Her screams.

Oh, how her screams pierced. They weren't screams; they were magic, charged, deadly and full of malice. Anguish and hatred were personified in her tortured yells. Her mind could not comprehend the loss of her sister Morgause, her one true link to the magical world. She could not forgive anyone, not even herself. Her magic burned her inside, flames eating away at any goodness left in her soul, corrupting and manipulating her mind. There was no way back now.

I could feel her burn. Her power was radiating across the room, forcing Gaius and I onto our backs amid the rubble of the tattered Throne Room. My head was pounding; the screams were building in pitch and power, rolling across the room in great waves.

Her screams.

Her screams built to a crescendo. Groggily, I lifted my dust – coated head and stared into her eyes. No longer the beautiful emerald green of her youth, her eyes blazed back at me. Black. She was becoming inhuman, consumed by magic as only the most tortured souls could be. So much loathing was in her eyes. I became transfixed, unable to tear my gaze away from her agonized eyes.

She bared her teeth at me. As if it was my fault! I had been the one who had striven to keep all alive. This was not the end I wanted, nor the end she deserved. This was not how it should have happened. Her sister shouldn't have been killed. No one should have to suffer so.

Her screams.

Her last scream echoed out into the bleak night. It mingled with the dust, the crumbling bricks and the pressing silence of the night. It lingered on for an eternity. It crept inside my ears, crawled through my feelings. I could hear her thoughts. They horrified me more than the most terrible screams.

All shall pay. And all shall die.