Chapter 259: Lyvarian Court (3)
Evanna kept dodging vines, sharp wooden splinters and moss that curled around her feet and tried to sink her and slow her down. The king’s powers were truly terrifying, and she could tell in the moments of heaving for breath, Nuvian was enjoying watching her dance. She was tired quicker than she would normally and snarled after seeing her grandfather enjoying himself, causing her pain and almost dying.
By now, Evanna had a few cuts on her arms and legs from the thorns or missing an occasional splinter. She hopped over a vine, slid under another and used one of the guards as a shield and pushed him in front of her. Guilt knotted her stomach when the vine wrapped around him and squeezed.
The elf screamed until he burst, and guts and blood exploded. Evanna moved her head to the side, hoping it didn’t spray on her, but kept the king in her sights. He seemed annoyed by the guard who got in his way.
"*Time to finish this old man!*" Her words made his eyes sharpen, and she knew he didn’t appreciate being called old.
She sprinted towards him, calling her own powers, creating a thorny vine slithering around the ones going towards her. She used them to tighten around the king’s, halting their movements before she slipped in and out of the entangled vines that were like some enchanted forest inside the hall now.
Evanna caressed the king’s vines and watched as the colour drained from them, the life leaking out like golden dust that swirled beneath the surface of her skin on her hands. One by one, the king’s vines dropped with a heavy thud to the ground, shrivelling up. Now Evanna could feel the life force of his plants coiling inside her chest. The act of using her powers should have drained her, but she’d taken it from the king; the power was like warm honey empowering her.
Slowly, Evanna’s steps started to echo in the palace that had her own creation of vines continuously growing upwards. Now, the king’s plants were dead on the ground. With each step Evanna took, the green in the moss turned brown. King Nuvian smirked, seeming eager, and some other emotion flashed across his eyes, but she didn’t know what to make of it or if she was trying to see something that was not there.
The king seemed... proud of her? Evanna internally shook her head. The king could not be proud of her. He did not know her.
Evanna cartwheeled to the side as a new vine shot straight towards her. Though she dodged this time, it didn’t waste time chasing her. Evanna groaned her frustration and glared at the king. She was done playing games.