Hailey hurried to the king’s chambers, panicking that she might be too late. There were no guards here. Why? Had the king sent them away? She opened the door and screamed. Standing over the king and planting a kiss on the forehead of the king was the woman who had caused almost every problem that the kingdom now faced. Isabella, the woman who had cursed the princess, had stolen the other mages from the country and had clearly done something to the king. He wasn’t even moving, didn’t raise a brow when she kissed him.

Anger burned within Hailey. She had never felt a hatred so deep. This woman deserved to die.

Hailey summoned the magic within her and pushed against the woman, “impello!” she screamed, not caring if anyone heard her. Guards should be here, protecting the king. Her spell threw Isabella, the most hated woman in the kingdom, back. Isabella flattened agains the back wall, but Hailey didn’t wait for a reaction. She created a light spell, and saw a smirk on the woman’s face when she threw it. “Fulgario,” she said, changing it into lightning at the last moment.

“Stop!” Said Isabella, the lightning spell crackling over Isabella’s shield.

But Hailey had already summoned her mage’s blade. She ran forward, prepared to slam it into the shield. She didn’t make it very far, though. She was suddenly launched into the air and thrown back. Hailey’s blade vanished and she smashed into the wall, her back pressing painfully against the ornate frame of a painting.

She refused to stop. She slid down the wall and summoned her light spell again and prepared to launch it, but Isabella was ready for her attack. The gleaming bubble like surface of a shield surrounded Hailey. Hailey dropped the light spell and summoned a blade.

She swung and her mage sword bounced off the inside of the shield.

“You have to stop. We need to talk.”

Hailey swung and again, her words punctuated by her swings. “I…am not…going to…talk…to you!” The shield finally began to fade.

“Listen to me. It won’t hurt you to listen.”

“Why? So you can tell me that you didn’t do anything?”

How had she made the shield this powerful?

Hailey swung again, but still the shield held. She did not want to talk. She wanted to fight. She wanted to kill this woman and free the princess and keep the kingdom safe. She opened her mouth to scream for the guards, but her nemesis seemed to understand what she was about to do.

Isabella gave her a pitying look. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Hailey broke free. “Good. Just stand there, then.”

Isabella summoned a mage blade of her own.

Hailey slashed, but at every turn, Isabella’s blade was there, ready to catch her own. She ground her teeth. Hailey swung for Isabella’s head. Isabella’s blade was there to catch hers. She stabbed and swung, high and low, trying for an opening, but she found none. Sparks danced off of the clashing blades. Hailey wanted to look at the king, to make sure he was ok, but she knew that one glance would mean her death. She had survived against the dragon, but she had never fought anyone with a sword before. She wished she knew more attack spells, but she would not give up. She would defeat this woman or die trying.

“Why won’t you listen?”

“Because you are trying to destroy this kingdom. I don’t need you to try to convince me to help you with whatever evil plan you’re working on.”

Isabella seemed only to be using her blade to block Hailey’s thrusts.

Hailey really should have taken Aaron’s advice and learned to use a regular sword. Hailey was panting now, but she couldn’t let her guard down.

Isabella struck out at her then, and pain seared through Hailey’s upper arm. A small line of blood appeared. Then, before she knew what was happening the shield was around her again. “I warned you,” Isabella said, sounding impatient. We need to talk.”

Then, she did something Hailey had never seen before. She used the word of power to suck the air out of the shield that Hailey was trapped in. “Exstinguo,” said Isabella.

Hailey gasped. She couldn’t breathe. How had this woman, this murderer been able to defeat her so easily?

Isabella didn’t seem to be even winded. She crouched next to Hailey in her tattered dress. “The king is dead.”

Hailey fell to her knees, gasping for air.