Invisible hands gripped my shoulders as the Shadow King's spell attempted to force me away from Peter. 

"No!" I cried, drawing on my mana to push away his dark magic. 

As the dark spell dragged me past Peter, she reached out and drew me towards her. The Orc's muscles trembled from the effort as she strained against the magic, clutching me to her chest. 

The unmistakable tug of telekinesis grew more insistent until it tore me away from her, hurtling me through the air past her shield. I landed before the Shadow Riders, barely able to cushion my fall. 

With a groan, I stumbled to my feet. My head was spinning. Two of the Riders dismounted, striding past their leader towards me. 

The Orc leaped up and roared in protest. Before she could race to my side, the Shadow King snapped his fingers and froze her in place.

"Peter!"

An angry growl rumbled from the doldrums of her chest. "I can't move, Liselle! Run!"

Fear gripped my heart, urging me to sprint as fast as I could. But my legs felt as heavy as stone.

"I can't!"

The Riders whipped magical restraints into the air. The metal chains coiled around my middle and squeezed tightly. A pained grunt escaped my lips as I fell to the dusty ground. 

They each grabbed an arm, dragging me forward. With a painful downward shove, they forced me to kneel in front of their leader.

"One of the three Demon Sorcerers from the prophecy, Lord Hesse. We couldn't find the others."

Demon Sorcerers? Is he mad?

"Let me go!" I demanded.

I glared at their leader. I'd never seen the Shadow King in the flesh. Armed with a giant black sword, the evil Wraith wore a bejeweled metal helmet with tall tines that masked his face.

Snapping his fingers, he extinguished the firestorms around us, leaving only parched, barren earth in their place. The air cleared as the dust and ash settled to the ground. The red glow of distant flames glistened on the Shadow King's metal helmet.

"You may have escaped the call of fate once at your Induction Ceremony, but you cannot avoid it forever, Liselle. You are coming with us."

Anger sparked within me at his attempt to claim me. It ignited a searing flame that danced on my palms. 

"That's what you think."

"Twenty years ago, I met a Risan Sorceress like you. Red hair. Hazel eyes. Defiant. That girl--Helena--had the hubris to think she could fight her own destiny." Lord Hesse's chuckle rumbled from deep inside his chest. "Now she leads my army."

"I'll never join you."

"That's what they all say," he retorted. "After nearly four decades, no one has ever resisted my power."

"I will."

I cupped the fire and molded it into a giant fireball that I launched towards Lord Hesse. Before it could reach him, one of the Shadow Riders exhaled a powerful blast of frigid, arctic air. It collided with the flaming sphere, extinguishing it with a quiet hiss.

My heart leaped into my throat. What creature could combat fire magic with a single breath?

"Resist all you want, but it will be for naught. You will embrace the darkness like the others."

A loud roar made me jump, followed by a crack as loud as thunder. I whipped around to find Peter snarling at the Wraiths. Free of the spell, the Orc stomped forward until she stood before me with her arms outstretched, shielding me from the Riders.

"Enough, Lord Hesse," she said in an angry roar. "Your magic cannot hold back a Draconic hybrid for long."

"So it would seem."

Lord Hesse's cold, calculative stare shifted between Peter and me, analyzing the Orc's protective stance. "Have you already fallen prey to your Risan curse? Your father held out for longer."

"It is my duty to protect Halden," he sneered. "We're the only ones left. You made sure of that."

The Shadow King released a mocking chuckle and extended his arms towards the heavens.  

Obsidian clouds spilled forth from nothingness, scudding across the sky and casting a dark shadow upon the battlefield. At the dark lord's command, they coalesced and swirled in giant whirlpools like the contents of a witch's cauldron. Ferocious winds whipped around us until the clouds formed a funnel that began to approach the dusty earth, crackling with electric energy.

The black clouds eddied overhead as lightning coursed through the sky, followed by loud cracks of thunder. The energy solidified, caging Peter inside a shimmering forcefield that buzzed in protest whenever she slammed into it.

"Lord Darius was not pleased to learn that you hid yet another Sorceress from us," Lord Hesse said. "First Helena. Now Liselle and the two other Fireborn Sorcerers. You'll beg for death after he's finished with you."

"I'm not a Fireborn," I insisted.

"Not yet."

Lord Hesse clicked his tongue, and the stallion trotted to one side, allowing another Shadow Rider to take his place. "Lord Darius, you may punish the Orc as you see fit, but bring the girl back to me unharmed. She will join us, or I shall feast upon her soul."

Peter roared in protest, and my insides turned to ice.

The Wraith leader departed, galloping towards a desolate field in the distance, followed closely by his elite guard. The dark, magical funnel impacted the ground with a massive shockwave that knocked both Peter and me prone. When the tornado rose, the Shadow Riders had vanished within its dark depths.

Some portal.

Peter rose to her feet and faced the Shadow Rider. "Still bound to do the will of the Wraith, Father?"

"Lord Darius is your father?" I asked, incredulous. "I thought--?"

Peter flashed me a look filled with anger and regret. "Once the Wraith took control, he renamed himself Lord Darius."

"But he's an--"

"Ice dragon, I know."

I stared breathlessly at the fearsome Wraith, who chuckled darkly in reply. In History class, I'd read gruesome tales about ice dragons. Men who could morph into giant beasts and turn a battlefield into a glacier with a single breath.

"Face me in your original form, Petrus!" Lord Darius commanded.

Peter squared her shoulders. "No."

"Has your woman seen your true self? Time to give her a reality check, don't you think?"

The Shadow Rider clenched his right fist. Peter doubled over, roaring in agony.

"No!" Panic and terror sent me whirling toward the Rider. "Stop, stop, stop!"

"He can fight the magic of a Wraith," Lord Darius said. "But not the spell of a Dragon."

"Peter!"

"Don't resist, Petrus. It will be less painful if you do."

Contorted in pain, she began to shift against her will, fighting every change with blood-curdling screams. "Go to Hades!" she retorted, baring her teeth with rage.

Peter morphed into a tall, pale, lanky hybrid male with light-blue skin and silver hair. Only his gray eyes stayed the same. He sank to the ground, naked, knees drawn to his chest for a modicum of decency.

"Behold the real man you admire," the Rider snarled. "He has only the pigmentation of a draconic ice Warrior. Without his ability to shift, he's just a pathetic Risan weakling."

Peter stared at the Shadow Rider with a look of defiance. "I define who I am, Father. Not you."

I raced towards Peter to help. But he held up a palm to stop me and shook his head. 

It infuriated me to merely stand by and watch Peter fighting the Rider in vain. He clenched his jaw and held out his palms, his receptors pulsing and thrumming as he fought his father's spell.  

"Let go of him," I demanded. "Now!" 

"Defend him if you must, Sorceress."

Rage clawed and writhed inside of me. I fed on those dark emotions, allowing the fire to build up in my palms to the point of searing pain. Squaring my shoulders, I pulled mana towards my receptors until I couldn't contain the magical energy any longer.

"Destroy!"

A massive shockwave burst forth from my receptors in a blinding ray of light. The kickback from the spell knocked me to the ground. Lord Darius' dark stallion reared onto his hind legs with a startled, otherworldly whinny. Nearby tree trunks split in half with a loud crack like thunder and tumbled to the ground with a deafening crash.

But the Shadow Rider remained upright on his stallion.

Impossible.

"I admire your fortitude," Lord Darius said with a curious lilt. "But this fool must pay for his treachery."

"Peter is no traitor."

"He betrayed the Gatál and joined the Defenders."

"After they occupied his homeland."

"He'd rather turn you into a demon than see you fall into our hands, yet you still defend him."

The Shadow Rider extended his hands towards his son. Massive bolts of combat lightning erupted from his fingertips, tearing through his son's body. I could see the outline of Peter's skeleton as the electric power coursed through his nerves. It made him convulse in agony.

"Shield!" I flung the barrier towards Peter, but it absorbed only a fraction of the energy from his father's attack. "What are you doing? He's your son!"

The Rider ceased his attack. I raced towards Peter, scanning his body with my Risan magic. Smoke rose from his skin, and I cringed at the smell of burning flesh. He'd suffered massive internal injuries from the attack.

Fatal.

Peter needed intensive magical aid to recover, but I hadn't learned those complicated spells yet. 

I wasn't strong enough. 

"I'm sorry, Peter."  My hands trembled with fear and anger. "I should have listened to you at the Tower."

"It's not your fault."

In a vain attempt to save him, I removed my outer Healer robes and draped them over his trembling body. Clasping Peter's manual receptors, I willed some of my life energy into him.

"Liselle, take this." Peter grasped a medallion around his neck and tugged it free. He placed the jewel in my hand, curling my fingers around it. "Go back to the university."

"You have a teleporter?" I asked, incredulous. "We'll use it together."

"It only takes one person."

"No, Peter. I won't leave you."

Blood spluttered from his lips as his body began to shake even more violently. With trembling hands, he draped the chain around my neck and pressed the medallion to my chest.

"I'm dying, Liselle. Save yourself."

A flash of white light burst forth from his hands, and I could feel the tug of the teleport. "No, Peter! Save your strength!"

"It's over," he said, gasping for breath.

As the world around me dimmed and faded, I watched helplessly as Peter drew his final ragged breath. After his body sank to the earth, a bright light engulfed him, and I shielded my eyes from his brilliance, which rivaled the blistering summer sun.

After his energy had faded, a tiny yellow sphere drifted towards the sky. Peter's voice echoed in my mind one last time.

I'll find you, Liselle.

I watched his spirit float away until it dissipated into the heavens. His medallion quivered against my chest and began to thrum in regular pulses.

The Wraith roared with anger and raced towards me on his stallion. My heart thudded against my ribs as though it were trying to escape the thundering steed.

Just before his gloved hand reached for me, the ground slipped from under my feet. Hollow and stunned, I collapsed onto the grounds of the university campus clasping Peter's medallion.

As I stumbled to my feet in the muddy grass, I swore a solemn oath to the gods. I wouldn't rest until I avenged my loved ones and every Shadow Rider turned to dust.