Shadowborn Queen - G. Bailey Page 0,39

and with an echoing boom, they are dragged down onto the ground. Their roars carry on the wind like thunder, shaking the earth around it. Everyone flies away from them, running as fast they can and dropping their weapons. I watch as the magic drags the Titans through the portal, my breathless body hurting like a thousand needles are stuck in me.

Through the blinding light, I see Kaelah, and she's smiling at me and holding out her arms as if welcoming me home. And wherever she is feels exactly like home. My feet move on their own accord and I walk over to her, but a cloud of dark, powerful magic crackles above me, striking the ground like lightning. I immediately stop and look around, my heart falling to the pit of my stomach when I see Corvina.

She hovers in the sky, wielding a sword wrapped in ancient dark magic. Her blue hair floats around her as if she's captured underwater. She releases a deafening cry, but her mouth remains clamped shut as her pain cuts into me like shards of glass. I stumble to the ground, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. It's consuming her from the inside. My vision blurs and I scream, too, unable to stop the agony.

Hands grab me and pick me up. I can hear my guys’ voices, but I can't seem to register their words. The only thing I'm able to comprehend is the agonising pain that is killing my sister and in turn killing me.

"Corvina..." I barely manage to whisper her name, my entire body trembling.

Black spots dapple my vision, yet I search the sky for Corvina, desperate to save her.

a male voice whispers in my mind.

I shake my head and step forward, my legs collapsing underneath me. Still, I get up and keep walking. My guys guide me, but I need to do this on my own. So I gather the last of my strength from deep within my core and I rise into the sky, through the waves of darkness.

The only blood family I've got now is Corvina. From the first day I met her, she's always been there for me, and now it's my turn to be there for her. When I reach her side, dark magic oozes from the sword and spits at me, trying to knock me back. I dodge them and shoot an arrow, but it bounces off the sword and spirals into the clouds.

the voice says, and I realize it's coming from the sword.

I gather magic around me, both light and dark , and raise my hands. "Corvina Charles is my sister and I will not let you take her from me."

More darkness seeps from the blade of the sword and tries to hit me. I move to the side, my gaze locked on Corvina. The magic isn't just coming from the sword, but her, too.

"Vina!" My voice echoes on the wind.

Corvina's eyes are pure black, and the same poison that had spread through Eva now spreads through her. She's almost gone.

My hair whips around me as I wipe the tears from my face. “Sister, you know me," I shout over the wind and battle cries. "You know who you are. Don’t let the magic take you away. We have lost our father, our kingdoms are ruined, but we have each other. Come back to me.”

A glimmer of light flashes in her eyes, but it's fleeting. "Izora?"

Then the darkness returns and kills the light. I can't let this sword kill her, too.

“Yes. Yes, it’s me,” I say, reaching out. Her tears stream from her eyes and splash my hand, burning me, but I keep trying to get closer to her. “I’ve opened the portal for the Titans and they are gone. It’s just you and me, sis. Give me the sword.”

She yanks back, her features twisting into a snarl. "It's mine!" And then her lips part again, but the voice that comes out doesn't belong to her but to the sword. “The princess is mine. You cannot stop me. She is mine to control!”

With the sword controlling Corvina, I don't think I'll be able to get through. How can I be her light when so many shadows surround her?

“No, Corvina Charles is my sister. My blood and she belongs to her mates and family. Remember them, Vina? Pitch, Jonah, Zander, and Gage?” I cry out, reaching for the