My eyes were centered on Elijah as I watched the way his aura struggled to fight the chill of darkness that was attempting to rush into his veins.
"You're the voice of the Shadow Kingdom, right? Then fighting darkness with darkness should be easy, don't you think?" I inquired as I walked towards him until we stood face to face.
"You fucking cunt bitch! I can get out of this! Then I'll murder you in cold blood!"
"I'd love to see you try," I practically growled as I got right into his face, which made him freeze. "How dare you?" Marianna's words flooded out without my control as the world around us crackled with gravitational energy that almost made it seem like the world had come to a dramatic stop.
Elijah couldn't do anything but glare as my lips curled and Marianna decided to say what was racing through our head.
"You could have remained as a shadow, one that had nothing to do with my life, and yet you have the audacity to try every avenue to cloak my hands with the blood of those I love for the petty sake of owning a kingdom that was never yours? You dare to try and fuck over my life so that you'll be a ruler of a place you know nothing about in this world as you did in the last?! Witchling Academy was born and created with our spilled blood, and thanks to you, it was burned down like the rest of the world in the past."
I took over then as I noticed my golden eyes that reflected off his eyes.
"We got this opportunity to start over, to live a life with a clean slate of opportunity, and you decide to fuck it all up and hide behind your twin?"
His eyes widened at the last bit of my statement, leaving me in the perfect mood to laugh.
"Tick tock, Elijah the Second. I'm going to figure out how that brain of yours works, and then we'll play a fun game of tag," I hummed before leaning in closer to whisper in his ear. "And I vow with the blood within my veins and the nightmares that are surely going to disrupt my damn sleep that I'm going to make your life a living hell until the final showdown where your blood is upon my sword and you quiver at the hands of Death himself," I vowed.
Pulling back, I avoided his attempt to spit on me and gave him a mocking smile as I got to my real point.
"You don't realize the true consequences of the forces you work with, so we've given you a gift. If you're so valuable to the kingdom you've devoted yourself to, see if they can stop the chill of the darkness plagued upon you from reaching your beating heart."
His eyes widened before they burned with menace, but I was done talking as the rest of the world seemed to be left in shambles.
As I turned around to leave him to plunge into the sinking hole beneath us, he spoke before I could cancel the platform we stood upon.
"If I die, so will the other Elijah, and then you can carry the fucking guilt of it all."
I paused in my movement just to acknowledge the information that had been fed to me.
"You think I care?"
Glancing over my shoulder, I met his eyes with my emotionless ones.
"I once had a crush on Elijah. I wanted him to be the man at my side, the one to comfort me at night, and the one I even thought I would spend my adult years with. Heck, I even thought we'd date, get married, and have kids, but guess what? The jealousy that coursed through him when I met the Notorious Four is the same jealousy pulsating through you now at not being the sole ruler of a kingdom you've idolized since your past life."
My senses were tingling, and I could hear Connor trying to call me, but I had to say this. He needed to understand what stakes of survival were on the line here.
"Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop your approaching doom. From this moment onward, you're running on borrowed time. Do whatever you want, but know that the curse I've placed upon you has an expiration date, and the Shadow Kingdom can't save you. No one can. No one, except for me. So suck it up, face the fate I've bestowed upon you and find a way to apologize, and maybe I'll spare your life."
He laughed as I looked away.
"You have some nerve! How are you going to get back to your weak group of fuckers when I've destroyed everything around here?! You love to talk all confidence now, Brianne, but I know it's all a fucking front. You and that bitch, Marianna. You think you got the better of me because I'm temporarily frozen? Hah! The joke is on you."
Fuwa, think my mimic gift will be able to do something?
"If it's what you're thinking, then yes, it can, but it'll tire you out."
Fair enough.
I focused on calming my inhales and exhales as Elijah's words began to fade away like the rest of the world. I was doing something based on instinct versus confirming my assumptions with my men, but the idea flowing in my mind seemed almost magical beyond imagination, and I wanted to achieve it.
To manifest it into fruition and prove just how dangerous I am.
The moment this year ended, the Shadow Kingdom would know that they weren't messing with entry-level Witchlings starting out. We'd suffered and endured the wrongs of their selfish actions, and now they were about to reap what they inflicted upon us.
The trials, wounds, and scars would be evidence of their evil intentions that lead to the miraculous consequences of revenge.
Closing my eyes, I felt the spinning sensation of my Spell Traveling gift, only this time it was different. The sensation invited a sense of swirling heat that pushed out of my body and began to move like an expanding whirlpool around my environment.
The shift of energy went counter-clockwise, moving faster and faster, while the energy that seemed hollow and dead began to rejuvenate and burn with life. It got stronger and stronger while my body grew so hot, it was like I was on fire.
I let myself burn as I lifted my hands up, allowing the heat to race out of me and be free to celebrate the rekindled life around us.
When there was barely anything left within me, I shot my hands down like I was discarding the wasted energy, the action giving me the privilege to finally breathe as I fought hard to catch my breath.
Beads of sweat cascaded down my face like I'd done hours of training to reach this moment in time, while my body ached with the mere movement of breathing.
"I-I-Impossible." Elijah's gasp gave me the motivation to open my eyes, and I was just as moved by the breathtaking scenery. The world around us that had crumbled into bitter desolation had been put back together. The world had gone back to the tranquil moment of the sunset, only it was night time and the sky was littered with twinkling stars.
Everything from the ground to the very house that was on the brink of destruction was all in one piece, which confirmed my instincts as I looked to my hands to see the way they glowed brilliantly with markings of blue.
"Damn you."
I struggled to turn and look at Elijah, noticing how his body began to fade in a dark mist like someone was summoning him away.
"I'll get you back for this humiliation. I'm not afraid of you, Marianna, or anyone," he declared. "I'll keep to my promise that was written on that wall. Your blood will be on my hands."
Those were his last words as he completely disappeared, leaving me standing there. My shoulders moved up and down to accommodate my desperation for air. My weary eyes landed on the wooden balcony, and there were my Notorious men and Fuwa.
His body was already beginning to fade away, but the way his wide smile made those golden eyes of his twinkle made me witness the spike of pride and admiration he had for me.