Aster gave a little laugh as he drew a short sword out of thin air. The blade was paper thin yet very strong, and fit naturally in his hand after years of training. Its very appearance showed the familiar evidence of having been magically made a Metal Flower Element. "It took you long enough." He swung the sword lightly through the air as if testing its readiness. "I've been waiting for a while."
"What's happened to you, Theo?" Rhya asked in a whisper.
"I found a new lease on life," came the flippant response.
"Armand corrupted his Seed, and the others," Rachel admitted in a low voice. "He managed to make them . . . his allies." She rubbed at her forehead. "I wanted to be wrong. I really did. I thought I could change it, but I didn't."
"Enough." Tasia held out a hand, and silver-gold majik whipped down her arm to form into a weapon none of the others had ever seen. The long sword had a blade tarnished gray from age, and an oaken hilt carved with ancient symbols of witchcraft. It looked and felt ancient, and it literally radiated majik into the air around it with a subtle glow. Aware of the stares, she said quietly, "It belonged first to Liena, and then to Jean, and now me."
The hilt actually looked the littlest bit like a dragon claw, which seemed very fitting for her family, all things considered. Leslie gingerly reached out to touch the sword and felt a sizzle against her fingers. She could hardly fathom how much power may be packed into the sword after ten thousand years.
"Masks," Tasia ordered, and grabbed hers from her bracelet with her free hand to pull it on. When all were armored and had grabbed their weapons—Leslie wielded dual daggers and Rhya had a rod for focusing magic—Tasia moved forward a step. "Since we could not stop this from happening before, we will stop it now."
Leslie and Rhya felt sick at the idea of having to fight not just any fellow Defender but one of their own, but they trusted Tasia as their Lead and stepped up beside her with Rachel. All braced themselves for whatever Aster may throw at them; corrupted, he would likely have more than just his defensive Fire magic.
No attack came. He stood for a few moments and then tapped a foot impatiently. "Look, Iris, could you maybe . . . move over? I need to tenderize the others to get them on our side, and the king does not really want you to be harmed."
"You really think I will?" Tasia made a derisive noise. "You honestly expect me to just blithely step aside and leave our princesses in the line of fire? Please. Do not insult either your intelligence or mine. If you're really not supposed to harm me, then the best place for me to stand is directly in front of them." Her all-seeing eyes narrowed a little, and seemed to look directly into his soul.
Aster made a little sound of annoyance. "Fine. He said he wanted you alive, but I doubt he'll argue much with some softening up." His hands shot up and let loose a blast of disturbingly colored fire magic he should not have possessed.
Tasia swung her sword up just as fast and a shield of Shadow magic covered her and the others. Half of Aster's attack got absorbed entirely, and the other half repelled back with particular violence to punch him in the center of his armor and knock him down. Rhya's eyes went wide. "You really are Aria's Defender," she whispered.
Tasia did not respond. She instead said something so low to Leslie that neither Rachel nor Rhya caught it, but Leslie nodded firmly. As Aster began to stagger back up to his feet, Tasia left the shield and rushed at him. He hastily got his sword up to block, but her blade was the more powerful of the two, and she the stronger Defender. His blade chipped visibly and he had to struggle with all of his strength to keep her from mowing him over. He became so intent on trying to just endure that he did not notice Leslie until she suddenly appeared behind him.
"Gotcha!" She grabbed onto him fiercely in a desperate hug and let her magic well. Her Marks began to glow so hotly that they could be seen through her armor, and his began to glow as well. They looked . . . warped, as they appeared through his armor. He abruptly stopped struggling and lowered his sword. Leslie just kept holding on and praying with all her heart that being a High Princess would do what Tasia said.
His Marks cleared suddenly as color returned to his armor and the ugly magic left his skin. He sagged in Leslie's grip for a moment, and then said, "Leslie Ann, I love you, but you're crushing my ribs through my armor."
"Theo!" Leslie hugged him tighter for a moment and then forced herself to let go. Her fingers trembled as she reached out to take his hands instead. "You scared me," she whispered. "I didn't know if—if you'd hear my Seed loud enough. I mean, Tasia said you would but . . ."
"Hey." He straightened and tugged on her braid. "It's okay now. And I'm going to probably eat the guilt of this for a few centuries, but that's fine." He winced wryly as Rhya jumped on him and hugged him around the neck. "You know what the worst part is? Basically being stuck inside your own body staring at a terrible attempt at a curse but not being able to nix it! Ugh."
Rachel scooped up his fallen sword. "I think you're lucky Tasia chose not to get mean with you."
Theo winced. "She'll dish out karmic payback the next time we get to sparring, I'm sure." He accepted his sword on a sigh. "Thank goddess that High Princesses have an unexpected amount of domain over their Defenders."
Rhya nodded and let go of his neck only to hug his arm instead. "It's in all High Rulers. Our Defenders are all but genetically conditioned to take our commands. We nearly never use it ever because we prefer to be more like your equals, but we can forcefully compel obedience via our Seeds. I . . . I don't know if it would work on Tasia, though," she admitted. "She's different somehow."
"Plausibly it could," Tasia admitted, "but it would have to be from Leslie, and I would have to be willing to let it work." She snorted softly as she caught a stray thought. "No, Rhya, I am not testing the theory that I can compel your mother or aunt against their will." She thought about it. "Well . . . maybe if they get into trouble. Then I will."
Theo felt better just from the banter, because it had been done deliberately to restore their friendship to normal. He inclined his head toward the other side of the maze. "Beth is there at the end. She was supposed to be your escort once I convinced you to sacrifice yourself for our friends." Sarcasm dripped from his tone. "Armand is really damn dumb about different powers in general and Cultivators in particular."
"Let's go then. You lead," Rachel told him.
He took point and they ran quickly through the rest of the maze under his direction, and luckily so. The last half became a sticky, intricate mass of walls and hidden paths that Tasia had no desire nor time to figure out.
The last leg was a straight path and they could see Carnation waiting at the end. The whip she held seethed along the floor like a disturbed serpent. Her eyes looked flat and emotionless and a far cry from the empathic woman they had known. Her armor, too, had been leeched of color and ugly magic climbed her skin. The instant she saw them, she shot a blast of unnatural molten glass at Theo with the shout, "Traitor!"
"Oh get stuffed!" Leslie snapped back at her before Theo could. "You're the one who got corrupted!"
Carnation narrowed her eyes. Her hand shot forward and her whip flew across the ground toward Leslie. Her muscles tensed but Tasia shoved her out of the way first. The whip instead coiled around Tasia, and when Theo tried to free her, he was nabbed as well. Both Defenders found themselves swung high in the air. Rachel swung her ankh at the whip, trying to break it, but she only succeeded in losing her weapon as it got yanked out of her hands.
"Since Iris is wanted alive and I've got Aster up there with her, I'll leave them be . . . unless you refuse to surrender," Carnation told Rhya flatly. "If you don't throw down your weapons, I'll kill Aster and make life very painful for Iris."
"Not a chance." Rhya took a defensive stance. "We don't surrender, remember?" Her heart tripped madly as she resisted the urge to look at her cousin. Leslie was stealthily creeping around behind Carnation where she should have a clear shot at grabbing her. "Besides, what can you do when your weapon is busy?"
"They'll die before you can hit me," Carnation told her. "A fall from that high is not going to be very pleasant for them."
Theo shifted his arm enough until he could reach his hand back to catch Tasia's. Their fingers meshed together. "You thinking what I am?" he asked in a voice only the Mystic heard. "Can you cast?"
"Yeah." Her voice went no further than his ears. Majik might not do actual damage to Carnation the way a magical attack would, but that was not the point. It just needed to distract her. Power swirled across Tasia's pupils, and her hand gripped Theo's tighter. Majik welled suddenly and a blend of fire and ice billowed down the whip holding them until it hit Carnation's hand and simultaneously froze her fingers and overheated her armor. She dropped the whip on a pained yelp.
Theo and Tasia did not actually fall far. Rachel had gotten close enough to grab her ankh, and she hastily threw a Memory-based spell that slowed their descent until they landed safely on the ground. She then blinked in astonishment as she realized she had cast an actual spell and not used her Cultivator magic. "That . . . that will take getting used to."
Carnation rolled up to her feet but she was too late. Leslie pounced and grabbed onto her. "Bethany," she ordered powerfully, "stop fighting us!"
Carnation's hands dropped instantly and she stopped moving. Leslie's magic once more rose hotly enough to show her Marks though her armor, and Carnation's warped ones began to do the same. An agonizing few seconds ticked by and then her Marks cleared, and her armor restored to normal. The ugly magic left her skin as she sagged in Leslie's grip. Faintly, she managed to say, "I'm going to be doing pushups for the rest of my life for this. Also, can't breathe, dear."
Leslie loosened her grip only a little, and Rhya dashed over to grab onto Beth as well. The other three came up quickly, and while Theo looked no worse for the wear, Tasia seemed to be favoring her right side a bit. "I'm fine," she said as everyone looked at her sharply. "The whip was tight enough on me, even through my armor, that I may have cracked a rib."
"Oh, damn." Beth moved closer. "Tasia, oh goddess, I'm so sorry! Can you heal it?"
"It takes more effort and majik than is worth sparing right now," Tasia countered. "I'll get through as long as Leslie doesn't hug me the way she got you and Theo. Where are the others, Beth? We are legitimately running out of time."
The sound of stone and brick crumbling off the castle to smash on the ground punctuated the statement. "I haven't a clue where Emily and Ryan are," Beth responded. "Haven't seen them for a while. Raine and Storm are likely in the throne room with Armand. It was odd. When we all got corrupted, they moved instantly to establish themselves at his side. I don't know why, but they seemed to be affected more strongly than the rest of us."
Tasia's eyes narrowed sharply and took on the flicker of processing that implied she was seeing something in the pattern. She said nothing about it however and instead turned to Rhya and caught her shoulders. "Listen to me, Reagan." Her voice was soft yet intense. "You're going to need to be strong. If we face Raine in battle, you can't show her weakness lest you destroy her soul. No amount of corruption can stop a soul mate from responding, and you could do irreparable damage."
Her lips trembled but she nodded. "I'll try," she whispered. She took a deep breath. "We know where she and Storm are. So . . . let's just head toward the throne room and assume Emily and Ryan will pop up out of nowhere. It's a Dark Defender thing."
"I'm telling Aunt Kacey you said that," Leslie noted dryly.
"She said it first!"
They hurried through the rest of castle as fast as they dared. It was vacant. The moment the Defenders had entered grounds, any and every one had fled for safety. They had been forced to stay and serve the False King, but they knew now that salvation had arrived. Perhaps ironically, only Armand himself may not have realized the end loomed. He had taken the inherent blindness of his lineage to a new extreme.
Halfway down the hall toward the throne room, Theo sensed the distinctive presences of two of his missing friends. "Get down!" he yelped.
Everyone hit the ground just as a churning ball of distorted Water magic shot over their heads and crashed somewhere behind them. The Defenders turned their heads and watched as Hyacinth and Orchid stepped out of the shadows near the throne room doors. The two turned Defenders wore matching smirks, and familiar leeched color marred their armor.
"Whatever you do," Tasia warned as she got to her feet, "don't get angry. Or if you do, don't let Ryan get his hands on you. Now Emily on the other hand," she turned toward Hyacinth, "you can piss off all you want. She's useless. I'm surprised she was even given the job of guarding the throne room when she can't do anything at all."
Jaws dropped on more than one person. The attack was unexpected and very not like Tasia at all. Hyacinth's face lit with vivid fury and she gave a shout as she lunged toward Tasia. Halfway there, she changed into a giant boa constrictor. Neither bite nor coils made it to her target; Beth's whip lashed out and grabbed her before she got that far. Her flight stopped partway and she crashed onto the floor where she changed back to normal. Beth kept her thoroughly tangled and refused to let go. "Just hold still and it won't hurt that badly."
"Release her, Carnation," Orchid warned. "I think I have collateral." He tightened his arm around Rhya's neck. "Someone thought she could be stealthy."
"Damn it, Reagan!" Leslie scowled as Beth reluctantly released Emily from the whip. "Leave that up to me, will you?"
"Iris." Orchid looked at the silent sorceress as his partner limped back over to his side. "Surrender and walk into the throne room alone and I will spare your precious princess."
"Don't you dare!" Rhya yelped. She tried to pry at Orchid's arm, but the other Defender was taller and stronger alike. "Tasia!" she wailed as her Lead calmly walked forward. "Don't go in there alone! I can help! I'll break through to Raine! Waah! RYAN!" She began to struggle harder. "Let me go!"
Tasia stopped when she was between Orchid and Hyacinth, and her eyes did not turn toward either of them. "Release her."
Even corrupted, Orchid was a man of his word. He let Rhya go and gave her a shove away. Tasia immediately attacked. She knocked Orchid flat with a well-place hand strike, and her booted foot sent Hyacinth down to the ground as well. Leslie and Rhya were so astonished at the sudden attack that they almost forgot to help. Theo lightly smacked them both in the back of the head, and they hastily scrambled forward to grab onto Orchid and Hyacinth, who luckily did not struggle as the two High Princesses' magic rose hotly.
Moments passed and then both Hyacinth and Orchid's Marks cleared as did their armor. The ugly magic retreated. Ryan slumped over in Leslie's grip, and Rhya nearly dropped Emily before readjusting her grip. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh," she managed to say. "Oh gosh I'm going to kill you both for putting me through that!" she shouted.
Emily closed one eye on a wince behind her Mask. "Mind not shouting right in my ear? Shit." She sat up gingerly. "Ow. Damn. Okay, I want to go to Tasia's school now too. Because, ow. Do you teach how to fall?"
"Yes," Tasia said dryly.
"I'm going too," Ryan complained. He carefully gained his feet with Leslie's help. "Am I allowed to think that was awesome even though I was on the receiving end?"
"It was awesome!" the two High Princesses blurted.
Beth had to grin a bit. "Wait until you see her in an actual fight. She's amazing." Her smile faded as she blew out a breath. "Raine and Storm."
"Throne room," Ryan responded promptly. "They've been acting weird, though. Maybe they're fighting the corruption harder. Is there anything we can do to help it along?"
"Rhya's mere presence will help with Raine," Rachel offered. "Raine's emotions for Rhya go all the way to her soul. It could be the one thing to break through the corruption without having to get hands on—which with her could be bloody lethal. It's going to be touch and go fighting Armand and those two alike, but we can handle it. Where's the key to the door?"
"Who says we need a key?" Emily retorted. "Ryan, if you wouldn't mind, show them the key."
Ryan lifted his hands and fired off a new blast of Water magic, and this time one that looked as pure and clean as ever. It smashed through the throne room doors and blew them wide open. Light from within began to filter out, and Tasia led the way inside the room without any hesitation.
The room's beauty had no doubt once been great, but now it looked as dull and listless as the rest of the world. Low hanging chandeliers barely gave light. The floor was technically clean, yet some film clung to it that made it look unpolished and grungy. Sunlight came in through the clouded windows but no shadows formed in the room. Dark and Light seemed incapable of touching. Aria stood on her last gasp as the only Shadow Flower Element world.
Armand sat on the throne across the room, and no one felt surprised to see he bore something of a resemblance to Rodi; Romalia certainly did. Armand still kept the pitch black hair of their lineage, however, and his eyes did not have the magenta hues amid the black. He looked nearly perfectly beautiful—except for the cruelty clinging to his eyes and lips. He made a slight gesture and it was mimicked by a figure sitting on the windowsill where the light obscured his features.
The throne room doors slammed shut. No one bothered to turn and check; they knew they would be locked again. Their eyes riveted to the figure at the window, and another walked forward from the darkness. Both moved together into the middle of the room and the light illuminated them.
With the vision thick in her mind, Rachel prayed with all she was that she had done the right thing by telling Storm about the vision. If she hadn't, then this upcoming fight against Daffodil and Gladiolus would be the hardest and most painful one they had endured thus far. Both had now been armed, as Gladiolus had an elaborate bow that echoed to his sister's three-headed spear. Both had the familiar washed out armor and Masks, and the creep of ugly magic on their skin.
"Raine?" Rhya whispered as she took a hesitant step forward. Tears swam across her eyes as she fought the urge to rush forward and grab onto her beloved twin. All she got in return was an utterly emotionless look, and the wounds in her soul throbbed. She whirled and ran into Leslie's arms before she started crying. She had to be strong!
"Daffodil, Gladiolus," Armand said smoothly. "Defeat the rest, but leave Iris as she is. I have plans for her, and she seems to be injured already."
Daffodil shifted into a fighting stance with her spear held ready, and Gladiolus took aim as well. Yet . . . they hesitated. Armand began to frown. He had been suspicious that their bonds to Delphinium and Iris might be too strong. He tried to add more power to the curse as he snapped, "Attack!"
They immediately whipped around and attacked him. He dove out of the way, and the blasts of pure Thunder and Metal narrowly missed him. His throne wasn't that lucky. It exploded into bits of shrapnel.
Raine cursed under her breath. "We missed." She turned and looked at Rhya, and her eyes filled with agony. The wounds on her soul from her self-imposed effort to protect her princess throbbed painfully. "Reagan. I'm so sorry."
"Raine!" It was a wail as Rhya scrambled over to her and threw her arms around her tightly. She hid her face in her shoulder as she sobbed, "I hate you for that! I thought you hated me!"
"No, never." Raine held her just as tightly. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done to act as though she didn't give a damn about her princess. She was astonished Rhya hadn't seen through it right off. They would both have trouble recovering from this one anytime soon. She gently pressed a kiss to the top of Rhya's head in apology, and then, still holding her, turned and narrowed her eyes on Armand. "Fool to the end."
Storm casually walked over to his friends with his bow braced on his shoulder as the false effects of the faux corruption faded from him and Raine alike. "I played you like a fiddle. I knew exactly what you were going to do and when you were going to do it. It was easy to protect Raine and myself. Even easier to pretend to be loyal lapdogs. You were so desperate for someone to be faithful to your rule." A hint of a smirk touched his lips. "Who was in charge of who, Armand? Thanks for the access to the castle and the journals. Now I know exactly how to help my sister and brother-in-law."
"Pattern master," he muttered. He got to his feet carefully. "How did you fake the corruption effects?"
"You really are stupid about majik," Raine mocked. "I borrowed Rhya's Illusion majik through our twin bond and used it to mimic the effects. She never noticed because she's not used to using her majik yet, so the brief absence of it was not apparent. Too, by shoving her out of my soul, the majik could not go back without her being in proximity to me. Gee, it's amazing what someone with real skill can do, isn't it? And around here, other than Tasia, I have the most skill and strength. Hey, if I'm going to keep up with my lover—Tasia's own brother—then I had better have some talent, right?"
"Tasi," Storm said softly.
"Oh, I noticed already," she countered. "Even at range. Tch. Pitiful." She glanced at her friends and then back to Armand. "He's stupid about magic and majik alike, and only my arcanistry can destroy him at this point, but he's not without unpleasant surprises. We're pairing off in offense/defense pairs to hit him with some painful combinations. Defensive types can't use their magic as an attack but can fuse their magic to an offensive partner to blend for a higher-octane double-elemental shot. Beth and Ryan head to the left while Leslie and Emily go to the right. Theo and Rachel, when he moves into the center of the room, go for his back. Storm and Rhya, you two wait for any available opportunity." She swung her sword up briefly and then sent a smile at Raine. "You and I will launch a frontal attack. We need to hit him all at once and take him down before he hits us with anything nasty."
"Done." Raine moved up beside her and then both shot forward in perfect sync. Their weapons swung up together and across in an X pattern that let loose Ice and Metal magic at the same time. Armand could not dodge and was knocked painfully flat. Too late did he realize how dangerous the situation had been made with all of them in the room together. He reached out desperately for whatever power he could grab and released it as a shockwave that knocked several Defenders down. The others kept closing in. He had to pick them off individually with the hardest blasts he could, and he gasped desperately for air by the time he managed to knock everyone down. He fell to his knees painfully as bloody sweat dripped from his skin.
A sword pressed against the side of his neck. "Hurts, doesn't it?" the sorceress asked him softly. "There's a thing we of the Faith call the three-fold law: what you put out will come back with three times the force. Every drop of majik you've stolen, every curse you have cast . . . it will land upon your shoulders." A little mocking laugh escaped her. "You are so much more pitiful than you realize, Armand. Even if you killed my husband, you would never be Ruler Cultivator of Aria. You have no Seed."
"You lie!" he raged at her.
Her hand shifted, and her sword flicked down his shirt to slice it open. His chest looked perfectly barren of any Mark. "Deactivated Ruler Cultivators still have Seeds. It manifests as an empty outline of their world's Flower Mark. You have no Mark because you have no Seed. True, Deactivated Cultivators are not always able to be sensed by others the way Activated ones are, but the stronger a Cultivator, the more likely they are to sense it. I noticed as soon as I entered the room. Aria didn't just reject you, Armand: she has absolutely no interest in your existence at all. You were merely a means to an end in Destiny's game."
"I should have been born first!" he screamed. "Ruler Cultivators of Aria are nearly always male! You understand that! You are the daughter of the daughter!"
Her lip curled into a smirk. "Hey, know something? You're right. Aria's Ruler Cultivators are nearly always male. There have been exactly three female Ruler Cultivators . . . and each one birthed a True Born. Funny how that works. I feel nothing for you, Armand. I should, us being so connected, but I feel nothing. Your lineage isn't the only one to reject you. Looks like mine has as well."
He realized then that he had only one chance to take her down before she killed him. He conjured an armored glove to his hand and lunged upward. His plated fist smashed into her already cracked rib. Only cloth armor covered that portion of her body, and despite how incredibly powerful even cloth could be on a Defender, it could not stop the blow; even metal may have not. Her cracked rib gave way entirely. She staggered a step and nearly lifted her hands before suddenly letting herself collapse.
He approached her very carefully when she did not move. He did not trust any pattern master any longer. He caught her shoulder to turn her over, and the genuine agony in her eyes combined with the blood staining her armor made an unexpected shame move inside him. "You shouldn't have turned me down," he told her. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt."
The swirl inside her eyes expanded to her caramel irises. "Cultivators don't choose inferior mates, Your Falseness, and you're as inferior as they get!"
Fury filled his face and he hauled her up off the floor to give her a violent shake. Fully intending to shake her until she gave in, he was startled to hear Beth say in a singsong voice, "He's heeeere."
The entire castle began to shake in the force of deadly magic and majik combined. The Light and Dark that had been unable to merge suddenly fused into Shadow that seethed violently at the edges of the throne room before creeping across the floor. From the rafters, a familiar and powerful voice roared, "Get your hands off my Defender!"
All eyes lifted to see Rodi standing on a beam, and his handsome face had gone dark with rage. He leapt down, grabbed a chandelier with one hand, and swung across the room to snatch Tasia out of Armand's grip. He landed several feet away and cradled her close against his chest. "I'm so sorry!" he breathed into her hair.
"You're here now. That's all that matters." Her breath hitched in pain. "I felt you near and knew it was safe to fall before I did more damage." She winced. "Is it as bad as I think it is? It feels horrific. I don't want to look. Just tell me how much work I have to heal it."
He slowly laid her down on the floor and went white as he saw the gray blood staining cloth and what looked like a bit of bone piercing the tough material of her armor. "It's worse. Don't even bother trying. Raine!" he snapped. "Quickly!"
She hobbled over painfully and knelt beside her sister. "I've got her." She glanced at him as magic covered her fingers instead of majik, and Metal welled. It flowed to him and then up into his hands where it formed a breathtaking long sword made of gray, black, and white. "Do what needs to be done," she told him. "And call for shields as you need. Anyone who can will give them."
He slowly stood. His now partially opened tunic plainly revealed the beautiful black poppy Flower Mark with a sparkling edge on his chest, and as he turned around, magic welled over him to call his Ruler suit. Only Tasia had ever seen it before, in that first meeting as children, but all recognized it anyway. It did, of course, strongly resemble his world's flower. Magic seethed in his eyes as he looked at Armand. "I don't think there's much to say. Is there?"
Armand drew his own sword, and his hand visibly trembled. "I always knew we would cross swords someday."
"You just kept giving me reasons to want your head, too." He swung his sword through the air, and gold Shadow majik trailed in its wake. The best of Metal weapons could channel the power of the owner, be it magic or majik. "Killed my grandparents. Usurped the throne. Tried multiple times to kill my mother—almost succeeded once. Kept trying to kill me." His eyes narrowed. "And now you've attacked someone who is not just the sorceress our bloodline is bound to love, but someone who Aria herself chose as her Defender Cultivator! She will be my queen, uncle. She will never be yours."
Rhya knelt next to Raine and watched her heal the broken bone cutting through Tasia's skin. "You know, I don't like evil people as a rule, but I just really like Armand the least of all the ones I can think of. He's a jerk."
Tasia gratefully rested her head on Leslie's lap as the younger woman sat down behind her. "There is nothing good inside him. I could see his soul, and it is as decayed as this world."
Rodi shot toward Armand, and blade met blade, but the True Born was far stronger and literally had the power of ages on his side. The fight leaned heavily in Rodi's favor, but Armand's terror gave him added strength and desperation that meant he was not immediately overwhelmed.
It took only a few seconds of observing before Theo realized the fight was still horribly one-sided. Rodi clearly held himself back from his full potential and just bought time. A sudden flash of the future crossed Theo's eyes, and he realized what needed to be done. He turned and covered Raine's hands with his own. "Fire, melt into Metal. Raine, use my majik to heal Tasia faster. We need her intact so she can summon Arian Draconis and end this the way it was always meant to be ended!"
The bone and tissue mended at last and Tasia gingerly sat up with help. She was sore, aching, and bruised, but she could breathe and was not actively bleeding. "Better." She felt Striker land on her shoulder and found a smile. "You fetched him for me, didn't you?"
I knew you would need him. I will aid him while you do what you must. He flew into the air and landed on Rodi's shoulder. His fiery breath engulfed the prince's sword in flames and made it all the harder for Armand to draw near.
Tasia grasped her pendant and yanked it off the chain. "Put your hands on my wrist. Hurry! I need your extra boost!" Her friends surrounded her and touched her arm to lend their gifts, and her arcanistry rose hotly and so purely that the floor beneath them restored to its original luster. "Arian Draconis!"
The pendant glowed so brightly that it briefly blinded all but Tasia and Rodi. The light caught Armand's attention as well, and Rodi grinned dangerously. "If I'd wanted you dead," he warned softly, "you'd be dead. However, it was never my place to kill you. I have no need to interfere with a prophecy in my favor to begin with. I'll let my Defender take care of things." He threw himself gracefully to the side and rolled to his feet.
Armand slowly turned around and felt his dead heart freeze. "No!"
Shadows began to billow out of the necklace. As if the dragon in silver blew flames of gray, the shadows swelled in the air and flowed onto the ground. They steadily grew in size until they solidified and became the knight once more. He looked even larger than before; many more souls had added to his power in the short time between his summonings. He slowly turned to face the Defenders, and his gaze focused on Tasia. "Do you make your choice, Mystic Sorceress?"
Her chin lifted. "I choose the True Born of Aria."
The knight turned and advanced steadily on Armand. Rodi crossed the room and pulled Tasia up to her feet. His fingers laced with hers, and the Arian Draconis rested between their palms. Only he, Leslie, Logan, and Shanae could safely touch the powerful artifact of the ancient witches' bloodline. The other Defenders stood as well, and all of them remained silent.
Only Tasia and Rodi saw what truly happened for only they could see the invisible shadows of life. The others saw the knight absorb Armand and disappear. The destined couple saw Armand's shadow being eaten out from the inside as his withered soul was destroyed in the force of the creature of infinite majik that he himself had unintentionally helped create.
There was no question as to when he was truly gone. A sudden cloud lifted from everything and dissipated in the air. The land stopped screaming in Leslie's ears. Rodi brought Tasia's hand to his lips, and they both closed their eyes as his magic and majik, and her arcanistry, welled up with beautiful color. "Long live the True King," the Mystic said softly, and it almost sounded like an incantation.
Their power rippled free and flowed down into the ground where Aria drank it in desperately. The restoration of the true Ruler Cultivator began to reverse all of the stagnation and terrible effects. The air suddenly cleaned and allowed all of them to take real deep breaths. The pallor on the castle lifted and made the entire throne room look beautiful, if horrendously dirty and damaged from the fights. Toxins disappeared as Aria finally became healthy once more.
The Defenders slowly removed their Masks, and damage from their armor had transferred to the clothes beneath. Because of it, Tasia's left sleeve had been torn free and bared her Defender Mark. A black and magenta glow caught everyone's eyes, and they looked to see a tiny black poppy blossom appearing nestled under the larger iris. Aria had not just healed; she had begun to thrive, and she could finally, truly, mark her beloved Defender.
"I think Tasia is the Daughter of every world," Ryan teased. "I imagine all worlds could love her easily."
"She's a loveable type," Storm agreed on a grin.
Rodi skimmed a knuckle down the Flower Mark on Tasia's arm, and then skimmed it across her cheek. "I certainly found it easy to love her," he murmured huskily, and bent the bit needed bit to find her smiling lips with his own.
"Aw yeah!" Emily high-fived Leslie and Rachel. "Now that's the way things ought to end!"
Tasia and Rodi both smiled as they eased apart. "I couldn't have written it better myself," the authoress agreed softly.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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