Chapter 14
Luz POV
“Amity!” Serena shrieks and she takes off into a run across the field. She pushes past me, falling down beside Amity in the grass. “What did you do to her?” She asks me, her voice loud and shrill. Amity writhes in pain underneath Serena’s hands, crying out every now and then.
“What did I do?” I repeat, in disbelief of the accusation against me. “Belos is the one doing this. He’s got some kind of control over her.”
Amity cries out again, her fingers gripping onto Serena’s hand. It kills me to see her like this. I want to help, I want to do something, but Serena has a look in her eyes that tells me she’d kill me if I tried to come closer.
“Wise words coming from the imposter.” she hisses as she looks down at Amity, her eyes filled with worry. She squeezes Amity’s hand, rubbing circles into her back before looking up at me, desperation clear in her tone. “Make it stop! Can’t you see you’re killing her?”
As if on cue, Amity lets out a groan, her voice almost gone. I clench my fists, my hands desperate to reach out to her.
“Whatever you’re doing to her, just stop it.” Serena begs.
“It’s not me!” I protest as Serena stands, leaving Amity alone on the ground. She’s fallen silent now, lying lifelessly in the grass. “We need to take her back to Eda; she’ll know what to do.”
“You expect me to come with you to the enemy camp?” she asks, her voice hysterical. I take a step back, holding my hands in front of me as some kind of defense. “No way!” she continues. “I’m taking you both back to the Emperor.”
“We don’t know how much time she has.” I argue, trying to keep my voice level and calm. “What if we don’t make it back to the Coven in time?”
Serena shoots daggers at me, her hands clenched at her sides, but I’m no longer paying attention to her. Instead, my eyes are drawn to where Amity lies on the ground. She shifts her weight slightly, groaning as she does so, and turns her head up to look at me. Green strands hang in her face, but she makes no effort to brush them away. Her golden eyes are framed with pain, but she offers me a weak smile. She holds out a shaking hand to me as she whispers my name with the little voice she has left.
I take a step towards her, but Serena moves to stand between us, holding an arm out to block my path. “Get away from her.” she growls, as she draws a circle with her hand.
An icky pile of goo appears before me, growing up into the sky until it is a purple monster, leaning over me. I take a step back, my heart beating in my chest. “I think I can help her.” I tell Serena. “You have to let me try-”
The purple monstrosity lunges towards me, wrapping its sticky hand around me. With a growl, it lifts me up into the air and surges me forward to face Serena. She’s grinning, an unkind smile, as Amity calls out from behind her.
“Serena, no!”
“She’s the enemy, Amity!” The anger rises in her voice as her face reddens. “She is everything you stand against, everything you swore to destroy.” she turns away from me to face Amity, who lies helplessly on the ground. All at once, she seems so much smaller than before. The power, the confidence, is drained from her face. She looks younger somehow, scared, like a child being scolded by a parent. “You’ve let yourself become distracted but think of the glory!” She stands threateningly over Amity as she begins to form a circle in the air. “Think of what the Emperor will say when we bring him back her head.”
As the circle is completed, I feel myself moving through the air again, quicker this time. I land with a thump on the ground as the pain courses through my leg, stinging my eyes. I scramble to my feet quickly, ignoring the pain as I dodge the bolt of magic that is directed at me.
“Stop!” Amity calls out, and I watch as she struggles to get to her feet. With a sudden burst of energy, she succeeds, taking a few pained steps towards where my attacker stands.
“Why?” Serena asks as Amity approaches. “Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?”
With that, Serena brings another fireball into the air, aiming it at me. She propels it forward and I close my eyes, bracing for impact. As long as she will get Amity some help, then I don’t care what happens to me.
There is nothing. No pain, no heat, no impact.
A bright blue light invades the darkness my eyelids provide me, and I open them quickly. Nothing could have prepared me for the scene in front of me.
A bright light stings my eyes, and I flinch, squinting to try and find the source. To my surprise, the rays seem to be coming from where Amity stood moments ago. Serena meets my gaze from where she is now kneeling not far from me. Several emotions cross her face, first anger, then confusion, then fear. Without another word, she scrambles to her feet and takes off running into the trees. For a second, I think about following her, but I need to find Amity first. Returning my attention to the blue light, I notice it starts to dull until it hurts less to look at. My eyes focus on the source of the light just in time to see the silhouette of Amity fall to her knees. By the time my feet have carried me over to her, the light she was emitting is completely gone.
“Amity!” I fall to my knees by her side, scanning her face. Her eyes are tightly closed, her mouth slightly open. She lies inert, but quiet breaths escape from her lips. I breathe a sigh of relief as my fingers trace her jaw. “Come on, Am, wake up.”
She doesn’t. I have to get her home.