“I don’t know how to counter his power.”
“When you learn to accept the darkness, you will have all the power you could possibly desire.”
The icy magic around her grew stronger. Compressing her into a tiny point.
“Don’t fight the shadows,” he said. “Accept their power.”
Shadow magic crawled over her skin, searching for a way into her. She screamed, and inky magic poured down her throat.
Nyxobas was right. The Forgotten Ones were right. And deep down, she knew this was what she wanted. There was no choice but to give in. To accept it. She let the shadows fill her.
“Good, little one. Feel the darkness move within you. The shadows will do your bidding. You just need to ask.”
She opened her eyes, blinking at the sudden brightness of the stars in the sky.
Abrax hunched over her. His spell had filled her with shadow magic, and now it hummed in her veins. Power she could use. The bonds that wrapped around her chest melted away.
Abrax jumped back, his pale eyes wide with horror. “Seven hells. What are you?”
“Right now, I’m your angel of death.”
Shadows flowed from her, oozing from her pores, pooling on the sand. She bent to pick up her katana.
Abrax charged for her, shadow running at impossible speed. But to her, it looked as though he was moving in slow motion. She sidestepped, just as she had with Bael, then plunged her katana into his chest.
Abrax fell, eyes wide with horror. Ursula pressed down on the hilt of her blade pinning him to the sand.
“I am immortal,” he snarled up at her. “You know you cannot kill me.”
A strange certainty filled her body, rolled around the inside of her skull. She knew what she had to do. “No, but now I can take your magic.”
She leaned down, pressing a hand to his chest. She could feel the shadow magic within him. Cold, ancient, and immensely powerful. Slowly she drew it from his body. Abrax’s eyes widened with fear.
“Stop.” It was Bael. Blood dripped from his mouth where he crouched on the sand. His skin had paled, and he shook violently. “We need to leave.”
“What about your wings?”
“There isn’t time to get them.” His eyes flicked to something behind her. She glanced behind her at the oneiroi guards now pouring into the arena. Teeth bared, they twitched with the same madness that had possessed Massu. These were Abrax’s oneiroi.
Slowly pushing to his feet, Bael whistled, and a dark shaped dove toward them. Sotz. The bat flew for them at full speed, but there was only one way to catch him.
She wrapped her arms around Bael’s chest. Glancing up at Sotz, she imagined the soft fur on his back, and let the shadow magic coil around her muscles. Clinging tightly to Bael, she jumped into the wind, letting the god of night carry her up to Sotz.
Chapter 49
She and Bael landed on Sotz’s back—her body facing Bael’s. Bael had a good grip on Sotz with his legs, and he leaned in, grasping for a solid handhold. Ursula wrapped her legs around Bael’s stomach as he tried to steer the bat, breathing in the scent of sandalwood.
“Can you take us to Bael’s carriage?” Ursula shouted. Sotz’s wings pumped frantically. Barely keeping them aloft, he strained to lift them above the crater’s edge.
Ursula peered down. Below them, the arena filled with the chaos of fleeing demons and rampaging, flesh-starved oneiroi.
At the crater’s rim, they landed with a jolt on the dirt next to the carriage.
“Thank you, Sotz.” Slowly, she helped Bael off the bat. He could hardly stand on his own, and he leaned on her for support. His weight nearly crushed her.
The door to Bael’s carriage slammed open, and Cera poked her head out. “The lord? What happened? I couldn’t watch. How are you both alive?”
“We need to get out of here,” said Ursula.
In the distance, the Brethren’s screams pierced the air.
“They’re coming for us,” said Ursula.
Cera ran to the other side of Bael, gamely attempting to support his other arm. From her height, there wasn’t much point. Together, they helped him into the carriage, and he lay across one of the seats, closing his eyes.
Cera banged on the wall—the signal for the bats to lift off. As soon as they rose into the air, Ursula let out a long, slow breath.
Cera stared at her. “What happened. Why are you both alive?”
“Bael won the duel.” Ursula took a deep breath. “But he didn’t kill me like he should have.”
Cera’s eyes widened. “It was you against the lord in the final round?”
“Yes. And he wouldn’t fight me. So I tried to make him angry. I tried to make him lose his temper so I could get the upper hand. He charged me, and I thought he was attacking. But he wasn’t. He’d dropped his weapon.” It all came out in a frantic rush of words. “And I didn’t realize, and I stabbed him. But I think I missed anything important on purpose.”
Cera simply stared.