Her lip pulled into a smile. "Oh, I've been waiting for this." The tattoos on her arms lit up with light as I felt pain shoot through my left wrist. Some of the magic surrounding me disappeared down the string that connected our wrists. I felt it as if sandpaper scratched my brain. I gritted my teeth. 

   The barrier was close enough that the pain in my heart lessened a bit. Magic came just as easily as usual, thanks to the proximity of my source. But the pain of Dani stealing my magic wasn't lessened in the slightest.

   While Dani might have thought she'd been the one waiting, she was way off. I was the one that had been waiting for this. It had been just days ago that she killed Alexie. She killed him. And now she'd spent the rest of her time trying to ruin my life by attacking my father, Tate and his parents, and my best friend.

   It was time for this bitch to die.

   We lunged at the same time. Right before we collided, I twisted sideways and went for a dirty shot. My foot hit her leg and bent it sideways. At the exact same time, a force of equal pressure forced my knee to buckle. A ragged gasp left my lips as I stumbled. Dani cackled, backing up to circle around me. She didn't show any sign of the pain while my knee throbbed sharply.

   "Tricky, tricky." She tilted her head like a cat. "Now you know how it felt when I was strangling you." Her voice turned hard.

   I spat at the ground, seething. "You should've killed me that night." Stalking forward, the blade on my arm dragged against the ground and caused golden sparks. Dani slid her foot back with a gleeful grin, which caused cold to shoot down my spine. The wild look in her eyes . . . eerie.

   She dodged the slash of the blade and her hand -- gripping a dagger -- raced for my gut. A shield condensed in her way, but her foot swung up and crashed into the side of my head. My skull slammed into the floor the same time her feet shot out from under her. Dani caught herself with her hands as I rolled onto my front, seeing double. She launched forward and magic pooled into her palm, preparing to hit me.

   I rammed my shoulder into her gut and locked her hand in a casing of crimson, preventing the spell from hitting me. A force slammed into my ribs and caused me to cough. Dani threw a rope around my feet. I was dragged backwards before she spun, flinging my body into a wall. It was only halfway-solid, but I still felt the impact shake my teeth. I hit the ground, my ears ringing.

   Dani hardly staggered from the blow she'd dealt me. Even though we felt the same pain, she didn't seem to care as much. To make things worse, every time she used magic, my skin crawled with burning-hot sandpaper. It felt like I was being run through a blender. I could hardly think through the pain as I pulled my knees up, tasting copper. 

   Dark magic caught my wrist and yanked. Flashbacks to the eve of the party caused my voice to come out in a feral shriek. I created a knife with my other hand and shattered the shackle before it could solidify, cutting through my own flesh. I wasn't going to let her tie me up again. Not again.

   Refusing to stop, I lashed my arm forward. The chain soared for her knees. Dani batted it aside and crashed her forearms together. Dark magic erupted from her figure, soaring in a massive wave for my body. I slashed my staff forward to cut through it, creating a divot of safety, but she'd been waiting for that.

   The blade -- attached to the chain -- fell forwards. It severed my staff into two clean pieces. All of the magic on my arms turned into sparks, vanishing into nothingness. My eyes widened in shock as she spun, the blade soaring for my throat. I threw myself to the ground, scrambling upright. My hand opened and closed for my staff, but it was gone.

    Shit.

   Magic swirled away from the barrier and colored red as it circled my hands. Dani's smile widened. "He trained you so well."

   As dark magic began to circle her arms, I tipped forward. It felt as if she'd grabbed my arms and wrenched them forward. I could actually see my magic being pulled off of my arms and towards Dani. Without my staff, it was practically impossible to have magic at the same time Dani sapped my power.

   "Not that you care," I spat at her, my fists clenching tightly at my side. 

   "Oh, but I do," she said casually. "I really, really do. I depended on him training you well."

   My eyes seared into her face, trying to find out what she meant. Dani looked back at me. "Wait. You don't know what I'm talking about."

   "Should I?" My tone was haughty.

   "Ha!" Dani laughed, practically gleeful. Her eyes widened in mocking. "After such a display . . . getting here first, knowing our plan to take down the door . . . I thought you knew. You were so confident. Well, Reilly," she said my name with a different tone. "Allow me to explain."

   I shook my head. "I don't want to hear any of your shit." My feet carried me forward as I conjured a knife, then jumped forward. Dani used her forearm to block the slash but my fist raced for her gut. A cloud of dark magic condensed around my fist and wrenched. I was sent flying away until I rolled roughly against the ground.

   "Don't you want to hear this? I mean really, it's a great story."

   "I don't need a villainous monologue, Daniella Jones."

   Her eyes darkened rapidly. The humor in her face -- however twisted it was -- turned into anger. "What did you call me?"

   "Daniella Jones," I spat out. "Your real name. You're Daniella's aunt. And--" My voice cut off as my throat squeezed sharply. Rasps left my lips as I pulled at the magic around my neck, choking. My feet left the floor. 

   Dani growled. "Don't you ever say that to me."

   The knife finally cut through the magic. My feet hit the ground and my knees buckled. She stalked forward, her feet thundering toward me. "You don't know what you're talking about." Her foot swung up into my ribs. A flinch barely coveted her features as I felt my rib scream in pain. I jabbed the blade forward, aiming for her stomach, but her hand sealed around my wrist. I hadn't even managed to get a single drop of blood out of her yet.

   "You are pathetic," she seethed into my face. Her eyes bored into mine, black meeting swirling brown. "You think you're so smart. So good. You're just a little girl. A pawn in a game you don't even understand."

   Her nails dug into the flesh of my neck. I couldn't move as she drew blood. Her own skin turned red around her neck. "And you know what's really going to burst your bubble, Reilly. You are the reason Alexie's dead. All you. See, we chose my source very carefully." The last two words came out in a hiss. "Someone that the great Alexie Albers wouldn't be able to resist. Spunky, stubborn, and powerful. We spent months searching until I ran into you. Until you threatened to punch me." Her lip twisted into a sick smile.

   "Albers was weak. He was drawn towards power. The moment he realized you had potential, he just had to have you. So he trained you, transferring all his potential into you. And, by extension, me."

   A feeling of cold started to seep into my bones the longer she spoke. Dani chuckled darkly, her nails still sunken into my neck. My breaths came out in wheezes. But I couldn't move. She had me paralyzed. 

   She had to be lying, right? She chose me by chance. It was random. It couldn't be orchestrated. It couldn't be. That would mean Alexie fell into the trap. He would never. He knew better.

   "What I didn't count on was him getting so attached," continued Dani. "Honestly, I think he started to like you. Like as a friend. I never dreamed he would take that spell. Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Her lip twisted. "He's dead."

   She wasn't lying. I could see it in her face. What she'd said earlier, when I'd been in New York . . . It had been a plan. The encounter in the alley in Memphis was planned. All of it. My meeting Alexie had been her way of using him. 

   "Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? He's dead."

   A guttural scream shattered the silence. My elbow slammed down onto her wrist, tearing her nails out of my skin, and a crimson blade formed down my arm as I swung. Dani lurched back but the blade sliced through her cheek. Blood welled to the cut as she stepped back, lifting a hand.

   I got to my feet, seething. Red tinted my vision in my hatred. The blade remained on my arm as I checked my cheek. To my surprise, there was no cut. I hadn't been injured when I cut Dani.

   What the hell?

   How could that be true? We were life-linked. Any injury I inflicted on her, I received. Yet here we stood, her cheek cut and mine clean. My eyes scrutinized our injures rapidly, my mind racing.

   The link still held us together, visible in the air of the gap, but I realized with a crash of shock what it was. The magic blade -- it was because I had inflicted the wound with magic, not my own body. When Dani had choked me -- without using her hands -- she hadn't choked. Magic attacks apparently didn't register to the link.

   Dani didn't seem to realize. She conjured a plethora of shards that drifted around her head tauntingly. She grinned wildly. "Ready to fulfill your destiny, Reilly? Join your master?"

   I couldn't keep fighting her. Even being able to use magic weapons wouldn't win this. I knew that. The link drew on my magic too much, and without my staff, I felt myself losing my ability. The mark covering my arm had grown. I could feel that part of my back was covered with it, judging by the prickling pain. 

  Not to mention, I was still losing blood from the numerous cuts, gashes, bites, and holes in my body. I could only keep fighting for so long. Dani was fighting for fun -- I was fighting to win. And winning this battle had to be fast, or I'd lose. And I was not going to lose.

   In order for me to be able to fight her, I had to break the link. Daniella had said something about needing the knife used to cut the source's hair. I had seen that knife on that night, all those days ago. It sat in her sleeve. A black hilt with gold and purple engravings. I needed that knife.

   Dani attacked. All of the shards soared for my chest. I threw my hands up and a wall poured off of my arms, blocking all of them. I lowered it with a shout. "Are you going to keep hiding behind your magic or come fight me?"

   "You can't win this, either way," she laughed.

   "Then why does it matter?" I dropped all magic from my hands, beckoning at her. "If you can win either way, then come fight me. On even grounds."

   Dani curled her lip at the challenge and magic disappeared from her body. The pain in my arm lessened and I felt like sagging with relief. Instead, I started forward, raising my fists to my face. I've boxed against kids twice my size. I can keep her busy long enough. 

   Despite covered in blood and barely seeing straight, I jabbed forward. When Dani dodged to the side, I brought my foot up to her head. Magic wrapped around my leg and I lost my footing, hitting the ground. Dani cackled. I gritted my teeth and clambered back up to my feet. She's toying with me.

   I punched for her head before going low, aiming for her gut. My punch was slow enough for her to grab my wrist and twist it. The dagger I'd formed behind my back came out to play as I slashed for her wrist. It cut through and drew her blood. She snarled and her elbow crashed into my nose. I felt it pop before blood spurted and waves of heat radiated through my skull.

   Ignoring the blistering agony, I flipped the knife in my hand. "You can't even fight against a knife, can you?" My voice turned taunting. "Since you keep playing dirty." Blood trickled from my nose and tainted my tongue with copper.

   With a sneer, she drew a knife from her boot. My heart skipped a beat. Can it be this easy? It was the knife. The same one -- I recognized the hilt. Dani moved forward, slashing furiously for my face.

   I was in no way good with a knife. Instead, I leaned backwards and conjured a forearm guard, locking her knife with mine and shoving her backwards. Dani danced back before she lunged again. I backed up rapidly and ducked when she swiped. Her eyes narrowed as I kept backing away from her attacks, not allowing her to land any hits, but not sending any either.

   "Quit backing up," she growled. "And let me kill you."

   "Oh, hell no." I twisted to the side and ducked another slash with the knife. Anger started to cover her features. The more she missed, the more furious she grew. I backed around in circles, narrowly dodging attacks for my organs. My heartrate increased with each close call, but I didn't stop.

   When I finally turned around fully, Dani took a dirty shot and threw the knife. I leaned to the side and snapped my hand out. Crimson magic sealed around the knife and caught it. Dani realized her mistake as it flew into my hand. I turned around fully and I finally smiled darkly. "Thanks."

   Her eyes widened. "No!" Several spears formed at her side. She brought them crashing towards me as I lifted up my left wrist, located the string connecting us, and cut straight through it with her own knife.