, Lucia!"

I could feel the weight of his gaze even now, that constant pull between us that had been growing stronger since our escape from the Ministry. Every time his eyes flicked to me, it was like a tangible force, pulling me toward him in ways I didn't fully understand yet. But now wasn't the time to get lost in those thoughts. I had to focus.

I steadied my breath, feeling the deep well of magic within me stir as I prepared to cast. I could still feel the lingering exhaustion from the last time I used this kind of magic, but I had no choice. We couldn't outrun the wraiths much longer.

"Alright," I muttered to myself, pulling free of Mattheo's hand. I turned, facing the creatures head-on as they slithered closer, their glowing eyes fixed on us.

"Lucia, what are you—"

"I've got this," I interrupted, my voice steadier than I felt. "Keep moving, I'll catch up."

I raised my wand, but it wasn't enough. Ancient magic required more than that—it needed something deeper. Closing my eyes, I reached inside myself, drawing from the reserves I had left. Luckily the desert was helpful; deep within the fine sand seem to lingerer some old, powerful force. I whispered the incantation under my breath, feeling the ancient words ripple through the air around me. A surge of power coursed through me, and the ground beneath my feet trembled.

I opened my eyes just as the wraiths closed in, and with a sharp flick of my wrist, I released the magic.

The sand beneath the wraiths erupted, forming a wall of jagged spikes that shot up from the ground, trapping the creatures in a swirling vortex of sand and energy. The wraiths screeched in fury, their forms flickering as they struggled against the magic. But they were bound by it, held in place by the raw, ancient power that pulsed through the air.

For a moment, everything stilled. The wind died down, and the desert fell into an eerie silence. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, my body sagging with exhaustion. The magic had drained me, but it worked. The wraiths were immobilized, their bodies writhing within the confines of the sandstorm I had created.

"Lucia," Mattheo's voice came from behind me, low and filled with something I couldn't quite place. When I turned, I saw the mixture of surprise and admiration in his eyes. He was breathing heavily, his own wand still raised, but for a second, it seemed like he had forgotten about the monsters we had just fought off.

"You..." He shook his head, a small smirk forming on his lips. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

I tried to shrug off the compliment, but the way he looked at me—like I was so much more than just a good friend, made something stir in my chest. I could still feel the way his hand had gripped mine as we ran, and even now, with danger still all around us, I noticed the way his eyes lingered a little too long, as if he couldn't tear them away.

But whatever feelings were flickering beneath the surface, I couldn't afford to acknowledge them. Not yet.

"We should keep moving," I said, turning back toward the dunes. "That magic won't hold them forever."