Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

L egacy and I jumped to our feet, my dagger and her sword in hand. Tannin and his advancing soldiers pushed us out of the tunnel and into the wide, torchlit hall that led to the dungeons.

Behind her back, Legacy slipped on her silver bracelet.

So far, things had not gone as planned. But we weren’t done fighting yet.

Two soldiers lunged. I sidestepped away from Legacy so I wouldn’t hurt her with my untamed magic, dodging a vicious sword strike that whistled past my head.

Legacy unleashed her magic with her outstretched hand. Magic flared around us, painting the dim hall with bright colors. The raw tang of it permeated the air, a scent as familiar to me as my own skin.

I parried a blow of offensive magic, moving farther away from Legacy.

"Collie, left flank!" Legacy shouted over the din, her voice sharp as the blade she wielded with lethal grace.

"Got it!" I darted away from the charging soldier, my boots slipping in the mud.

Another soldier lunged at me. I sidestepped, letting his momentum carry him forward before landing a solid kick to his backside. He stumbled into his comrades, creating a domino effect.

Pebbles dusted the top of my head from above, and I glanced up. The shooting magic shook the ceiling and poked holes in it.

I gulped loudly. We needed to get out of here, perhaps by any other means than more magic.

“Run for the tunnels!” I shouted. “No more magic!”

"Behind you!" Legacy's warning came just in time.

I ducked, feeling the whoosh of air as a mace swung where my head had been. Rolling to my feet, I caught sight of Legacy. Her flame-red hair lit the gloom, her blue eyes alight with the fire from the torches on the walls.

When I caught her gaze, I pointed upward. She looked, and the look on her face clung even more cold dread to my lungs.

With her sword raised, she darted toward the tunnel. I followed, my dagger an extension of my will. I fought not just to survive, but to protect—to keep Legacy on this world a little longer.

Because despite everything, despite the impossibility of us, she had become my point of gravity, pulling me toward her like the moon tugs at the tides.

Pain exploded in my chest like a starburst, fierce and blinding. I staggered, nearly crumbling to my knees as an enemy blade found its mark between my ribs. Much too close to my heart.

"Collie!" Legacy shouted.

I clutched at my chest, stumbling behind a metal crate, as warmth seeped between my fingers. The world tilted precariously, and darkness brushed at the edges of my vision. But succumbing to unconsciousness was a luxury I couldn't afford—not with Legacy still standing under a ceiling that could cave any second.

Gritting my teeth against the sear of pain, I forced myself upright, my gaze locking onto Legacy. She moved with lethal grace, her magic and sword lashing out in brilliant arcs as she fought her way back toward the tunnel.

But even as I watched, Tannin closed in on her from behind, his gauntlets glowing ominously with stolen magic.

A surge of adrenaline pumped through me. A swell of power rising within me, coursing through my veins, a river breaking free from its dam, and with a silent apology to my body for what I was about to demand of it, I prepared to unleash hell.

"Legacy, get down!" I shouted.

I didn't wait to see if she complied. With a roar that was half agony, half defiance, I discharged the pent-up magic in a cataclysmic blast, a shockwave of force that tore through the ranks of our enemies, scattering them like leaves in a gale to the ground.

That blast hailed down more dust and rocks from the ceiling.

I teetered on the brink of consciousness, every heartbeat thunderous in my ears, but I refused to pass out. Blood flowed down my front. Each breath I drew was like swallowing shards of glass. The pain blurred my vision, but it couldn't snuff out the stubborn flame within me, the one that refused to let go until I saw Legacy safely out of here.

She sat up from the ground, the only one to do so, and began backing along the side wall toward the tunnel.

"Ah, the magic sniffer in all her fading glory."

The sneering voice cut through the fog of my pain, sharp and clear. Tannin. He stood a safe distance away within the tunnel, close enough to gloat, far enough away to avoid the cave-in.

"Quite the show you put on," he taunted, an ugly smirk twisting his lips. "Did you really think you could change anything? You're nothing but a broken toy in a game too grand for your understanding."

"Broken, maybe," I rasped, summoning a defiant grin despite the agony lancing through me. "But I'd rather be a discarded plaything than a puppet on strings like you, Tannin."

“No one controls me but me.” His eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I saw the coward hiding behind the cruelty. He took a step closer, seeming to revel in the sight of my struggle.

"Your spirit is amusing, but ultimately futile," he said, taking more steps toward me. "In the end, you’ll be just another casualty in a war that’s bigger than your little romance."

"Better a passionate heart than a hollow one." I coughed, the taste of iron flooding my mouth.

Tannin laughed and shook his head, almost pityingly. “It would be so much easier for you if you just joined me, you know. I could be good for you if you’re good for me.”

By now, gaping holes had formed in the ceiling. How it was still standing, I didn’t know.

Legacy had almost made it to the tunnel behind Tannin’s back, her bright eyes on me. Like a fool, Tannin had come closer to me.

“So you can use me for my magic? I would wear you down in less than a day with how annoying I can be.” With a gritted grin, I pushed to my feet, ignoring the scream of protest from my body.

Magic coursed through my veins, a torrent desperate to escape once again. I imagined it as a beast, clawing at the gates of its cage, ravenous and wild. A beast I was about to free.

Confusion rippled through Tannin's features as the air around me shimmered in rainbow colors with impending destruction. Just as Legacy made it into the tunnel, I poured everything into this moment—the comradery, the kisses, the touching, and our unlikely relationship. All the emotions that I'd bottled up exploded outward in a blinding surge of brilliance.

"Collie!" Legacy cried.

The blast detonated with the fury of a thousand storms, a radiant tempest that swept across the hall and snuffed out all the torches.

" Collie !"

Legacy's voice was the last thing I heard before the ceiling buckled.