❛power isn't everything. it's the only thing.❜
[complete]
wattys 2018 winner ❧
Lin is a hunter, one of the magically enhanced witch slayers that roam a flooded world. Under the laws of four Kings and Greymark, who rules them all, Lin is unto...
"And indeed, just think: in many ways, body and soul, I have been more a battlefield than a human being."
―Frederick Nietzsche
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*tw for child abuse
The mirror shuddered as Hadrian stepped out, magic roiling against him. He glanced up at Lin. She hadn't noticed. He didn't think she would.
She paced in inconsistent loops and shapes as Cortez pulled through the mirror, muscles tense and jaw clenched. Her eyes roved across the walls -- a claustrophobic slate-grey tunnel that spat directly into a sunny street. They were on the other side of the world.
"Where are we?" Cortez asked.
"Does it matter?" Lin spared them a glance before turning on her heel and walking away. Cortez glanced down, lifting his eyebrows. Hadrian shrugged in return before trotting on Lin's heels, putting more bounce in his step than necessary.
The city beyond rang with silence. Magic flowed uninterrupted through the streets, glistening in the air without a single human between him and it. Blood carried on the wind, telling of a recent slaughter. Lin herself didn't smell like she'd killed anything -- aside from the witch's blood staining her boots. That witch's name still hushed in his ears. Celia.
She'd died scared and confused. She'd never gone through a mirror before, she hadn't meant to. He'd been telling the truth when he explained it -- except it had been intentional. Someone else had arranged for Celia to go through. Someone had corrupted the mirrors. It wasn't his mother, he'd know her magic anywhere, and it certainly wasn't him. Ilse wouldn't endanger one of her own like that. He couldn't think of any other witch who would benefit from something like that. Maybe it was personal -- maybe a scuffle between coven members.
It didn't matter. Celia might have survived if Shabina hadn't interfered. All Hadrian had to do was push her back into the mirror and the magic would have protected her. Hell, he could have done that right in front of Shabina if he weren't a coward. He could have used his own magic to save her, one way or another.
He wiped his palm against his trousers and kept pace with Lin. It wasn't like she could read his mind. He tilted his head and nudged her with his elbow. "What was all that about?"
Lin didn't look at him, instead letting her mouth fix in a frown. "What was what about?"
"Shabina," his throat almost closed at her name.
"Well." She rocked her head from side to side, sending her ponytail slicing through the air. She smiled then inclined her head toward Cortez. "What's with the bodyguard?"
He didn't want to keep asking her things. He didn't want to pretend he cared anymore. He molded his features into a mask of concern, putting one hand in front of Lin's arm to stop her in her tracks. The offended look she shot him might have made him afraid once. Not now. "Something happened between you and Shabina and it's bothering you enough to bother me."
