Sebastian dove down towards grey bricks, narrowly dodging a purple stunning spell. He rose to one knee and chucked his dagger at a Shade. The black blade sunk into their chest, dropping them to the floor in a heap. A blasting spell shot out of his casting hand and caught another Shade, sending them flying across docks and into the water.

Out the corner of his eye, he spotted Ajax taking on Igor while Olivier fended off attacks from the other Shades. Imogen was trying her best to help, but none of the magicians let her get close enough to do any real damage.

Makaela stood away from the fight. She wore a horrified expression while yelling for everyone to stop. Sebastian watched her curiously.

Off to the left, his sister shouted his name. He rose to his feet and faced her. She stomped towards him with three Shades behind her.

"I've been waiting for this," she told him.

He kept quiet. All of his brainpower was going towards figuring out a plan to defeat four capable magicians all by himself.

Amora gestured at her brother with her chin. The pair of mages behind her stepped forward. A crackling, green bolt of magic zipped past Sebastian's shoulder and crashed into a nearby storefront. The plaster corroded and melted into sludge. Terracotta roof tiles slid to the ground, shattering upon contact.

He gawked at the smoldering hole behind him.

What spell is that?!

His body was rife with adrenaline. He quickly recovered from his shock and aimed his palm at his attacker. "Noiceris!" A streak of black energy hurtled towards them.

A shriek left their mouth. It stopped after they crashed into a nearby wall.

The familiar rush of dark magic invigorated him. His muscles tightened and he resisted the urge to grin. While he didn't particularly enjoy using the dark arts, they did come in handy. Though, they did use up more vitalae—his magical energy—than normal spells.

Sebastian sidestepped a fiery incendis spell before hitting the caster with a killing spell. They dropped to the ground, their mask thudding against the cobblestone.

"Hmm," Amora said as she looked at her fallen men. "You've gotten better."

"Or father's men have gotten weaker."

"That could be true." Amora stepped forward. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not them."

The two of them ran at each other, fists flying. Amora caught Sebastian on the jaw. He staggered backward and ducked under another punch. He kicked her in the side and blew a few straggly hairs out of his face.

His sister winced with a hand pressed against her midsection and shuffled backward. "Fuck you."

"That's no way to talk to your big brother."

"Sentis!" The maroon spell struck him in his chest. Red-hot pain spread across his sternum like wildfire. It burrowed into his skin, piercing harder than sharpened knives. His head spun from the pain.

Amora cackled as she watched him drop to his knee. "Didn't see that one coming, huh?" Before he could get back to his feet and retaliate, her foot connected with his face. Blood filled his mouth, the metallic-tasting liquid spilling past his lips.

"Aww," Amora cooed as she crouched in front of him. "Poor little Sebby is bleeding. Don't you wish mother was here to wipe it up for you?"

Sebastian clawed at the stone beneath him. A low growl rumbled in his core.

Amora leaned in close to his ear. "Too bad she's never coming back."

That was the final straw.

Sebastian reached up and latched his hand around her neck. He squeezed and she coughed for air. He stood up, hoisting her a few inches above the ground. His dark eyes bore into hers; he watched the panic fill the black irises. It encouraged him. He tightened his hand, the muscles in his neck bulging as he seethed at her.

She may have been his twin, but she was his enemy. She was a murderous psychopath. If he didn't kill her, she'd kill him. There was no getting through to her. In some ways, she was more psychotic than their father.

"S-Sebastian...p-please," she wheezed. The girl slapped at his hand in a feeble attempt to get him to drop her. He could feel her going limp in his hand. Her eyes lulled back into her head as her body went lax.

Eyes suddenly widened in horror, Sebastian released his vise-like grip from her throat.

He wanted to do it. He should've done it. But something deep inside him stopped him from robbing her of her life. Backing away from her, he hoped his cowardice wouldn't cost him his own.

Gasping for air, his sister fell to her hands and knees.

"Amora— "

She looked up at him, a devilish grin on her lips. She pointed her hand at him. "Massacris!" He dodged the lethal spell. His face reddened with anger and a bit of embarrassment.

I can't believe I fell for that.

All the sympathy and remorse he had just developed for his sister after almost choking her to death vanished. He leaped on top of her and pinned her small body to the ground. He summoned his dagger and held the point above her bruised throat.

She wriggled underneath the weight of his frame, her black eyes frantically searching for an exit. "You won't..."

"I can and I will."

"You can't," Amora tried again, her voice wavering as she stared at the blade inches away from her jugular vein. "Y-You won't." This time, she actually seemed terrified. Sebastian didn't know for sure. For someone so heartless, the girl was great at faking emotions. "I'm your sister..."

He squinted at her. "You just tried to kill me."

Sebastian kept his dagger on her, threatening to lower it into her throat. His demeanor upheld it's cold and steely tone, but he couldn't shake the feeling that what he was doing was wrong. She was still his blood. 

He paused for a split second. That was all she needed. She took advantage of his moment of weakness and pushed him off of her. She sprung to her feet and put a few yards of space between them. Breathing heavily, she pushed her hair out of her face and sneered.

Sebastian mentally chastised himself for second-guessing himself. Before Amora could attack, he ran behind a wall to recollect himself.

He smacked himself upside the head. "How could I be so stupid?"

"Can't hide forever, Sebby," Amora taunted. He could hear her footsteps approaching.

With his back pressed against the wall, he took a moment to look at the fighting in front of him. Ajax was still hacking away at Igor. The sound of their weapons clashing echoed across the docks. Olivier and Imogen were running towards the other end of the platform towards where Remy and Luka now were.

The boat was cutting through the water. It zipped around the elevated stone walls before parking on the other side. Remy stood behind the metal railing, beckoning the others to get on.

There still a few Shades left standing. The village was beginning to wake up as well. Curtains had been drawn back, curious eyes peering at the fighters outside. The merchants and fisherman who were on the ground level cowered behind their counters, confused expressions on their faces.

This needs to end.

If it didn't, the Eldai would have all of their heads.

"Ajax!" he yelled.

The ginger warrior clocked Igor in the face with the shaft of his war axe before facing him. "What?! I'm a little busy here!"

"Get to the boat!"

"What about you?"

Sebastian didn't respond, but that was enough of an answer for the Brynjir man. He shoved Igor to the ground and took off running for the boat at the edge of the little harbor. Sebastian drew a breath and rested his head against the wall.

"Come out and face me like a man," Amora ordered. "Or are you still a scared, little boy who needs his mommy to care for him."

He grit his teeth but continued to stay in position. His sister's shadow inched closer. She was just around the corner. The remaining Shades were beginning to make their way toward him from the other side. He needed a way out or he wouldn't be going to Thania. He wouldn't be going anywhere except for Nordor to spend the rest of eternity with the other damned souls.

He took another deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

In a few swift movements, he rushed out from his hiding place, hit Amora with a stunning spell, and took off running for the boat speeding along the docks. From the ground, his sister commanded the last few Shades to chase after him. Unsurprisingly, they did as they were told.

Sebastian already had a head start.

But he was also running out of room to run. The edge of the platform was coming up and the Shades were hot on his tail.

To his side, he spotted Luka's boat approaching. It was about three yards away from the stone walkway. The distance wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. If he were to jump and miss by just a few inches, he'd slip into the cold water below.

The thought of shadow-jumping onto the ship crossed Sebastian's mind but he knew it'd never work. Not only was his vitalae low, but there also weren't enough shadows around him. While shadow-jumping was a very useful and convenient traveling skill, it did have its drawbacks. There had to be a substantial amount of darkness in both the area he was jumping to and jumping from. It also couldn't be used over water.

The only jumping he'd be doing now was springing from the ground and onto the boat.

He dipped his head and willed his legs to speed up. The barrier at the end of the path was approaching fast. From the ship next to him, he heard Imogen and Ajax yelling for him to jump. He stole a glance at them. They both were standing behind the railing, their arms outstretched to catch him.

He peeked over his shoulder to see the Shades readying up a few spells to throw his way. He ducked, covered his head, and manifested his shield charm in order to fend their magic off.

The barrier was just feet away. He needed to jump. And soon.

Shaking his head, he powered forward. The ship came around the bend. His window wasn't large, not at all. But it was all he had.

He sprang from the ground, his arms flailing as he launched himself forward. He seemed to be moving in slow-motion. Everything around him seemed frozen for a moment, from the flight of his shaggy black hair to the boat's hull slicing through the azure sea.

With a painful thud, his body collided into the ship. He began to slide down the slippery frame. His eyes widened and panic struck his heart.

He hadn't made the jump, and now he was falling.

A strong arm, covered in orange-hairs, gripped the collar of his shirt. It yanked him upward as if he were a ragdoll. Sebastian reached up and wrapped his arms around his savior's. They pulled him aboard and dumped him onto the floor. He stared up at the blue sky dotted with fluffy, white clouds for a moment.

By looking at the sky, no one would've been able to tell that a full-on battle had just happened. He just hoped none of the Ordinaires in the area would look too hard into what they saw.

Ajax hoisted him to his feet and clapped him on the back a few times, knocking the already nonexistent wind from his lungs.

"Almost thought we lost you there."

"Yeah." He shook the images of him falling into the water out his mind. "Yeah, me too." He gave Ajax a thankful nod. "Thanks."

"You'd do the same for me."

Sebastian was so sure of that. While he wouldn't have purposefully let Ajax drown, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to lift a man his size by himself. Let alone pull him onto a boat with one arm.

He cast a look back at the dock retreating from his view. The Shades stood at the edge of the platform, their silver faces glowering at him. People were beginning to exit their homes and shops. They observed the carnage with intrigue and confusion on their faces.

He grinned triumphantly in Amora's direction and waved. She raised her middle finger at him.

Once he caught his breath, he joined the others inside the boat's lower deck.