The vortex of fire spun higher, painting the night sky in violent shades of orange and crimson. Clara's body moved with terrifying precision, each step graceful, deliberate—like a predator circling prey.
But inside, Clara was clawing, screaming, slamming against the invisible walls of her own mind. She felt like glass: a fragile vessel about to shatter, her screams muffled by the voice that had stolen her mouth.
"Do you see it now?" Yurin's voice purred through her lips, smooth as velvet and twice as cruel. "The potential buried in her flesh? Power you couldn't dream of wielding without tearing yourselves apart?"
Damien's sword flared with a streak of azure flame as he lunged forward, slashing through the heat. Sparks exploded when steel met the fiery tendril that burst from Clara's outstretched hand, the collision forcing him back.
Evelyn's eyes were wide with panic, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Clara! Fight him! You're stronger than this—you have to be!"
"I'm trying!" Clara shrieked inside, but only Yurin's laugh rolled out of her throat, low and intoxicating.
Zeke didn't hesitate. His runes ignited across the dirt, sigils locking into a tight web, a containment circle forming beneath Clara's feet. "Damien—pin her in the center!"
Damien shot him a glare. "That's not her—"
"That's exactly why we have to move now!" Zeke snapped. "Do you want to wait until Yurin fully stabilizes his grip?"
Another blast of flame surged from Clara's hand, sweeping across the camp in a roaring arc. Evelyn cried out, throwing her arms wide, a shimmering barrier of pale gold sparking to life. The fire slammed into it, splintering cracks across the surface. Evelyn's knees buckled.
Clara's body smiled. "She breaks so easily. So fragile. I wonder, will she beg louder when it's her turn?"
"No!" Clara screamed in her mind, panic surging like acid. She tried to wrench her arm back, but it only obeyed Yurin, rising higher as though savoring the view of Evelyn's struggle.
Damien darted in, blade slicing a searing arc through the firestorm, cutting a path toward her. "If you think I'll let you touch her—"
The sword clanged against invisible force. Clara's arm lifted like a puppet's, two fingers flicking—and Damien's body was flung across the clearing, crashing into a tree with enough force to make it groan.
Clara's heart seized. She hadn't wanted that—hadn't meant it. But Yurin whispered through her lips with glee. "Do you see, Clara? Do you feel it? The strength of command, the thrill of control? This body of yours is mine, but only because you never claimed it yourself."
"Shut up!" she screamed, but the sound never left her throat.
Zeke's circle tightened. Runes lashed upward like golden chains, wrapping around her ankles, trying to root her in place. Clara's possessed body glanced down, crimson eyes glinting.
"Ah… clever boy."
The golden chains shattered with a snap of her fingers.
Zeke's jaw clenched. "Dammit—"
Evelyn stumbled forward, hands outstretched. She didn't even summon magic this time—she just reached for Clara's face. "Listen to me! You're not him! You're you! You're my sister, you're Clara—please—"
Her fingertips brushed Clara's cheek.
And for one heartbeat—one fragile heartbeat—Clara felt herself. The fire wavered. Her chest tightened. Her lips trembled against Yurin's borrowed smile. She wanted to collapse into Evelyn's arms and sob until there was nothing left.
But Yurin's voice cut through the hesitation like a knife.
"Pathetic."
Clara's body seized Evelyn's wrist, squeezing hard enough to draw a cry of pain. Crimson eyes bore into Evelyn's soft green ones, and Clara felt her nails dig into her own sister's flesh.
Inside, she broke. No, no, no—I won't hurt her—I won't—
Her scream tore free—but it wasn't hers.
Damien roared, charging back into the fray, his sword glowing white-hot as he slashed downward. Clara's stolen body twisted, catching the blade between burning palms. Sparks erupted, the sound of steel shrieking under strain.
Yurin's laughter rolled through her chest. "So fierce. But you can't bring yourself to strike her down, can you?"
"Shut. Your. Mouth!" Damien snarled, pressing harder, sweat streaking down his brow.
Zeke moved in fast, runes blazing across both arms now. He traced a sigil midair, then slammed it into Clara's chest. A shockwave burst outward, hurling her backward, her body crashing into the dirt.
The flames sputtered. The crimson glow dimmed.
For a fleeting moment, Clara breathed on her own again. Gasping. Shaking. Herself.
"I—I'm here," she whispered hoarsely, her eyes wide, desperate, pleading. "Please—don't give up on me."
But then the smile crept back. The crimson glow surged once more.
And Yurin's voice, smug and terrible, slipped through her lips like honey.
"Too late."
The fire vortex roared back to life, swallowing the night sky.