Azazel’s hold on me was relentless, and I was beginning to see stars before my eyes. I choked and continuously struggled to free myself, but he was slowly yet surely suffocating me to the point where I couldn’t find the strength to even push out a barrier to distract him.

Draven had kept trying to intervene, but every time he’d muttered the beginning of a spell, Azazel hissed, warning him as he tightened his grip on me. The young Druids fought Destroyers away from us and tried to return to our side. They wanted to supply Draven with more of the energy he needed to perform stronger spells and get Azazel to drop me. We’d obviously missed a few details during our strategy session, but it was too late to turn back.

I then noticed Draven’s golden force field go out.

I caught a glimpse of Aida and Hansa taking a few steps toward us before they stopped, their eyes wide and their faces pale. It was then that I spotted Viola approaching us, and I stilled, suddenly worried less about my predicament and more about everyone else’s, remembering Vita’s first vision of how all this would end.

As Viola moved closer behind Azazel, he sensed her presence and glanced furiously at her—while still trying to keep his eyes on Draven to avoid a surprise attack.

“Okay, I clearly have to address this problem now.” He rolled his eyes with frustration. “What are you doing here? I thought you Daughters weren’t getting involved anymore!”

“You’re confusing me with my sisters,” Viola replied in a thousand different voices at once.

I had to admit that, even in my semi-conscious state, I was equally creeped out and in awe of her when she was powered up like this. She looked like a moving marble statue, incandescent in a bold pink hue while her eyes glowed violet, the lower part of her white silk dress fluttering in the wind.

She was several feet away from Azazel when she flashed into a pink mist and reappeared right in front of him. His bright green energy field, which he’d been using against Draven’s golden one, instantly faded – she’d passed right through it. She touched his face before he could even react, her hand glowing hot pink.

“No, don’t!” he managed to croak, eyes wide with genuine terror.

I felt the invisible force that had been choking me loosen, and I fell flat on my face. My whole body hurt, but I was thankful to feel the cold stone against my skin and the cool air filling my lungs again. I wheezed and choked as I looked up.

Azazel had let me go, now forced to deal with Viola.

A few seconds went by as Azazel blinked, but nothing happened.

Viola frowned, then took a step back. I understood then that Azazel was too powerful even for a Daughter’s simple touch to kill him. We’d guessed this much from Vita’s first vision about this potential ending for Azazel, but the circumstances had been different then, since we didn’t know he had Nova at the time. Now, even with Nova out of his reach, it seemed like the touch could not destroy Azazel.

“I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to do this. I tried to help my friends but you’re so bent on destroying every good thing in this world… Your power has spiraled out of control. The time has come for you to pay for your crimes, Azazel,” Viola said, sending shivers down my spine.

I could see genuine fear in his yellow eyes, before they flickered black and flared up green. There was an internal struggle going on there, and I had a feeling it was taking place between Azazel and Asherak.

“Don’t do something you’ll regret, sweetheart,” Azazel muttered, raising his hands in a defensive gesture.

It didn’t faze Viola. Instead, the pink light emanating from her body increased its intensity, so that I had to squint in order to see what was happening, as if a bright pink star had just descended on the platform.

“I have no choice but to destroy you, Azazel,” Viola’s thousand voices boomed, piercing through the sky above and echoing inside my head. “Your reign of terror ends right now. You have caused irreparable damage to Eritopia, and I shall not let you do any more harm…”

She took a deep breath, then looked at me with a pained expression.

I’m sorry, Serena. I could hear her gentle voice, loud and clear, in my head.

“What… What do you mean, you’re sorry?” I croaked, and got up, my knees still wobbly.

She focused her attention on Azazel, the light emanating from her growing brighter. The air vibrated around us, and the uneasiness in my stomach became stronger and heavier as the realization kicked in:

Vita’s first vision was coming true.

“Don’t… Don’t do this,” Azazel said suddenly, laughing nervously.

Viola didn’t listen.

Dread came over me, swallowing me whole and freezing the blood in my veins. I glanced at Draven and saw the horrified look on his face. He knew what was coming, too.

“Wait, Viola, no,” I croaked. “You don’t have to do this!”

She wasn’t listening. She’d tuned us out.

Azazel muttered something under his breath and sent out several invisible pulses to stop her, but she didn’t even budge. Instead, she took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. The energy she was summoning illuminated her even more.

This is it…

But this can’t be it. This can’t be how it ends…

We’d already changed the future, so how was this still happening? Had we somehow reversed it in getting Nova out, or at some other point along the way?

My ears rang as the intensity of her very being began to expand, like a star about to explode, raw energy causing friction and heating everything up. My blood simmered and my heart thumped, and Draven and I held each other’s gazes, as if preparing ourselves for what was to come next. The end.

“No!” Phoenix’s voice shot through the buzz.

I turned my head and saw him running up behind Viola. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

“Don’t do this, Viola,” he panted, his eyes glassy. “We found another way… A better way…”

The Daughter wasn’t immediately responsive, and I quickly looked around and noticed that the fighting had stopped. Destroyers and our fighters alike were stunned, gaping at Viola as she prepared to blow us all to pieces, waiting for her reaction.

“Don’t do this, please… I love you, Viola…”

She blinked a couple of times, as if pondering the information he’d just presented.

“There’s another way?” she asked in multiple voices.

“Yes.” Phoenix sighed in his embrace. “Yes, we found another way. You don’t have to do this. I don’t want us to die, Viola… I want us to live and be together…”

Viola gave him a soft sideways glance before she relaxed, the pink light gradually dimming. I felt the atmosphere cool down around us. Phoenix didn’t let go of her, holding her close as they took a few steps back.

Azazel cocked his head to one side, an arrogant half-smile stretching his lips.

“If you wanted to kill me you should have just let her do it,” he said. “Sure, she would have killed all of you in the process, too, but it just goes to show that none of you were made for war. Because war means sacrifice. And now you will all regret it.”

I heard growling behind me as swords clashed again. The fighting had resumed, and, judging by the amount of blood spilled and the number of Destroyers collapsing, we were getting closer to a victory against Azazel’s forces. I glanced around briefly, enough to see Aida, Field, Hansa, Jax, Anjani, Jovi, the young Druids, and the shifters taking on Destroyers in teams of two, while Thadeus and Patrik continued to fight one another with tortured expressions.

We had to do something. We had to move this along before more innocent creatures were killed. But we had to chip away at his morale first. We needed him to falter, open himself up to mistakes before we could go all in. We weren’t even seeing the full extent of his force yet – and we couldn’t beat something we couldn’t comprehend.

“You’re all overestimating yourselves and putting away the only effective weapon you have.” Azazel straightened his back, several vertebrae crackling in the process. “And you’re about to pay the price for your hubris. You know… pot, meet kettle.”

He looked around, his lips pressed tight at the sight of his remaining Destroyers falling one by one. Reinforcements weren’t coming anymore. The booms and shrills from below indicated that the allied forces had finally taken control of the castle. His empire was collapsing, and I could almost sense the frustration oozing out of him—dark, toxic, and thirsty for revenge.

His eyes burst into green flames, the fire of Asherak raging with more intensity than ever. I held my breath and took a step back.

The tension from Viola’s energy was swiftly replaced by something vile, heavy, and suffocating. My pulse raced, and I could feel Draven’s frayed nerves as he watched Azazel quietly. The Prince of Destroyers grinned as he looked at us, two pools of green fire replacing his eyes, his tongue flitting in the air. He inhaled deeply and raised his arms out from his sides.

“Can’t you smell your own impending deaths? Because I can!”

The wind howled around the platform, blowing harder and nearly knocking me off my feet. Something was coming out of Azazel—an energy like I’d never seen before, pure black and vicious and eager to slice and chop and kill everyone standing in its way.

It was ancient and evil. It wanted blood and destruction.

It was Asherak.