Chapter 51 The Hollow Reprieve

• The silence that followed the blast was a lie.
• I stood in the center of the Spire, my chest heaving, watching the last wisps of emerald smoke dissipate into the cold morning air. Kaden was beside me, his arms wrapped around me in a protective vice, his heartbeat thudding against my shoulder. We looked down at the empty floor where the witches had stood, seeing only scorched stone and tattered bits of blackened silk.
• "They’re gone," Kaden whispered, his voice thick with relief. He pressed a kiss to my temple, his hand still resting over my stomach. "You incinerated them, Alina. I’ve never seen power like that."