A Court of Wings and Fate

66. The Final Steps

With a snarl, Estelle flung herself at Ze'ev. She ignored the remaining creatures that surrounded them. She ignored the raging pain in her heart. She ignored the tears that ran down her cheeks. She ignored everything and focused only on him. On killing him.

Ze'ev used his forearms to block blows from her knives. Estelle slashed at him, aiming for his visible skin. Black siphons glowed as Ze'ev shielded himself. Estelle screamed in pain and anger, driving Ze'ev back several paces.

The shadows were struggling to assist her. They slid down her arms and blocked a few of Ze'ev's returned attacks. Estelle aimed a kick at Ze'ev's face. Her foot glanced off a shield, but she'd already leaped into another kick. Her foot collided with Ze'ev's unshielded chest and he staggered backwards. Estelle's ankle throbbed with pain as she landed.

Ze'ev's chest siphon clattered to the ground. He reached for it, but Estelle crushed the gem beneath her heel. She kicked the broken pieces aside, readying herself for Ze'ev's counter attack. "Fight me as an equal," she taunted. "Stop using your magic and siphons. Or are you unable to defeat me without them?"

Ze'ev narrowed his dark eyes, glaring at her. "I need only my bare hands to kill you," he spat.

"Then prove it."

"I don't have to."

Estelle rolled as Ze'ev hurled a spear of magic towards her. It cracked the ground on impact, leaving scorch marks behind. Estelle reached instinctively for her own magic, but there wasn't a spark of it to be found.

"You stole everything from me!" Ze'ev hissed. "My father. My brothers. The respect of our leaders!"

"You lost all of that on your own," Estelle retorted. "Your father and brothers would still be alive if you'd left my family alone! They would be alive if you hadn't kidnapped me! If you hadn't lured my father into a trap and tortured him! If you hadn't raped me and forced him to watch! You might've been a respectable warrior if you changed your ways and trained harder, instead of relying on this unnatural power to get what you want."

"I don't need advice from a bastard's whore!" Ze'ev's eyes flashed with fury.

Estelle cried out as a bolt of magic tore through her stomach. She crashed to her knees, covering the wound with one hand. Blood dripped in between her fingers. "Mikael was no bastard, and I am not a whore," she growled. She saw a glint of sharpened stone from the corner of her eye.

Ze'ev grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Your worthless mate lies dead in that gorge. Only his fathers will mourn him and as for you... I will make sure there is no one left alive to mourn you."

Estelle held his gaze, anger burning through her veins. She would not be defeated by this monster. She would not let Ze'ev have that satisfaction. "You're forgetting something, Ze'ev." She lowered her hand subtly, moving it across the blood and snow covered ground.

He narrowed his eyes as she spoke again. "My father is Azriel, Spymaster of the Night Court. My mother is Seren Marzena, the Illyrian Dragon. If you kill me, they will hunt you to the ends of the world, and my brother along with them. And they will not be the only people after you."

"Amren. Varian. Lucien. Elain. Nesta. Cassian. Mor. Emerie. Gwyn. Jorah. Devlon. Nyx. Corbin. Calden. Celeste. Sienna. Ameer." She held Ze'ev's gaze still, refusing to back down.

"And you will face our High Lord and Lady, Rhysand and Feyre. You will face the High Lord of the Dawn Court, Thesan. Hell, Ze'ev. You may even face Eris Vanserra. It is no secret, the respect he and my father have for each other. Do you think you can survive all of them?"