Shadows Entwined (Shadows Descent #3)

19. Caine

19

CAINE

Racing through the corridors with Flint, I can feel the ancient magick he’s awakened thrumming through MistHallow’s walls. That was some badassery on his part. I make a mental note to tell him at some point when all this shit dies down. He deserves the praise.

My magick responds to the hardening of the wards, swelling and dipping erratically. Despite his obvious exhaustion, Flint keeps pace, even after channelling so much power.

The sound of battle leads us straight to Violet and Thorne. They are cornered in the main building, facing down Xaxis, Liam, and too many other students for my liking. Even a professor or two seems to be involved.

“Looks like the gang’s all here,” Xaxis sneers, flames dancing around his hands. “The Dragon and the Ice Prince, come to join the party.”

I twirl my cane, ice crystals forming in the air around me. “You know me, hate to miss a good soirée.”

“Caine,” Violet shouts out as she blasts through Xaxis’s fire. She has the power but the inexperience to really make a dent in this. “The wards?”

“Handled,” Flint answers, moving to flank our opponents. “They’re not getting any reinforcements from outside the gates.”

“Thank fuck!”

Liam snarls, his partial transformation making his features twist unnaturally. “Doesn’t matter. We have enough people inside already.”

“Do you?” I ask mildly, my grip tightening on my cane. “Because from where I’m standing, the odds don’t look great for you.”

Professor Ashcroft laughs, the sound like nails down a chalkboard. “You really think it’s just us? We have people everywhere.”

“Had,” Thorne corrects, his shadows whipping out aggressively. “Past tense. Your little network is dwindling.”

“He’s not wrong,” I remark, seeing the downed bodies scattered around.

I catch Violet’s eye, seeing my understanding reflected there. While Flint and I were dealing with the wards, they’ve been busy exposing the infiltrators.

“Enough talk,” Xaxis snaps, his flames growing hotter. “Let’s finish this.”

“Let’s.” I shoot him a feral grin and slam my cane down, sending a wave of arctic cold through the corridor. Xaxis counters with a wall of fire, but he’s not prepared for Flint’s snow magick joining my ice. The combination creates a devastating steam explosion that sends him flying.

Thorne’s shadows wrap around Liam, trying to contain his transformation, while Violet falls back on her vampire and moves with speed towards Liam, landing hits that would shatter normal bones. But Liam’s werewolf nature makes him resilient, and he breaks free with a roar.

“You’re mine, Ice Prince,” he snarls, charging at me.

I smile coldly, spinning my cane in a complex pattern. Ice forms around me in deadly fractals, each movement creating new weapons. “Oh, do try your best, wolf. Give me a fucking reason.”

He dodges my first volley of ice spears, but that’s exactly what I wanted. The ice spreads across the floor, making his footing treacherous. When he slips, my cane connects with his jaw with a satisfying crack, sending him flying backwards.

Meanwhile, Flint and Violet are tag-teaming Xaxis, their contrasting powers keeping him off balance. Every time he focuses on one, the other strikes. His flames are impressive, but he’s fighting alone now - and we’ve learned to work together.

“This is impossible,” Ashcroft gasps, struggling to her feet. “You’re just students!”

“No,” I say, my voice as cold as my ice. “We’re the most powerful beings at MistHallow. You really should’ve paid more attention to who was in your classes.”

My cane becomes a blur as I demonstrate exactly why. Each movement sends ice shooting in different directions, forming barriers to protect my friends and weapons to strike our enemies. Years of using it has made me precisely aware of its reach, balance, and potential as both a tool and a weapon.

Liam makes another run at me, but Thorne’s shadows trip him up. He falls right into my trap. A complex web of ice that starts climbing up his body the moment he touches it.

“You should have stayed loyal,” I tell him as the ice reaches his chest. “MistHallow was your home.”

“The Order will give us more,” he snarls, but there’s fear in his eyes now. “They’ll remake the world!”

“Not on our watch,” Violet says, appearing beside me. Her power flows out, mingling with my ice, boosting the essence of it, the nature at its core. The combination is ruinous. Liam screams as the ice crystallises around him, trapping him completely. I swing the cane, and he shatters into a million pieces.

Violet gasps, but she doesn’t look away. Her expression is grim but accepting.

Xaxis, seeing his closest ally fall, unleashes a desperate burst of power. Flames fill the corridor, so hot they start melting the stone. But Flint steps forward, his Dragon nature fully manifested, and does something I’ve never seen before. He absorbs the fire, channels it through his power, and sends it back, amplified by both snow and fire Dragon magick.

The impact sends Xaxis crashing through a wall. When the dust settles, he lies unconscious, his flames completely extinguished. I march over and tap his chest twice with my cane. He is encased in ice in a matter of seconds.

“Allow me,” Violet says steadily and fires off a blot of purple lightning that hits him hard. It cracks the ice cage and Xaxis into blocks. She grimaces and turns away.

Ashcroft tries to flee, but Thorne’s shadows catch her, wrapping around her like dark chains. “Going somewhere, Professor?”

“A one-way ticket to hell,” Blackthorn states, appearing suddenly and gripping Ashcroft by the scruff of her neck. They vanish, and the corridor falls silent except for our heavy breathing. Bodies of unconscious Order members litter the floor.

“Well,” I say, leaning on my cane, “that was invigorating.”

“Only you would find this fun,” Thorne says, but there’s a smile in his voice.

“Are you okay?” Violet asks Flint, noting his exhaustion as he slumps down the wall, pale as the snow outside.

“I’ll live,” he says, though I can see the strain around his eyes. “But we’re not done yet.”

He’s right. The Order members are gathered outside the gates, and they aren’t giving up. Not when their raison d’être is inside and picking off their members. They may be trapped out there, unable to breach the wards, but they’re not going anywhere. Their magick smacks against the barriers, testing, probing, and looking for weaknesses.

“They can’t get in,” I say. “But they’re not going away either.”

“Then maybe we should go say hello,” Violet suggests, her eyes gleaming with something that sends a flicker of unease over me, but I rally quickly. She’s right. We need to face this. “Let’s show them exactly what they’re up against.”

I straighten up, twirling my cane. “Lead the way, snowdrop.”

She pauses and takes a deep breath, her eyes closed, taking a moment, and I give it to her. The rest can wait.