Chapter 8: The Rival's Challenge
The world snapped into focus with the violence of a lightning strike. Evan gasped as his back slammed into something yielding—not stone, but thick, rustling foliage. Branches whipped his face as he tumbled through the canopy before finally crashing onto damp earth.
Above him, the shattered window glowed like a distant star. No shouts followed. No alarm bells. Just silence.
Evan rolled onto his knees, spitting blood. Every breath sent fire through his ribs. The dagger—Selene's dagger—still pulsed in his grip, its silver blade now etched with glowing runes he couldn't read.
Find Vera.
A twig snapped behind him.
Evan whirled, dagger raised—
Kai Mercer stood frozen mid-step, his blue hair plastered to his forehead by the rain. Water magic shimmered around his clenched fists. For a heartbeat, they stared at each other.
Then Kai's eyes dropped to the dagger. "Oh shit."
Evan tightened his grip. "I don't want to fight you."
Kai barked a laugh. "Funny. Because I definitely want to fight you." He flexed his fingers; the rain around them curved unnaturally, forming razor-edged droplets. "Been waiting weeks for this."
The first water whip cracked past Evan's ear. He dodged right, his boots slipping in the mud. Storm magic prickled under his skin—weaker here than in the academy, but still present.
"You're helping them?" Evan spat. "After everything Caine's done?"
Kai's next attack sheared through a sapling. "I'm helping me." His usual smirk was gone, replaced by something darker. "You think you're special? The great stormcaller, too important for rules?" Another whip. "They promised me the storm pillar first."
The truth hit like a physical blow. Kai wasn't just a rival—he'd been groomed as Evan's replacement.
Lightning gathered in Evan's free hand. "It's a lie. The ritual consumes them all."
For a fraction of a second, Kai hesitated.
Evan struck.
The fight was brutal, messy. Water met lightning in hissing explosions that lit up the forest. Kai moved like the tides—fluid, relentless. Evan fought like the storm—wild, unpredictable.
They crashed through underbrush, magic flaring with each collision. Kai's whip wrapped around Evan's wrist, yanking him off balance. Evan's lightning arced through the water connection, making Kai scream.
Somewhere distant, the academy bells began to toll.
Kai staggered up first, his breathing ragged. "Just... fucking... surrender already."
Evan's vision swam. The dagger's glow pulsed in time with his heartbeat. "Can't."
A shadow detached itself from the trees.
Vera Lune stepped into the clearing, her floral skirts incongruously bright against the gloom. In her hands, she cradled a blooming nightshade—its petals opening and closing like tiny mouths.
"Enough," she said softly.
The plant in her hands screamed.
Kai collapsed first, clawing at his throat as vines erupted from his own veins. Evan tried to reach for him, but his limbs had turned to lead. The world tilted.
Vera knelt beside him, her curls smelling of honeysuckle and decay. "Don't worry," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "The poison won't kill him. Just... rearrange things."
The last thing Evan saw before darkness took him was Vera plucking the dagger from his limp fingers, her eyes reflecting the runes like twin moons.