Chapter 76

Chapter 76


My heartbeat began to race wildly. Please be safe, Brix.

We arrived to find the leaders gathered around, trying desperately to break through a massive barrier. Inside it, I saw Brix—on his knees, head bowed. Lady Majika, the leader of the healers, was there too.

I tried to touch the barrier, but a jolt of electricity surged through me.

“What’s happening?” I heard Lady Nath ask.

“The witches caught him,” said Lord Morales. “They separated him from us and trapped him inside. They’ve been torturing him to force some kind of confession—but I don’t even understand what they want him to admit.”

Brix remained on his knees, clutching his throat like he was being strangled. He could barely move.

“Admit it!” Lady Majika shouted. Her hand glowed brightly—it looked like it was holding Brix down. “You did it, Brixton Wenz Cardinal!”

But it wasn’t just Lady Majika. Not one, not two, but at least four witches stood in front of Brix, their faces contorted in rage.

“Admit it!” she screamed again, her frustration boiling over.

Brix was lifted into the air—just as a bolt of lightning struck him. The flash blinded us for a second, but his roar of pain echoed in our ears, etching itself into my mind.

“Let us in, weakches!” Nigel yelled, striking the barrier with his sword. But the attack just rebounded, flinging him backward. He recovered quickly.

“We’ve been trying to get in!” Lord Barbarian growled. “But the barrier won’t even budge!”

“Where are the other leaders?” Erikson asked.

“On the far side, still fighting the elders,” Lord Morales replied. “We need to do something. Brix can’t hold out much longer against all those witches. He can barely move.”

Another bolt of lightning struck Brix, tearing through his shirt and revealing the countless wounds on his body. He’d already fought the elders before the witches arrived.

“He needs blood!” Nathalia cried.

Everyone attacked the barrier again, but it was useless. Their strikes bounced back like they were hitting a mirror. Nothing worked.

I slowly set my sword down.

“What are you going to do, Astra?” Celeste asked nervously.

I glanced at her. “Try to distract Erikson.”

“What?”

I subtly made my way to a different section of the barrier—somewhere Erikson wouldn’t notice.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand against the shield. Electricity crawled across my skin, biting deep—but this time, I didn’t pull away.

I clenched my other hand, and when I opened my eyes again, I felt them ignite, burning with power. If I were human, this force would’ve ripped me apart already.

I pressed my hand in deeper. I just need to make a hole. Even a crack.

No matter how hard I tried to hide it, a scream burst from my throat. My whole body was burning now. It was too late to pull away—the barrier was absorbing me.

“Astra!”

My vision blurred. My hearing faded. All I could feel was the searing pain consuming me. The barrier was swallowing me whole.

No. I couldn’t enter. Not yet.

I’d melt before I could even step inside.

Just a hole. That’s all I need. Even the smallest one.

Erikson tried to grab me, but some force repelled him. It was like my body had fused with the barrier. We couldn’t be separated unless one of us broke.

A tear slid down my cheek.

I looked through the barrier.

Brix was staring at me, fists clenched.

My strength was draining fast.

Shit. I’m almost there but...

“Stop now!” Erikson pleaded.

I was numb.

Damn it. I’m almost there.

And then—I grinned.

I did it. I made a hole.

Finally, Brix’s suppressed power surged through. The mist began to form inside… thicker and thicker by the second.

The barrier couldn’t contain it. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surface… until it shattered.

It broke into shimmering shards—like glass, like glitter, like fireworks celebrating victory.

A massive surge of energy threw me into the air like a scrap of paper in the wind—weightless, directionless, completely vulnerable. I had no idea where I would land.

But I had freed him.

Someone caught me before I hit the ground.

I didn’t need to see his face to know.

“Take my blood...” Brix whispered.

He tilted my head back and poured his blood into my mouth. My body reacted instantly. I’d tasted all kinds of wine before, but nothing compared to the taste of his blood.

“Feeling better now, Astra?”

I wrapped my arms around him.

“You need my blood too,” I whispered tearfully into his ear.

I closed my eyes and sighed in pleasure as he bit into my neck.

We saved each other.

When he finally pulled away, his blood-red eyes locked onto mine.

And in them—I saw the storm.

A wild, deadly storm, screaming for vengeance.

“Brave are those who dared touch one of my rules... foolish are those who broke it... and death to those who violated them all.”
His voice was low, cold, terrifying.

“Let me play my part now, Milady.”