The air around me thickened with an overwhelming pressure, the remnants of the ritual's dark magic swirling like a violent storm. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I fought to comprehend what was unfolding before me. The Heartstone hovered above the altar, its unnatural glow pulsing with a hunger that felt almost alive, waiting for the final sacrifice.
I had been freed from the altar, but my limbs felt heavy, my thoughts tangled in the chaos of what was about to happen. Emily had already made her move.
Seraphina, still standing beside me, watched the scene unfold, her expression hardening with the weight of the moment.
"You need to sacrifice a life to make the Heartstone work," Seraphina said, her voice flat, but the finality in her words echoed like a death knell. "Now that Ethan's off the altar, you've got no one left to sacrifice, unless you're a fan of suicide."
Emily stood across from us, her arms raised to the sky, her body poised in a stance that radiated power. She seemed to relish every moment of this.
"Ethan's blood has already activated the Heartstone," Emily said, her voice smooth and cold, laced with amusement. "Now, any blood will complete the ritual."
Any blood? What could be going on in that crazy head of hers?
Before I could react, Emily spoke a dark incantation, and the air around us exploded into a whirlwind of raw magic. The ground shook as a violent gust of wind ripped through the clearing, sending us all sprawling backward. My body slammed into the cold stone floor, winded and stunned, as the magic around us pressed in, thick and unyielding. I tried to rise, but the oppressive force of the storm kept me pinned, as if the very air had turned against me.
I was struggling to move, but the wind felt like it was solidifying around me, holding me in place. I couldn't break free.
Emily didn't even look at me. Her gaze was fixed on my mother.
Without warning, Emily's hand snapped forward, and the wind obeyed her command, lifting my mother into the air. Her body dangled, suspended just a few inches from Emily's outstretched hand. She was utterly helpless.
I reached out, my fingers grasping at the air, but I was powerless to stop her.
"Please!" I shouted, the words bursting from my chest in desperation. "Take me instead! Just spare her, Emily! I'll do anything—just don't do this!"
But Emily's smile didn't falter. She looked at me with that same cold, calculating expression, her eyes glittering with malicious amusement. "I have to do what I have to do, Ethan," she replied, her voice as emotionless as her gaze. "This is how it has to be. Don't beat yourself up. There was nothing you could do. This was always going to happen."
I felt time slow down as the horror of what was about to happen sank in. I could do nothing. Nothing.
Then, everything went still—unnaturally still—as if the world itself was holding its breath. Emily raised her other hand, and in an instant, a stake made of pure, dark energy materialized. It shimmered with ominous power, the air around it crackling with malevolence.
She brought it close to my mother's chest, and I could only watch in agonizing silence as the stake plunged through her heart. The blood spread out in a horrifying spray, staining her clothing, staining the earth beneath her. My mother's eyes widened in shock, the light in them fading with the brutal finality of the blow.
"No!" I screamed, my voice torn and raw, the sound swallowed by the wind and the violence of the moment.
But there was nothing I could do.
Emily released the stake, letting it vanish into the air like a fading dream. My mother's body dropped to the ground, lifeless and cold. The wind stilled, leaving a dead silence in its wake.
"I'm sorry, Ethan," Emily said, her voice light as though she were speaking about something trivial. "But someone had to die." The words echoed in my mind, mocking me, stabbing deeper than any blade ever could.
My world shattered in that moment. She killed her. She killed my mother.
Every ounce of rage, grief, and helplessness that I'd been holding back exploded in a tidal wave of fury. The Heartstone's light flickered with the same malicious hunger that had consumed it from the start, and I could feel the darkness closing in, tightening its grip on everything I loved.
With a growl, I pushed against the magic, fighting against the wind that still threatened to pin me down. I rose to my feet, muscles trembling with the force of my rage.
"There's nothing stopping more than one person from dying tonight. I think there's still space for you in hell," I spat, my words thick with fury.
Without thinking, I lunged at her. I didn't care that the wind had been a barrier before. The magic no longer held me in place—I was unstoppable. I was going to make her pay.
Emily's smile faltered for a brief moment, her eyes flickering with something that might have been fear, might have been something worse. But it was too late. My hands were already around her throat, squeezing with all the rage and heartbreak I could muster.
"I'll make you pay for what you did," I growled, my grip tightening.
But before I could find any satisfaction in it, a crackling force hit me square in the chest, throwing me off her and slamming me into the ground with bone-jarring force.
I gasped for breath, disoriented, trying to focus. But Emily stood over me, her hands still glowing with magic, her face flushed with a mix of anger and amusement.
"You think you can defeat me?" she sneered, wiping the blood from her lips. "You think you can stop me? You're all fangs and claws. There's no difference between you and my pet cat. Better walk away before I send you to the same place I sent your mother."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to rise, my vision blurred with fury and disbelief. She had taken everything from me.
Seraphina stepped forward, her gaze flickering between us. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was sharp. "You've done enough, Ethan. We need to end this now—before it gets worse."
But Emily only laughed. It was the kind of laugh that sent a chill down my spine.
"Oh, it's already too late," she said, her voice low and taunting. "It's over. I've already won."
I felt the weight of her words like a shackle around my soul. This wasn't just a battle anymore. It was a war. And I was losing. If this was what losing felt like then I think I finally understand why no one ever want to feel like this.
And then there was a loud bang. The whirlwind that was throwing all of us all over the place suddenly stopped. The heartstone had finally been activated because of the sacrifice but it was no longer listening to Emily.
It was listening to me.