The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 173

Sixty-Six: Tobias

Tobias's P.O.V.

My teeth sunk into her flesh, hot blood filling my mouth as Cora screamed. The taste of it washing over my tongue was exciting. All the stress and pain Cora had caused my mate had me dreaming about this moment... about ending her life.

I wanted to rip Cora's throat out, but she turned just in time for me to latch my jaws around her bicep. She rolled to the ground with me, using her powers to pry me off. I felt the Earth moving beneath us before two objects shot through the dirt.

Joselin's scream of terror echoed through my head, and I wanted to get to her. I needed to.

In my head, I could feel myself moving. I knew how to get my legs to work, but they didn't want to listen.

Snarling and yips of pain could be heard as my warriors sprang into action, fighting the witch. I couldn't blink as I lifted my head, staring at the two large spikes of wood impaling me.

My hand wrapped around the closest spike, snapping it in half with a growl of anger before moving to the second one. The shaking was unavoidable as I pushed my body up and off the base of the spikes. Blood poured down my front and back as I felt my torso begin to heal itself.

It took longer than I had hoped before the feeling returned to my legs, and the ringing in my ears faded behind the sound of the war around me.

Aurora had risen and was at my side, helping me up with a groan of pain.

"Do something!" I ordered, knowing it wasn't my place to order her around, but she was a descendant of the Goddess, for fuck's sake. She should be able to blink Cora out of existence if she wanted.

"I can't. Cora is at her strongest right now, having just taken another's magic, and I haven't had time to recover fully. I was away for a long time, and my magic doesn't recharge instantly. It normally takes a few days, sometimes weeks, to replenish." She looked terrified as she peered around me, cringing at whatever she saw. 1

The sound of Joselin letting out a groan of pain had me turning and forcing my damaged body to race toward my mate. Each step sent a stab of agony through me, and I stumbled forward to get to her as my skin tried to pull itself back together.

If Cora thought that was all it would take to kill me, she had another thing coming.

My mate stood on wobbly legs, one hand aimed at the guards and the other at Cora. Blood dripped from her button nose, and her hands shook as she fought to reverse Cora's attack and deal her own damage.

In the second that Joselin glanced at me, Cora sent my men flying through the air and into the hot springs. I could hear them splashing and gargling as the water swirled around them violently. Aurora rushed past me to get to them, her hand up and her lips moving as she mumbled a spell in what I knew to be Latin.

The Earth opened up, and Cora dropped into it just as Aurora pulled the men from the water with a flick of her wrist.

They panted and coughed up the hot liquid as I limped toward Cora as quickly as possible. We weren't equipped to battle a witch this strong, and I worried that we were only in the way. Still, I wasn't going to give up.

Cora rose higher by the second until she was out of the crater Aurora had created. The dirt beneath her feet lifted her back up as she laughed.

"Do you really think any of you stand a chance? I am more powerful now than you could imagine! I will no longer be under anyone's rule when I am done with you. After I deal with Cyrus, those incompetent children wearing the crown will be next! I am doing what is best for our people!" Cora's eyes were glazed over, looking demented as she cackled.

With each wave of power, Cora’s shield continued to protect her, and I could feel Joselin growing tired. Still, her anger drove her on and matching her emotions, I pushed forward.

The next blast caused Cora to stumble back, her shield cracking, flickering angrily. My chest swelled with pride at my mate's power and strength, knowing we were getting closer to winning this battle.

As I raced forward, Cora spun. Her hand shot out and sent me back toward the mouth of the cave. Wet bodies crashed into me as I fought against her, my claws digging into the moist Earth. I propelled myself forward and could feel small rocks cutting into my feet, knees, and hands.

I was dragged three feet back for every step I made forward. But my need to get to Joselin motivated me to keep fighting, to resist her spell. Just as I broke past the other warriors, the Earth trembled, and a flat wall shot up, leaving us in complete darkness and trapping us in the hallway that led to the Sanctum.

"No," I growled out, feeling the panic of being unable to see, let alone protect my mate. My shoulder slammed into the thick wall of packed soil, causing dirt to rain down on us.