The world collapsed into a single, crushing point: the air being squeezed from my lungs. I fought to turn my head, a desperate bid for a single breath, but every synapse screamed in protest. An obscene weight pressed down on me—not just physical, but psychic. It was a cold, slick presence that reeked of grave dirt and rot.

Blair’s mana. How did she find me?

Panic clawed up my throat. Get free. Now. I scrabbled for my own mana, a frantic internal lunge to push back, but met only emptiness. My power, my very essence, was gone. What’s happening? Why isn’t it working?

A voice slithered through the darkness, dripping with contemptuous amusement. “Silly little rat. Did you think you could hide from me in my own domain? Your magic is a candle in my hurricane. It’s snuffed out. I look forward to seeing the face of the coward who tried to hurt my babies.”

I strained against the suffocating pressure again, a useless flex against an unmovable wall.

“Stop fighting,” she hissed, the sound seeming to come from everywhere at once. “You are no match for me.”

The fight bled out of me, leaving a cold, hollow certainty. She was right. I couldn’t fight this. My body went slack. This is how it ends.

Suddenly, the pressure vanished, only to be replaced by a violent lurch as I was ripped from the ground and slammed against a stone wall. The impact sent a spiderweb of agony through my spine, and the darkness began to spin. No. Focus. People are waiting for me.

An image of Cassius ignited in my mind—not just his warm smile, but the echo of his voice, a lifeline in the void. If you can imagine it, Thalia, you can make it happen.

My will coalesced around that single thought. Imagine it. I didn’t search for a tidal wave of power, just a single, defiant spark. An ember in the abyss.

As if in answer, a small ember came to life in my hand. Suddenly, the lanterns hanging from the cavern ceiling flickered to life, casting the chamber red. Blair’s footsteps crunched on the floor, stopping directly in front of me. Her expression of cruel confidence melted into slack-jawed disbelief.

“Thalia?” she breathed, the name a wisp of confusion.

In that instant, the ember in my palm didn’t just ignite; it detonated. A concussive blast of raw will erupted from me, blasting her into the far wall with a sickening crunch of bone against stone. Her mana faltered, freeing me.

She let out a furious roar, peeling herself from the wall like dried skin. “You insignificant worm!” Her eyes, narrowed to slits, burned with a new kind of hatred. “No… not a sheep. A wolf hiding in a rat’s skin.” Black mana, thick as tar, swirled violently around her.

Her power lanced toward me, a spear of absolute darkness. I threw myself to the right, feeling the displaced air hiss past my ear as it struck the wall, shattering the stone where I’d been pinned.

A grin stretched her face, a grotesque slash in the red light. “You got lucky,” she purred. “But this is fun. It’s been a while.”

Her mana swelled, and I braced myself. Another spear shot forth, but this time I was ready. I imagined a wall of solid crystal, and it sprang into existence before me. Her magic shrieked against the barrier, fizzling into harmless vapor.

“I guess Kaelen was right about you,” she seethed, the name twisting her lips. “Though he has yet to return.”

My gaze darted around the cavern. Some of her monstrous creatures lay smoldering, casualties of our fight. My exit was a dark archway on the far side of the chamber. My only chance. I threw a shimmering barrier behind me and darted toward it. Just need enough space to open a portal.

A percussive crack shattered the air as my rear shield broke. I spun, manifesting another just as her next attack slammed into it. She charged, her dark mana coalescing into a serrated longsword. In response, I didn’t just imagine a blade; I imagined the grace to wield it, the memory of a thousand duels I’d never fought. A shimmering elven blade of pure amethyst light formed in my hand.

Our swords met with a deafening clang that echoed through the cavern, showering the air with sparks of black and violet. She was all brute force, pressing her advantage, her weight driving me back. Instead of resisting, I let my blade give way, turning her lunge into a clumsy overextension. As she stumbled past, I used her own momentum against her, swinging my blade in a clean arc that sliced across her arm. The cut wasn’t deep, but her power wavered, a flickering candle flame.

“You dare to mark me!” she shrieked, her voice cracking with fury.

I lunged, aiming for her heart, but her free hand shot out. A raw blast of power caught me square in the chest, sending me flying backward to skid painfully across the rough stone floor. With ragged breaths, I pushed myself to my feet.

She charged again. I reformed my blade, meeting hers in a furious flurry of swings. I’d never known she was trained with a sword, but her attacks were too fast, too relentless. There was no time to think—only to react. With each parry, I took a step back, a jolt of hope shooting through me as I realized she was unknowingly driving me toward the exit.

I threw up another shield. Her sword glanced off it with a sharp crack of energy. Seizing the opening, I imagined a spear of my own and launched it. I thought I had her, but it dissipated into smoke just before impact. A glance over my shoulder confirmed it—I was almost there. One clean shot. One moment is all I need.

“I’ve had enough of these games,” her voice echoed, low and final. The red light from the lanterns was instantly devoured, plunging the cavern into a suffocating, magical darkness. It wasn’t just an absence of light, but a thick, tangible blackness that muffled sound and stole the air. “The fun is over. You’re becoming a pest.”

Her voice was disembodied, circling me. Under the cover of the dark, I focused. A pinprick of amethyst light bloomed on my index finger. A silent act of rebellion. I am still here. Let her get closer. Let her think I’m finished.

“It’s time for you to die,” she whispered, her voice materializing right beside my ear. “We were merciful, and this is how you repay us?” I held my breath, the heat of her words ghosting across my cheek.

“YOUR LITTLE STORY ENDS—”

My hands shot out, palms open. I didn’t imagine a weapon. I imagined her pain. I imagined her pinned, helpless, and broken. A dozen spears of pure force, invisible and absolute, erupted from the ether and slammed into her, pinning her to the stone floor. My mana surged, anchoring the spears, holding her fast.

“THALIA!” she shrieked, her voice a symphony of disbelief and rage.

I was already turning away, summoning the swirling, amethyst light of a portal. As I stepped through, I glanced back to see her writhing against my invisible bonds. I saw them begging to crack. I am out of time.

“Next time,” she promised, her voice cold and clear in the sudden silence, “I will kill you.”

Her enraged face was the last thing I saw before the portal snapped shut.