My heart lodged in my throat as I crept down the stairs. The dark magic gagged me as I descended, making my eyes water and the inside of my mouth feel greasy from trying to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose.

Though it was dark down here, an orange glow from the bottom of the stairs lit my way. At the base, I peered into the main room and gasped.

It was as big as the tower above, but that’s where the similarities ended. In the middle, a pool of an oily black substance sat stagnant and threatening. All around the edges, terrifying black vines covered the ground, growing out of the pool.

I’d never met a plant I didn’t like, but there was a first time for everything.

Overhead, a massive black chandelier was filled with dark candles that glowed with orange light. I squinted, trying to figure out where Drakon was hiding.

It wasn’t until the dark oil rippled slightly that I realized he was in the black pond. That’s where the black magic was coming from, so that’s where he was. It was hard to see him because he was fully coated in the black muck and floating quietly, but he was definitely there.

Taking some kind of evil, super villain bath.

It should have made him less intimidating, but it did the opposite. Anyone who could stay submerged in that muck—who enjoyed it—was too evil for my taste.

I conjured a bow and arrow, trying my damnedest to keep my magical signature on low so he couldn’t sense me. The bow and arrow appeared in my hands. I drew a silent, steady breath and raised the bow, then nocked the arrow.

I sighted the floating body, which was definitely alive or my dragon sense wouldn’t have gotten so excited, and aimed the arrow. As I released the string, I prayed to fate.

The arrow sailed straight and true toward Drakon’s chest. Right before it plunged inside, he burst from the oil in a splash of black fluid and knocked the arrow aside.

Shit.

“How dare you?” His roar was an unholy sound. Not even human.

Icy shivers raced across my skin.

He floated in midair, his form dripping the oily muck back into the pond. How the hell was he floating?

I could barely make out his features through the oil, but slowly it slid off his face to reveal the man I’d seen at the compound in Oregon.

I conjured another arrow, suddenly realizing how ill equipped I was for this. Didn’t matter, though. No way I was running back up those stairs.

So I fired, aiming straight for his heart. Again, he batted the arrow away. I drew again. Before I could fire, he surged toward me, throwing a sonic boom that blasted me off my feet.

I slammed back against the stairs, pain singing through my back. Everything hurt as I dragged myself to my feet and conjured a shield. It would be wholly insufficient, but it was all I had.

As he raised his hand to throw another blast, I looked frantically around the room, trying to find anything I could use to my advantage.

The only thing I could think of was tossing a stick of dynamite into the oil and hoping it was as flammable as it looked. That’d blow me up too, but since I would probably die here anyway, I was willing to do it. I didn’t know if my friends were in the tower above, though. Or if the blast would take out the whole castle. I couldn’t risk them as well.

The debate took me too long. Draken hurled another sonic boom at me. I blocked it with my shield, but crashed back into the wall all the same pain enveloping me as my insides felt like they liquified. My vision blurred as I gasped for air.

“You thought to disturb me?” Drakon roared. “To destroy me?”

“The second one.” The words hurt just coming out.

Drakon threw another blast at me, this one stronger than all the rest. Since I hadn’t managed to remove myself from the wall that I’d been flattened against, it hit me dead on, all the force going straight into my middle.

I coughed, tasting blood.

Internal damage.

He was stronger than he’d been back at the compound in Oregon, or he’d have used this against me. No doubt it was from the dark evil here—he really was absorbing it for his own.

And I was here to fight him with just a shield and my bow. My clever tricks wouldn’t work when my friends were at risk. When in doubt, blow it up did not apply in this circumstance. I had plant magic, but didn’t know how to use it. Not that these dark plants could help me.

The blast of the sonic boom took its toll. I slid to my knees, unable to stand. The dark vines beneath me broke my fall, but they didn’t feel alive like normal plants.

Boy, I’d really gotten myself into it this time.

“How could I be threatened by a coward—a weakling like you?” he roared.

“The second one,” I choked out.

“What?” he roared.

“I’m the second, not the first.” Cowardice had never been my issue.

That seemed to enrage him even more. His dark magic pulsed from him, filling the air with a horrible burning sensation. Fates, he was awful. Drakon slammed another burst of magic into me.

I was nothing but a mass of pain and pulverized organs, so I barely felt it. But I keeled over anyway, my face pressing against the dark vines.

Holy fates, this guy was so much stronger than I’d expected. Out of this world strong.

He floated down from the air, landing on the edge of the pool twenty feet away. I lay still, dying, as he slowly approached.

Did he want to deliver the killing blow while looking into my eyes or something? Like some creepy serial killer in a bad TV movie?

What a way to go.

Just the idea made me die a little inside. Like an appetizer for the main course. This couldn’t be the end for me… caught by surprise and killed by some evil bastard who’d just gotten out of his bath. The indignity was too much to bear.

I’d fight. Somehow—even if I couldn’t move.

Beneath me, the vines trembled, as if they’d heard my vow. Slowly, they began to leech energy into me. I couldn’t tell what it was at first, but the warmth was unmistakable. It flowed through me, warm and strong, heating my insides as it mended me. There was a darkness to it—no doubt because the vines grew out of the pool of oil. But they also gave me strength. Healing strength. The magic awed me, shaking me to my marrow.

Except it was slow. Far too slow.

Drakon was only ten feet away now. Eight feet. He’d strike any moment now and I couldn’t even stand.

Help! I was still too broken to speak, but it didn’t stop my mind from trying. All I needed was a little time. Just a few moments. If only my friends would come and hold him off until I could take him out once and for all.

Red blurs shot from the stairwell and into the room, drawing my eyes. Shock blanked out my mind, but it was unmistakable.

The Pūķis.

Somehow, they’d made it out of the Vampire Realm and found me when I needed them. My friends had come—just not the ones I’d expected.

The Pūķis dived for Drakon, blasting fire his way. He turned to them, rage twisting his features, and hit them with his sonic boom. One Pūķi took a direct hit, bowling backward toward the wall.

No! My insides tore as the Pūķi struggled to rise.

Rage filled me with fire as Drakon tried to hurt my friends. The Pūķi were fast and fierce, landing their fiery blows upon his flesh. But it only seemed to enrage him more. He threw blast after blast at them. Though they swooped and dived, they couldn’t dodge them all.

I gripped the vines at my sides and drew the energy from them. I turned the slow, passive process into one that I controlled. Building my strength, healing my body.

And the best part was, I could feel the vines’ joy. I wasn’t killing them by taking their energy. I was healing them. My touch was driving away Drakon’s darkness.

Soon, I could move my arms. Then my legs. As the Pūķi drew Drakon’s fire, I healed, finally rising to my feet, the vines at my side. They were a deep, dark green as they rose up around me like snakes.

Power filled my chest to bursting.

“Drakon!” I roared, calling his attention away from the Pūķis.

He spun to face me, jaw slackening. I grinned, feeling the power flowing through my veins as the vines waved at my side, ready to strike.

They felt like they were one with me. Which they were. Their life was inside me and mine was inside them. Power roared through me like a tornado, so much better than that miserable destroyer magic I’d taken from Aleric.

This was true power. This was life.

And I’d use it to create death.

Just one death, but I knew it would save so many others. It quashed any guilt I might have had.

I threw my hands out toward Drakon. The vines followed the motion, surging toward him like synchronized snakes. They wrapped around him from head to toe, encapsulating him fully. Determination welled within me as I yanked my hands apart.

The vines did the same, tearing Drakon to pieces. Ripping him limb from limb. Victory surged through me, warm and bright. I’d done it!

A fraction of a second later, a massive black cloud exploded up from the vines that contained Drakon’s destroyed body. It was inky and dark, nearly opaque. Evil radiated from it—pure and unadulterated. Stronger than anything I’d ever felt. It coalesced to form a massive dragon made of smoke. The beast roared, a sound that shook my very bones and made me stumble back onto my butt.

Then the beast rushed away, flying up through the ceiling in a burst of energy.

Oh, shit.

I blinked, staring up at the unharmed ceiling, my mind scrambling for answers. I didn’t know what the hell that thing had been, but one thing was for sure.

I hadn’t beaten Drakon. Not by a long shot.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. I shifted. My friends piled into the room, weapons drawn.

Ares’s eyes fell upon me. “Nix! Are you all right?”

They hurried toward me as I struggled to my feet. The Pūķi flew over, all of them fine except for one who wobbled a bit when he flew. I hoped he’d get better.

“What happened?” Cass demanded.

I swayed on my feet, still shocked by what I’d seen. What I’d done.

Del’s eyes landed on the body that I’d torn apart. “You got him!”

“Uh.” I looked around, my mind still struggling to comprehend what had happened. “I didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Ares asked.

“That man—the mob boss guy—he wasn’t Drakon.”

“What?” Del frowned.

“Drakon was inside of him. I killed the body, but not the monster. Not our true enemy.” My mind scrambled, remembering what I’d seen. “And… he was a dragon made of black smoke.”

“Is that what rushed out of the tower roof?” Claire asked.

“Yes.”

“Damn.” Connor shook his head. “As soon as that thing flew away, the Yetis collapsed back into the ground. Those things were impossible to take out.”

That’s why my friends had appeared as soon as Drakon had gone. They’d been fighting the Yetis all this time.

“You’ve weakened him, though,” Ares said. “He wanted that body. Now he doesn’t have it.”

“Yeah.” I recalled the sheer crazy black magic that had emanated from the shadow dragon. “But not for long. He’s strong. And really freaking evil.”

“Then we need to destroy this place,” Roarke said. “It’s where he refuels his power.”

“Yes.” I nodded vehemently. “Absolutely.”

But how? I studied the room. The problem wasn’t the castle itself. I could blow that up with some dynamite, no problem. It was the pool of evil black oil that had me worried. It was as if Drakon had managed to liquefy evil energy and turn it into a battery.

We couldn’t just blow the oil up. It would splatter everywhere, sinking back into the earth.

The memory of the celestial stone turning to dust flashed in my mind’s eye. If only I could destroy the oil the same way. But I’d never managed to destroy something so big. I’d need more power. More energy.

My eye caught on the vines growing out of the oil and I remembered the magical energy leaching from the vines into me. They’d drawn that energy from the oil. It’d been a dark energy, but it’d been energy all the same.

“I think I can destroy the oil.” I swallowed hard, dreading what was to come.

“How?” Ares asked.

I didn’t answer, afraid they would tell me it was too dangerous. I stepped toward the edge of the pool and knelt on the vines. They cushioned my knees as I knelt forward and touched my fingertip to the oil.

Sickness flowed into me, making me gag.

“Don’t touch that!” Cass cried.

I ignored her, reaching my other hand into the vines and burying it deep among them. Energy fizzled up my hand. I imagined myself absorbing it. Becoming one with the vines.

Thank you. The vines understood me. I could feel it.

They fed me their energy. It wasn’t as dark as the oil I was touching, but it still made me queasy to absorb so much of it. As it filled me, I called on my destroyer power. It surged up inside me, a rushing wind that roared its pleasure at the dark magic filling my being.

I fed the destructive power into the oil. It was the perfect circle––the vines took their energy from the oil, which I turned into destruction and fed back into the oil.

Too bad it felt like hell. I gasped as the sickness rose inside me, black tar drowning my organs. But I didn’t stop feeding the magic into the oil.

I stared at my fingertip submerged in the oil, watching as the shining black liquid turned dull and dry. The destruction spread out from my fingertip, turning the gleaming surface to dull gray dust. Then even that began to crumble away, disappearing.

My muscles trembled as I worked, my stomach turning. Being a conduit for this much dark magic was making me ill. It took everything I had to remain kneeling.

The vines began to feed me less and less magic as the oil disappeared. Finally, there was nothing left but an empty pool covered by a fine layer of dust.

I sagged, struggling to catch my breath.

Ares dropped to his knees beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay.” I straightened.

“That was amazing,” Cass said.

“Incredible,” Del added.

Around me, the vines began to shrivel and die. My heart tugged and my chest felt heavy as I looked at them. “I’m really sorry, guys.”

“Who are you talking to?” Ares asked.

“The vines.” A smile tugged at my lips. “I’ve got some seriously badass powers, apparently. But they made a great sacrifice for me.”

“Then they deserve our thanks,” Ares said.

I smiled, pleased that he got on board with thanking plants. I knew it was a little nuts, but it was my nuts.

I struggled to rise, swaying slightly on my feet as the sickness from the dark magic polluted my insides. “It’s time to get the hell out of here.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Cass said.

I leaned on Ares as I followed my friends out of the horrible room, the Pūķi at my side. The wobbly one was flying a bit better already, thankfully.

“How the hell did you get them out of the Vampire Realm?” Ares asked as we walked across the main tower room.

I grabbed my jacket off the ground and shrugged it on. “I have no idea. We’re buddies.”

“Being buddies doesn’t mean you can defy the laws of the supernatural world.”

“Apparently it does.” I stepped out into the cold, shoulders tensed. But the Yetis were still under the dirt, thank fates. I turned to Cass. “I want to destroy the castle itself, and I’ve got a plan, but I’ll need a ride.”

She saluted. “Sure thing, Cap.”

I grinned. “Everyone needs to get far away from here. Then get ready for the fireworks.”

Ares clearly didn’t want to let me go, but I pressed hard on his arm to remove it from my waist. “I’ll be okay, I promise. I’ve got Cass.”

He gave me a skeptical look. “You look ill.”

“I don’t feel so hot from the dark magic, but really—Cass will take care of me. And you can’t be here when I light this place up.”

Finally, he nodded and stepped back. “Be careful.”

Cass shifted into her griffon form as my other friends got the hell out of the castle the way we’d entered. I climbed on top of Cass’s back and she pushed off into the air. From above, I could see everyone sprinting away from the castle, toward Torus and the waiting horses.

“Take us above the tower!” I cried, watchful of the air around us. I didn’t know what Drakon was capable of in his truest form, but I didn’t want to find out right now.

Cass flew us over the top of the tower and hovered about fifty meters above. Once everyone was far enough away, I held my hand out over the air and called upon Old Faithful, my conjuring magic. I was well tapped out of destroyer magic right now. I needed something easy and reliable.

I envisioned a massive boulder as big as Fabio. It formed in the air right under my palm, then plummeted toward the tower. With a crash, it plowed through the roof and then through the floor below, revealing Drakon’s horrible pit to the world. At least it was empty of the oil. Soon, he wouldn’t even be able to refill the pool. His whole place would be gone.

I held my breath and conjured several large sticks of dynamite. I lit them with a conjured match, then dropped them toward the hole the boulder had created. They’d blow up from within, causing the ultimate destruction.

“Go!” I cried.

Cass took off, hurtling toward safety.

A massive boom rent the air and I turned, watching the fiery explosion tear the castle apart. I turned back as Cass flew us toward our friends. I clung to her back, wind tearing at my hair. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. The bad… The good. And the magic that I’d wielded… it had been phenomenal.