The forest was eerily silent. The wind had died down, and the only sound was the distant crackle of flames from where the cursed ones had been erased. Lisa's pulse pounded in her ears as she stood across from Elizabeth.
The woman radiated pure power.
Her long red hair barely moved despite the tension in the air, her golden eyes gleaming like a predator studying its prey. The very space around her felt unnatural, suffocating.
Jacob didn't hesitate. He charged.
His sword sliced through the air, a blur of steel aimed straight for Elizabeth's throat.
But she was already gone.
In a heartbeat, she reappeared behind him.
Jacob barely had time to react before her foot connected with his ribs.
CRACK.
The force sent him hurtling through the trees, shattering bark and stone as he crashed through the landscape like a ragdoll. Lisa's breath caught in her throat.
Elizabeth hadn't even used magic. That was just her raw strength.
Jacob struggled to rise, coughing blood, but Elizabeth was already there.
She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing.
"Disappointing," she murmured.
Jacob growled, gripping her wrist, his aura flaring. He swung his sword with brutal force.
Elizabeth didn't move.
The blade stopped an inch from her neck.
Jacob's eyes widened in shock. His arm wouldn't move.
Lisa gasped, realizing what had happened. Mind control.
Elizabeth smiled. "You're mine now."
Jacob's body turned against him. His own sword, still in his grip, twisted and slashed toward his own chest.
Lisa reacted instantly, blasting a beam of golden light between them. The force shattered Elizabeth's grip, sending Jacob stumbling backward.
Elizabeth didn't seem bothered. If anything, she looked amused.
Lisa stepped forward, hands glowing. "I won't let you control us."
Elizabeth chuckled. "You don't have a choice."
A pulse of dark energy exploded outward.
Lisa's knees buckled. Her mind screamed.
Memories, pain, voices—all crashed into her like a tidal wave.
She saw Kol's past—his suffering, his rage. She saw the moment he lost control. The moment he became something else.
She saw her own death.
Lisa screamed.
The vision shattered, and she collapsed, gasping. Elizabeth was in her head.
Jacob lunged again.
Elizabeth caught his wrist mid-strike.
Then, with effortless strength, she swung him overhead and slammed him into the ground.
CRUNCH.
Jacob let out a choked gasp, blood spraying from his mouth.
Lisa pushed herself up, trying to summon her light again, but Elizabeth snapped her fingers.
A hex formed in the air, twisting Lisa's own energy, turning it against her. The light died in her hands.
Lisa's stomach dropped. She was completely powerless.
Jacob groaned, forcing himself to rise. His armor was cracked, his breaths ragged. But he didn't stop.
Elizabeth sighed. "Stubborn."
She vanished.
Then—
SLAM.
Jacob's body flew into the air, spun violently, and crashed into a boulder.
Before he could even breathe, Elizabeth appeared above him, her foot driving straight into his chest.
BAM.
The earth caved beneath him.
Lisa's heart pounded. He's going to die.
She tried to move. To do anything.
Elizabeth raised her hand for the final blow.
Lisa's instincts screamed.
And then—
She saw it.
The way Elizabeth's energy shifted. The way she bent space. The way she moved.
It was witchcraft.
Teleportation.
Lisa reached deep inside herself. If Elizabeth could do it, so could she.
The moment Elizabeth swung down—
Lisa grabbed Jacob's arm—
And vanished.
---
Kol's Location – The Battlefield of Thunder
The world ripped apart for a single second.
Lisa and Jacob crashed onto solid ground, gasping for air.
Lisa's head throbbed. Her entire body shook.
But they were alive.
And when she looked up—
Kol stood before them, surrounded by black lightning.
Lisa's breath caught.
The real fight was about to begin.