The knock still echoed through the apartment like a curse.
The air thickened, unbearably still. Even the shadows along the walls seemed to hold their breath.
I took a step forward, ignoring the warning thrumming in my chest.
“Persephone,” Brenna whispered, reaching for me. “Are you sure—”
“I know who it is.”
How I knew, I couldn’t say. Rage had its own frequency, and whoever stood beyond that door carried an inferno with them.
With a steadying breath, I turned the handle and pulled the door open.
Minthe.
She stood framed in the threshold like a storm made flesh. Her eyes blazed jade—too bright, too wild. Her lips curled back in a snarl, sharp beauty twisted by venomous hatred. Her hair was a cascade of burning red fire, lit from within, flowing around her shoulders like a tempest unleashed.
“You,” she hissed.
Before I could react, she shoved the door open wider and surged forward with unnatural speed.
I barely raised my arms before she slammed into me, driving me back onto the hardwood floor. Air whooshed from my lungs, stars bursting at the edges of my vision.
“Persephone!” Brenna’s voice cracked in alarm.
“Stay back!” I shouted, scrambling upright, summoning the magic inside me. The earth responded with a low, rumbling growl of power. “She’s not here for you.”
Minthe’s glare snapped to Brenna — sharp enough to draw blood — but she only laughed, cold and cruel, eyes locked back on me.
“Oh, I’m not here for her.” Her voice was silk laced with acid. “I came for you, little goddess.”
“I warned him,” she spat. “Warned him what would happen if he let you in. You don’t belong here. You don’t deserve him. You’re just a scared little weed pretending to bloom.”
She stepped forward, green energy crackling around her like poison.
“I’m done waiting for you to wither.”
Her voice dropped, thick with menace. “I’ll burn you out myself.”
I braced myself as she lunged again, faster this time — claws of shadow and magic trailing from her fingers like blades.
I ducked under the swipe, pivoting to slam my palm against her chest. My power surged like an earthquake unleashed.
“Enough!” I cried, sending her crashing into the living room wall, plaster and books raining down like snow.
But Minthe wasn’t finished.
She rose, cracked lip bleeding but smiling madly. Her fiery hair flared around her like a war banner, a halo of chaos.
I felt her hatred from across the room—thick, suffocating, clinging to the walls like smoke.
The apartment no longer contained it. My magic hummed in my bones, desperate to expand, to breathe.
“This ends now,” I whispered.
I flung my hand forward, releasing a wave of force that caught her mid-lunge.
Her body flew backward, shattering the large bay window in a cascade of glass and light.
She crashed into the clearing behind the shop—the same meadow that had once bloomed with my sorrow.
Without hesitation, I followed.
The cool night air wrapped around me as I stepped into the moonlit silence.
Minthe rose slowly, shards of glass falling from her as if they weighed nothing. Her dress hung in tatters, magic seeping from her skin like smoke. Her eyes glowed brighter now—too bright, as if she had glimpsed a future she refused to accept.
“You think you’ve won something?” she spat, voice trembling with rage. “He will see what you are. You’re not his equal. You’re just a mistake.”
I stepped into the soft grass, the earth warming beneath my feet in answer.
“No,” I said, voice calm but low as thunder. “I’m becoming what I was always meant to be.”
Minthe screamed — not a cry of fear, but a battle cry — and charged, magic trailing fire like a comet.
I met her halfway.
The clearing exploded with light and power.