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someone.
    I knew I had to fight Timothy whether I wanted to or not. She was lying to Ilyan, leading him into a trap. My father's grip increased and I winced again, the action silencing me.
    “I wouldn’t fight if I were you,” Timothy hissed in my ear, the heat of his breath uncomfortable against my skin. “You wouldn’t want something to happen to that mate of yours.”
    My body relaxed as if on a switch. I could still feel the beat of my heart, hear the static of my stress as my brain clung to the panic, but my body relaxed. I felt like a puppet, a foolish little girl who could only do what her father said.
    "Timothy dragged Wyn off,” Ovailia finished, her false exhaustion picking up.
    “Father, Timothy," Ovailia said, and I heard Timothy's faint chuckle from right above my head. "There are hundreds of them.”
    Hundreds. I knew it was true. I had seen the bodies, smelled the blood and the smoke. Edmund had planned this attack well. It was to be his final attack. He wasn't going to let anyone survive. He wouldn’t stop until he killed them all.
    “I don’t know how they got in," Ovailia continued, giant crocodile tears rolling down her perfect cheeks and cracking in her voice. She smiled at me, the tears glistening as she flipped her hair. My stomach clenched, and I felt my magic crackle between my fingers in anger. I hated her. I regretted never saying it before, never seeing who she truly was before. She was evil.
    "Our whole city... I don’t know how many are going to make it out.”
    I groaned and fought him again ; I didn't care that he had told me not to. I heard Ovailia's words and knew she was telling the truth, though not quite in the way that she tried selling it to Ilyan. I wanted to claw at her face, to stop this, no matter how futile it was. Timothy stretched his arm out and away from my head, pulling my arms until I felt the tendons in my arms pop. I screamed, and he released his hand from over my mouth just long enough to let the sound flow through the phone. It was all part of their game.
    I panted as the tendons in my arms began to repair themselves, the pain lessening as my magic covered it.
    “I can try,” Ovailia said, her voice more disappointed than anything else.
    She nodded once to Timothy who stretched my arms again. What little repair my body had been able to produce shattered as my scream rent through the air around us, the rumble of explosions overlapping with the sound of my pain.
    “And you, Ilyan.” Ovailia smiled and tucked the phone back in her pocket, her wicked eyes never leaving mine as she bent closer to me. Her hair fell around her like a curtain, the effect increasing the terror I felt at being trapped between the two of them. I sucked in breath as Timothy released my mouth, the hold on my hands loosening just enough to let my body begin to heal.
    "We will destroy you," Ovailia said, her voice hard. I just met her gaze. I had nothing to say to her. I could rebut. I could be scared and give her what she wanted. I did none of that. I did, however, choose to laugh. It wasn't the wicked laugh of my father or the taunting laugh that had just graced Ovailia’s lips, it was light and joyful, the change in mood jarring. Ovailia's face fell and she looked around, her shoulders stiffening in expectation. I took my opportunity and slammed my bare foot against the ground, the rippling energy moving around us again, sending Ovailia off me and causing my father to fall away. His hands released my arms as he fell into the ground.
    I didn't wait. I spun away, regaining my balance as quickly as I could, and stumbled away from them.
    I called out for help, trying to ignore the gripping panic that was trying to stop the beat of my heart, and spun around to where Ovailia and Timothy were attempting to get back to their feet. I sent a stream of energy toward them, hoping to restrain them before they regained their bearings, but Ovailia caught sight of what I was doing and blocked my weak