Chapter 99 Chapter 99

Chapter 99 Chapter 99
"Daisy." I sighed in relief, happy my sister was alright.

"How?" She looked between Ivan and me.

"Long story, I'll explain everything later."

The man standing next to her cleared his throat, and as I looked at him, I had a feeling he wasn't very happy to see me.

A portal sizzled into existence right behind them, and as three Grim Ones materialized, he turned around swiftly and set them on fire.

Daisy glanced towards him, her gaze disapproving, before she turned back to me.

"Throne room." She gestured towards the castle. "Our parents need you. We got it here."

I nodded, and once again, Ivan and I set off towards the doors.

The castle was not faring any better than the rest of the kingdom. Stone walls had holes the size of planets in them, chandeliers shattered on the grounds, fires sizzling in random corners. 

As we ran, I summoned my water and put out the flames that looked particularly out of control, trying my best to salvage whatever was left of my childhood home.

The throne room loomed in front of us, darker than I remember. We slowed down a bit, catching our breath and preparing ourselves for whatever waited for us behind those gigantic doors. 

As we were about to go in, the stench of death surrounded us, and those creatures appeared from several corners. A quick headcount revealed we were outnumbered by four Grim ones, but right before panic reared its ugly head, two of them were nothing but ash. I turned to see Ivan smirking.

"What?" He asked. "Did you think you were the only one who could fight?"

"No, of course not." I shrugged right before summoning my fire back up. "You just took me by surprise, that's all."

As the rest of them were vanquished, an unsettling feeling took over my body. Outside, the battle was still raging, mystics fighting for their lives and their home with everything they've got, but here, the castle seemed all too quiet. My shield flickered, as if agreeing that something was not right.

"Stay behind me." I motioned to Ivan, widening the span of my shield to cover both of us.

He was about to say something when a loud crash erupted in the throne room.

Without wasting any other minute, I rushed through the throne room, Ivan right behind me. As we made it inside, I couldn't help but hold my breath; the acrid stench was even heavier in the once magnificent hall. 

Everything was destroyed, windows were shattered, the chandeliers that once decorated the ceiling were demolished, the red velvet curtains torn apart and ripped, and even the pillars that once held the throne area were broken and covered in the blood of the mystic guards who had fought with their lives to protect my parents.

My brain stuttered for a moment as my eyes took in the presence of the shadow-like creatures that, to my terrible revelation, looked different in size and radiated a much stronger and wicked flow of black magic. 

It was no wonder that I managed to pick up an eerie feeling earlier; those monsters were unlike the ones we fought.

"Ahri." My brother's gasp snapped me out of my sudden frozen state. I saw the shock register on his face before he could hide it, his eyes raking over me from head to toe as the rest of his body froze in shock. 

In the second that took him to process my arrival, one of the Grim ones seized the opportunity and dashed towards him, leaving a blurred trail of black smoke behind it.

"Watch out," I yelled at the top of my lungs, but it was already too late. The creature flung him across the stone wall with one quick swoop, and as Luka collapsed on the floor, the Grim one readied its final attack.

The sphere of black magic flickered like lightning, a tiny storm encompassed in between the creature's shadow-like hands, and as my brother struggled to get up, the sphere advanced towards him.

My fire flickered even brighter as if urging me to take action, and I obeyed, sending bright, sizzling flames towards the creature. Its attack halted as the sphere met with fire and exploded in the air, but the Grim one was –to my shock- mostly intact. 

Another burst of flames flung from my hands towards it, but he managed to deflect it, and it was once again left unharmed.

"What the hell?" I panted. "What are these things?"

"Higher ranking Grim ones." Luka managed to let out as he finally found his balance again. "Kind of like the supreme leaders of the shadow world. A lot stronger than the soldiers they sent to attack the academy."

"You have got to be kidding me," Ivan growled. "We barely managed to get rid of those. You're telling me these are even stronger?"

"Unfortunately, that's exactly what I'm saying." My brother sighed.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and stared at the creature as it advanced towards us.

"Ahri, what are you doing?" Luka asked, panic lacing his voice.

"I don't know, but I got this."

Before he got the chance to answer me, I jumped.

Fire consumed my whole body, flames flickering all around me, and the wind sent the ashes in the room into a storm. Instead of attacking the Grim one with flames, I opened my arms and lunged towards it, engulfing it in an infernal embrace. 

It let out a banshee-like scream, almost making my ears bleed, and we went tumbling down together. It twisted and turned and kicked and screeched, doing everything in its power to free itself, but I held on tight and let the flames consume us both. 

The stench almost rendered me unconscious, and its screams hammered through my brain, but after what seemed like forever, it screeched one final time before it disintegrated.

Panting, I rolled onto my back and took a deep breath, immediately regretting it as the awful smell invaded my senses. Wiping the ash off my face, I stood up.

"That was incredibly reckless and borderline stupid," Luka yelled at me.