Pierre had paled considerably; he fisted a hand that seemed desperate to tremble. “How do you know all that? Who are you?”
“The same way I knew where you all were this evening.” She felt her skin tighten as the trace told her the fighting was intensifying, the Midnights triumphant. Michael’s and Marion’s wounds were getting worse; Rose was bleeding out. Thierry was going to use the liquid on Lucien to change him, too, to kill him. “Your spies outside the MacLachlans’ homes are dead. Your guards are dead. Three of you here have been taken out.”
A tube of water shot toward her with the force of a speeding train, but she blasted it back with a flick of her wrist and it lost its form, splashing onto the forest bed before it even touched her skin. Thierry laughed as Lucien transformed; he was sure Rose was dying, and he was just about to set Lucien on fire.
Feeling the white heat, so familiar now, building through her body, Caia grabbed hold of it, determined to control this force that was so powerful. Focusing her mind on du Bois and the other Midnights’ locations, Caia pulled on the white heat and the energy she used to wield her water element and tied them together in her mind’s eye.
And with that, she let it out of her body.
The energy constructed itself into cocoons of water, morphing its shape at her demand. She looked on as it wrapped around du Bois’s head and chest, insisting it to do the same to the other Midnights simultaneously. As Pierre fought it, Caia squeezed the cocoon and waited as the blood vessels in his eyes popped, his face turning purple with asphyxiation. It was the same for the others, and it seemed to take forever to draw to a conclusion.
Holding tight to the four Midnights was taking its toll, the muscles in her body burning in agony, her own eyes streaming with water. All the while, she couldn’t stop thinking how she was actually killing people, making them cease to exist. The water streaming from her eyes turned salty. But she held on, maintaining the cocoons, until one by one, the Midnights disappeared from her trace … and du Bois’s heartbeat slowed to a falter, puttered, and then stopped.
Caia let go and a sob burst out of her mouth. The deaths, the killings of this evening, pressed on her chest, their overwhelming weight crushing. If only she’d looked into du Bois’s trace more carefully; if she had crept into his mind like she had done with Ethan and broken down his defenses, perhaps Anders would be alive, maybe even those humans du Bois had killed. The guilt weighed on her, begging for alleviation.
Thankfully, like a prayer being answered, her mind darkened, and the last thing she saw was the ground rushing toward her.
Nikolai trembled as he dialed Kirios’s number. It rang twice and then he heard the strong voice of his partner.
“So?”
Nikolai smiled wryly at his friend’s charming manners. “My faerie returned. She watched everything from the trees.”
“How did she go undetected by Caia?”
“Caia was a little preoccupied.”
“What happened?”
The excitement bubbling in his blood threatened to burst into his speech, but he held on coolly, trying to maintain his dignified demeanor. “Well. It went well. Caia was able to kill, simultaneously, four magiks in four different locations in the woods. My faerie has never seen anything like it.”
Kirios exhaled in obvious disbelief. “I’ve never heard anything like it.”
“Hmm. Apparently, two of the Daylights were taken down, and then the others were in trouble so she had to kill all the Midnights by herself.”
“And her state?”
He frowned at the next piece of information he imparted. “She was visibly upset by it, and then she collapsed.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“Kirios, stay positive. This is good news. The girl is definitely what we need.”
“She has weaknesses.”
“Even gods have weaknesses, Kirios.”
“Are you comparing her to a god?”
“She’s the closest thing to it since the old times.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
Nikolai groaned, “Why are you always so pessimistic?”
Kirios grumbled, “I’m not being pessimistic. I may even have some good news. There have been a few developments I’m not … sure of.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll explain when next I see you.”
“Fine.” Nikolai waved off his comments in irritation. “Just remember … now it’s all on you.”
“I know. I’ll be waiting.”
18
Spark
Light burned her eyelids into opening, her vision unfocused, her mouth and throat dry. She tried to move her legs, and shards of pain ricocheted throughout her body. It felt like she’d been run over. Maybe more than once.
“Caia?”
“Lucien?”
She blinked a few times and turned her head, seeing him standing before her, Marion by his side, both of them staring down at her with worry etched in their features.
He lifted her hand into his and squeezed it. “Are you okay?”