Chapter 668: A Role to Play
Elise gave me a long, searching look, and nodded. "I’ll do my best."
"Constance, get over here!" Luke called, drawing his sword.
The Apostle of Swords picked the white-horned demonkin up, cradling her gently and jogging over to us. It was only a few steps, but he panted as he laid her in Luke’s arms.
"Don’t worry," Luke said softly, picking a strand of hair off her sweat-soaked forehead.
Elise’s golden light filled the room again. The curse around Evla’s soul was thick and foul, hissing as the fate magic penetrated its depths. The demonkin’s soul shivered as the two forces struggled for dominance. She squirmed in Luke’s arms, whimpering against his chest.
Across the room, the empire’s healer frantically cast spells over the emperor. His soul wavered with exhaustion, spinning multiple high-circle spells at once. When he stopped to gulp a few swallows from the water skin he carried, Elaine laid a comforting hand on his shoulder but didn’t look away from the emperor. The man, the very picture of dignity and power, lay slumped across his Throne, eyes closed and chest fluttering weakly. His skin was sallow, and the lines on his forehead made him seem to have aged a dozen years.
Elise’s magic finally broke through the curse shrouding Evla’s soul. The demonkin twisted with a cry of pain, clinging to Luke’s shirt with both hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her writhing ceased, and her soul managed to purge the last of the curse.
"Thank you, " she whispered, catching Elise’s wrist as she pulled away.
Elise nodded and gently extricated herself, beginning to cast the spell on Edrin. Unlike Evla, Edrin was a front-line fighter with a more resilient body and soul. When Liberation began burning out the curse, he hardly grunted.
"R’lissea, please, I need you," I said, turning my gaze back to the emperor.
She nodded and rose to join me, but Luke moved in front of us, still holding the now unconscious Evla.