Threats

As soon as we reappear, I push away from Bolin, heading straight into the estate. What I see has me coming to a stop. Dade sits at the center of the table in the courtyard, lazily playing with a cup of tea as his men stand around the whole yard.

Li Jie and his parents were in the center of a circle, effectively being held down by the magic within it as Li Mei is held up in the air, floating above the table. Only, she wasn't just floating, it looked like Dade was strangling her.

My eye narrow dangerously as Dade looks up at me and smiles while saying, "When I saw the flower you left behind, I knew I made the right choice in coming here. Pull up a seat so we can talk." I grit my teeth as I bite out, "Release her and I'll spare your life."

Dade gives me a knowing smile before saying, "You aren't calling the shots, Lyra. If you make a move or try to use your power, I'll snap her neck." My face darkens as my anger simmers inside of me, building with every word coming out of his stupid mouth.

As if thinking about something, he suddenly says, "Ah, I guess you could always try and bring her back to life, but we all know how fun Necromancy can be." Li Mei's eyes plead with me as tears run down her once rosy cheeks.

They were now extremely pale, lacking the color and life they once held. Anger threatens to choke me as I force myself forward. I slowly sit on the seat closest to me, directly across from Dade. Dade gives me a pleased smile before saying, "Since we're passed fixing our relationship, let's move on to the next step."

Our relationship!? What relationship??

I give him a dark, mocking look as I try to think of a way to release little Mei and the others at the same time, so no one's hurt but that was proving to be impossible. Dade had thoroughly thought this through.

There were spells and wards lining this entire estate! How long had he and his men worked on this!? Everything was covered and everything came back to Dade. With the twitch of his pinky, he could kill them all. For the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of helplessness and defeat threatening to take over.

I grit out, "Next step?" His smile grows as he says, "Yes, you give me all your magic and I let them all go. I feel like that's a reasonable trade, don't you?" My upper lip twitches, half in a sneer and half in a smile. He wants my magic in exchange for their lives.

My magic is equivalent to my life so he's asking me to sacrifice my life for theirs. Little Mie struggles but she still manages to shake her head 'no', telling me not to do it. I clench my fists when suddenly I realize that Bolin is missing!

I keep a straight face as I try to understand what he was doing or where he was. He wasn't going to try and ambush them from behind, right? Right!? If he did that and triggered the wards, it would instantly kill them all!!

I break out into a cold sweat as I look at Dade and try a different route, "Since you have every corner of this place laced with spells and wards, one wrong move and they're dead so there's no need to keep her hanging. I won't move. Let's talk and see if we can come up with some kind of agreement."

Dade gives me a mocking look as he says, "So now you want to talk? That's not how this works, Lyra. You had a chance to talk but now that's over. You have two choices, keep your magic and kill them all or give me your magic and save them all. I'll give you ten seconds to decide."

I only said those words out loud so that Bolin would know not to make any sudden moves but as Dade lifts the axe of death over our necks, I'm left with only one thought. Dade tilts the cup of tea back and forth as he says, "Tick tock, tick tock. Which will it be?"

Bolin appears behind me with a dark enraged look on his handsome face as Dade quickly says, "Couldn't find an opening, right? I figured you'd be back once you realized that even you can't slip passed these wards. Lyra here is the actual genius who made them for the Council."

When I hear that, I frown. The Council again? First, it was the Artifact and now it was this?

Dade suddenly says, "Times up!" Li Jie and the others start screaming as little Mei's face starts turning a blueish-purple color! I quickly lift my hand and yell, "Wait! Just wait! I'll give it to you!!" Instantly the screaming comes to a stop and little Mie is able to breathe again, kinda.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she continued to shake her head no, but I ignore her as I slowly stand up and head towards Dade. Bolin tries to stop me, but I give him a look that has him stopping.

I could feel his anger nipping at my skin, threatening to destroy everything here but I ignore it. Dade puts the cup down and stands up with an eager look in his greedy eyes. My heart races as fear runs through my entire body, making it hard to breathe.

Was I really going to give this vile piece of shit my magic!? When I come to a stop in front of Dade, I look up into his dark blue eyes with hatred and anger. He lifts his chin, waiting. I grit my teeth and fall to my knees before him.

Everything in me screams as my magic threatens to break out of me and shred the stupid bastard but I can't risk it. As if seeing the look in my eyes, he tuts and says, "One wrong move, and they're gone. Don't try your luck, Lyra."

I slowly close my eyes as I bring my right hand up. I slowly place it over my heart, calling forth my magic. As if it knew what I was doing, it refused to answer at first, but I release the command, forcing it forward.

Bolin tries to step forward, but Dade quickly says, "Move and I'll kill her and everyone else here." Bolin's glare looks as if he's already tasting Dade's death, but Dade doesn't seem phased. He knows that once he has my power, he wouldn't have to fear much, maybe not even Bolin.

A tear of anger drops from my eye as a bright silver ball of light appears. It was seeping through my chest like flowing water, but it felt as if I was ripping my very heart out. Dade's eyes widen in excitement, waiting for the rest of it.

Another tear falls as I feel my magic leaving me, but I don't stop. I didn't have the chance to save my parents or my grandfather, but I've been given a chance this time. There was no cure for regret and unfortunately, I know this firsthand.

If I were to choose myself over them, I would regret it. I would regret it so much; it would be pointless. Mago cries out, "Lyra, NO!! If you do this, I can no longer be with you!! I can't exist without your magic!!!"

Another tear falls as I whisper, "Find another Witch to serve, Mago. This is the end of the line for me, for us." As the last bit goes to leave, a large golden burst of energy flies out of me! A large shockwave knocks everyone and everything back and away as the golden light eats away at all the spells and ruins, blinding everyone in the courtyard!

My magic warps, mixing with the golden light before slowly fading back into me. When I open my eyes, they burn golden.

Dade's mouth falls open before he throws a potion, disappearing instantly. His men were quick to follow but when I try to follow them, I find everything tilting. As I fall, I land in a familiar pair of strong arms as his deep voice calls out to me in concern.

What the hell just happened? My magic is silver, not golden...