"Scarlette!" I yelled. "Lumera! Devran!"
But my voice was swallowed in a sea of screams as the Mages dragged the Fairies away, one by one.
The voices called, laced with increasing desperation.
"Get me out of here!"
"Please!"
"I don't want to die—"
But it was useless.
Powers failed.
Cries failed.
And one by one, the Fairies fell.
Then, someone recognised me.
"There he is!" a Mage shouted. "King Veravos!"
"Get him!"
I tried to summon the shadows—tried.
But nothing came. The sigils had bound me too.
"Come on, Veravos… come on…" I growled, clenching my fists.
But there was only silence.
The Mages closed in, feeding on my helplessness.
Nathaniel stood at the pulpit, Midnight Orchid in hand, looking down at me like I was something stuck to the sole of his boot.
"Pathetic," he sneered. "The higher they are, the harder they fall."