Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

CHAOS MAGE Chapter 34: Unexpected Faces

"Oho!" Cazadia clapped her hands in glee, almost quivering with delight. "What a dramatic end! To deliberate stab yourself when your own sister failed in doing the only thing that could save her own life! Maybe I did pick the wrong sister." She paused and then shrugged. "Ah well, Soleus got there before me. It's not like I could have done any different."

Ravin knelt down and pressed his hands onto Seiren's heaving shoulders, undoing the effect of the venom from his daemon. Sensation flowed back into Seiren's body, along with all the horror of what she'd done. Sticky blood coated her hands and stomach. She stared at it, bile burning her gullet, tears poised at the corners of her eyes. She was barely aware of Cazadia's taunts and Magus's fight in the background. She turned her head. Madeleine stared at the ceiling, eyelids fluttering, her face ashen. Seiren crawled towards her.

"Maddy... no, no..." she muttered. Her fingers traced the outline of the wound where the material of the robe had ripped against the blade. Blood continued to ooze out at a terrifying rate, staining her fingers. Seiren's fingertips glowed white. Madeleine's hand flew up, knocking her wrist.

No. Not when they're watching. Their minds were no longer connected, but Madeleine's thoughts were clear as day.

Seiren stared at her sister with desperation. Time was running out. Madeleine's face grew paler and sweatier as the seconds ticked by and Cazadia and Ravin both watched in silence behind her. If Madeleine died, no magic could bring her back. Her arm fell down by her side. Her eyes began to roll up, her breaths slowing. Seiren placed her shaking hands on either side of Madeleine's face, smudging blood onto her cheeks. The layout of the soul-tether rune spun before her mind's eye, clear as a light rune in the night.

"It's okay, Maddy, I got you." Her voice cracked. The metallic stench of blood filled her nostrils, making her nauseated.

A sudden bang from behind made Seiren jump out of her skin. Cazadia and Ravin shouted in alarm, leaping aside and bringing up handfuls of summoner's dust. The heavy smell of cinnamon mixed with that of Madeleine's blood.

The sounds of yells and screams mixed with the screeching of daemons. Dust and dislodged rubble flew through the air as bodies clashed. The stench of blood intensified. Seiren whipped her head around. Cazadia screamed at Hanilla, her daemon, who darted forward, jaws agape, the holes Seiren had bored into its cheeks showing its long tongue. A huge, dark shape whipped through the air, too quick for the eye to catch. Seiren took the opportunity to seize the torment Cazadia had put her through. Magic surged through her body, gaining strength from her despair. Her hands tingled; sparks leapt from finger to finger. Seiren slammed her palm together. A white ball of energy formed and, with adrenaline surging through her veins, she leapt to her feet and slammed the ball into Cazadia's back.

The woman screamed, arching her spine, eyes bulging in surprise and then pain. The energy sizzled, eroding into her back. Seiren drew her hand back and stumbled, the world spiralling around her. Someone caught her under the arms just as her legs gave way and they both crashed to the ground.

"Reckless!" came a familiar voice from behind, one she'd never imagined she'd hear in Hanna. The warm arms clutched her tightly across the ribs, pulling her to a sitting position. Bewildered, she turned her head. Exhausted blue-green eyes, with dark shadows beneath, glared at her. His black hair, cut too short, stuck up at peculiar angles and was streaked with sand.

"Rowan!" Seiren gasped. "What are you—"

"Kommora came calling," he said grimly. "When she tells you to jump, you don't even ask how high. And besides, what kind of tutor am I if I abandon my – very trouble-prone, if I may add – former student in this godforsaken country?"