SILAS

My eye itched and burned, but I didn’t stop it. Magic surged from my body once again, and a dark mist filled the night.

"Quick, close the gates! It’s an order from the boss, close them now!"

"Dammit, what is this fog? I can’t see a thing! Alfred, Alfred…!"

"Don’t move, or you’ll fall into the pit—wait, I can’t see anything!"

"Aaahhh!"

Amid the shouting and the grinding gears of the closing mechanism, the neigh of a horse echoed.

It leaped just as the two massive wooden doors were about to shut.

BAM!

The heavy sound rang behind us as the De la Croix stronghold was sealed.

Panting and sweating, every muscle in my body tensed as I lay completely over the back of the magnificent black horse, racing into the darkness and the safety of the forest.

I kept using this magic to hide from the witches, despite the toll it was taking on my body.

My veins, on the verge of bursting, pulsed and darkened like a spider’s web spreading under my skin.

This feeling was familiar. I had pushed my powe