Chapter 67
Chapter Sixty-Seven
BELLAMY
E veryone left for the jungle. We’d already decided that would be the best place to face the gods, where we might use the natural elements to our advantage. But I had a final task to complete before I joined.
I wouldn’t fight the gods before I set my brothers free. If the world was ending, they deserved this freedom.
They stood behind me on the terrace as I watched everyone else trek through the village far down below and toward the busted wall Aron had broken through.
The final sleeve I’d knitted was clumsy and had holes and barely hung on. But it would have to do.
My father stood behind me, his eyes on the horizon, watching for the gods. “I can’t believe my sons will finally be free,” he said.
He’d been lucid more and more over the last few days as I entered his mind and tried to undo the mess Khalasa had made.
“My sons.” His voice broke over the last word.
Clouds filled the sky, roaming over the sun and hiding its harsh rays. Sweat rolled down my forehead, and my hands shook as I gripped the first sweater. Jorah’s.
Doubts filled my mind. What if the vision I’d seen so long ago was wrong? What if I’d sacrificed everything for no reason? What if there truly was no way to save my brothers?
“Bellamy.” My father’s voice shook as he raised a finger and pointed at something in the distance.
Seven figures flew through the sky, different colors of smoke surrounding them, dust poofing from them. From here, I could see the way Kairoth’s hands and feet were bound together, his shadows flat against him, unable to move. My entire body coiled tight. It was them. The gods were here, and I had to hurry.
I threw the first sweater over Jorah. It landed over his back, the sleeves settling over his wings. My father handed me the next sweater, and I threw it over Ryder.
“They’re getting closer.” My father clutched my arm tight, and I worried how he’d respond to seeing Khalasa again. But I couldn’t think about that now.
Another sweater. Killian.
“Bellamy!” My father shook my arm, and I turned to see the gods coming straight for us.
Khalasa led them as they soared through the sky. Kairoth stared at me, his mouth gagged, his face bruised and bloodied. Aethira and Ragar held him between them. He must’ve been too weak to use his magic.
Khalasa’s gaze locked on my father, and her upper lip curled as they came closer. I looked up at the sky, unable to see the stars through the thick gathering of clouds. A light rain fell over the terrace, splattering to the ground. The ground shook below, cracks forming. In the distance, the ocean waves rolled high. Dangerously high. Battering the shore and flooding into the jungle.
My frown deepened. Were the gods doing this? Had they already begun to destroy the world?
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen her,” my father said, a tremble in his voice.
I threw another sweater out, this one to Klaus. The sweater fell onto his back. Nothing was happening with my brothers, and my stomach sank.
In the near distance, Kairoth stared at me with red-rimmed eyes, his cheeks so swollen, the skin around his eyes black. Even if he would heal, whatever they’d done to him must’ve been horrible.
I would make them pay for this.
Khalasa stretched out her hands, and starlight blasted down from the clouds right toward me. I felt a tickle in my brain. Something fuzzy inched around the edges, and my eyes grew heavy.
“Bellamy!” My father’s voice was urgent and jolted me.
I stared at Khalasa, realizing she was trying to put me to sleep. I glanced up, not seeing any stars to reach out to. But if Khalasa could reach the stars behind the clouds, then that meant I could too.
I gripped the sweaters tight under one arm while reaching up toward the sky with the other and calling to the stars.
The starlight responded, filling my blood and snaking through me, granting me permission to use it as I wished.
I looked over at my father. “What can Khalasa do with this magic? What can I do?”
He took a deep breath. “Anything, Bellamy. You are a goddess’s daughter.”
I pointed at his heart and touched it, then pointed at mine. I was his daughter. Always his.
His eyes welled with tears, and he tipped his head. “You can do the impossible with this magic. So much more than you ever realized.”
That was exactly what I’d wanted to hear. I looked back at the gods as they came closer, then slashed out my hand and directed the starlight straight toward Kairoth. The light wrapped around him and yanked him from the gods’ grasp, bringing him to me on the terrace.
I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss him, assure him that everything would be okay. But I didn’t have the luxury of time.
“Oh, so you do have some power,” Khalasa yelled. “I was starting to wonder since you’ve done so little with it.”
The gods all stared at me in shock, each of them summoning their magic and pointing it straight toward me.
“No.” My father stood in front of me, holding out his shaky hands.
He reached out toward the castle’s shadow that stretched over the green grass below, then bent it upward like a shield. The gods’ magic blasted toward the wispy shadow, barely visible through it. The magic crashed into the shadow, shaking the castle. Stones came loose and smashed to the ground.
The shield had done its job though. It slowed the magic, giving us time to dive out of the way as it punched through the castle’s shadow and flew over our heads toward the glass doors. It shattered the doors, shards of sharp glass blasting everywhere and raining over us.
Rain still drizzled down, the tiled terrace growing slick. I shuffled my feet and slipped, reaching out a hand to grip the stone balcony and steady myself.
The gods’ hazy forms burst through the castle shadow, and my father dropped it as the castle terrace lurched under us. I looked over the lopsided balcony to see a huge hole in the stone wall below, the earth cracking below us.
This thing was going to collapse soon if we weren’t careful.
The gods landed on the terrace, each one more terrifying and beautiful than the last.
Khalasa stepped forward, her black hair curtaining her pale face. Her purple gown trailed the ground behind her, and she seemed to glow with a purple light. She gripped her scythe, the weapon as tall as her, shiny and purple.
My father stepped back.
“Bathalous,” Khalasa said. “It’s been a while.”
My father stiffened beside me.
“Don’t speak to him,” I signed, pushing forward.
“Is the girl mute?” Aethira asked, her hair made of vines and twigs, her gown a sparkling green She arched her bow, pointing the arrow directly at me.
Ragar stepped forward, his hair a fiery red as flames leapt from his body, swirling around him much like Kairoth’s shadows surrounded his body. “What are we waiting for? We’re here to kill Bathalous, are we not? He’s the one who trapped us.” His jaw locked as he looked at Kairoth. “Along with that traitor.”
“Patience,” Khalasa said.
“And why should we even trust you?” Ysar turned to Khalasa, his lightning bolt sparking, his white wings spreading wide. “You are the reason he trapped us. You and your ill-advised affair.”
“We did tell you it was a bad idea.” Larissa studied her long blue nails while holding her trident with her other hand. Her blue hair flowed like water. “We told you not to fall for the mortal.”
Khalasa’s eyes flashed purple.
“So what are we waiting for?” Fire flared from Ragar’s hammer. “Let’s kill him and the bitch, then everyone else. Start anew.”
I assumed I was the bitch in this situation, and my anger flared.
“And let him get off so easy?” Khalasa glared at Ragar. “We must make him suffer.”
“You cursed his sons,” Uruth said. Small ice crystals covered the frost god’s skin and white hair. “You’re going to kill his daughter in front of him. Is that not punishment enough?”
The gods all began speaking at once while Kairoth coughed behind me. I inched backward toward Kairoth while the gods continued their heated discussion. My father took notice and stepped in front of us, partially blocking me as I summoned my star powers.
It was so odd using magic like this, but now that I knew I could, it felt effortless as I asked the starlight to do my bidding. The light wrapped around Kairoth’s chains, snapping them. His shadows sprang free, and he rose up, his bruises already fading to a mottled green on his skin. His shadows swirled around him.
The gods all stopped mid-argument, turning to stare as Kairoth rose higher in the air, his shadows gathering around him and ready to strike. His dagger was strapped to his side. It was the first time I’d seen it. He grasped it and pointed it forward.
Ragar raised his hammer. “I’m not waiting another fucking minute. They’re all dead, and it’ll be my hammer in their skulls.”
Kairoth’s shadows descended upon the gods, and magic exploded everywhere. Uruth raised his axe, ice shards shooting toward the shadows.
Ragar spun his hammer around and around, sparks of fire shooting from it into the air. Aethira’s hair grew into long vines that lashed out at the shadows, and Larissa pointed her trident at them, waiting.
Ysar rose into the air, his wings flapping behind him, creating a windstorm that pushed against the shadows as he called lightning down with his bolt. Lightning split through the air and right onto the balcony, burning a hole through it.
The swans began shuffling behind me, flapping their wings. I had to get the sweaters on the rest of them. Now.
I dove toward them as Kairoth moved forward, commanding his shadows to fight against the magic.
I threw another sweater across Marcello.
“I don’t think so,” a voice said, and I straightened, turning and coming face-to-face with Khalasa’s scythe, pointed right at my neck. “You think I cursed your brothers just so you could free them? Live happily ever after with your father?”
I was about to summon my star magic when a shadow barreled into Khalasa, knocking her off her feet. I looked over to see my father standing there, his shadow gone. He’d ripped it away and was using it to fight against Khalasa.
He stomped toward her and grasped her feet, nodding at me as he lifted and swung her up, then threw her.
I swallowed, grabbing the next sweater and throwing it over Phoenix’s back.
Fire shot over us, and I summoned starlight to shield my brothers from it, to keep them from flying away.
“You took my entire family from me,” my father yelled as his shadow fought Khalasa’s star magic. She summoned the starlight, but my father’s shadow was quick, darting from the light, dancing around it, around Khalasa. “And you will not go unpunished,” he said.
The east tower loomed over the terrace, and my father reached out to grab its shadow. He commanded the shadow to wrap around Khalasa’s feet, tripping her and toppling her.
I looked down in my arms. One sweater. One sweater left. My heart felt like it might beat out of my chest as I threw the final sweater over Soloman’s back.
“No,” Khalasa screamed from where she lay on the ground, reaching out as my brothers began to shift while my father’s shadow pinned her to the ground.
Their legs lengthened, feathers falling to reveal pale skin. Their beaks retracted, turning into noses, their eyes flashing with colors of green and blue. White and black feathers flew through the air while the gods fought around us.
Khalasa snarled, reaching out a hand, but before she could summon her magic, my father’s shadow pounced, landing on her arm.
The feathers continued to fall, revealing more of my seven brothers. I fell to my knees, staring at them in awe.
Jorah stood tall, brows furrowed. Ryder next to him. Then Klaus and Killian, both of them scratching their heads, blinking in confusion. Marcello was next, the last of his feathers falling from his brown hair. Then Phoenix. All of them wore simple brown trousers and beige tunics, feet bare, the exact same outfits they’d been wearing when Khalasa had cursed them so many years ago.
Tears sprang to my eyes. Just one more. Soloman was almost fully back to himself, his long brown hair flowing behind him as he met my gaze with a timid smile.
“Bellamy!” Kairoth roared from behind me.
I whirled around just in time to see Ragar throwing a ball of fire that hurled straight toward Soloman.
“No!” my father yelled as the ball hit the arm of the sweater. The arm I’d rushed. The arm that had already been burned once.
The sweater arm fell off before Soloman’s wing could transform. I let out a cry, reaching for him, but it was too late.
Soloman was here, but he had a wing instead of an arm.
“No,” I cried, voice raspy and quiet after so many years of not using it.
“It’s okay,” Soloman said quietly, looking down at his wing.
My mouth went dry as I realized what had happened. The dark magic I’d used to save Soloman’s life. It seemed so long ago now that the crocodile had bit him, almost killed him. That I’d used that potion to save him. This was the price. I’d made the choice for him.
Soloman held my gaze as my brothers crowded around him. “It’s okay,” he said again.
Kairoth’s shadows fought and fought against the other gods, but their magic was pushing against his, closing in around us.
I gestured. “Go,” I said to my brothers. “Get inside the castle. Get to safety. We’ll figure everything out soon, but I have to deal with this.”
They all looked at each other. “We’re not leaving you,” Jorah said. “We’ll fight alongside you.”
“I didn’t save you just so you could die in a fight against the gods.”
Ryder stepped forward, taking my hand. “You’re not alone, Bell. You never have been.”
That had certainly been the theme of my life lately.
“My sons.” My father stepped forward, tears in his eyes. “I’ve missed you so very much.” He looked at all of us. “We’re all together. Again. Finally.” He stopped, making a garbled sound, his hands coming to his stomach.
I looked down in horror, a scythe slicing right through his belly.
Blood welled from a hole, spilling through his fingers and splattering to the ground. The rain began to fall harder.
“Father,” I said.
Tears leaked from his eyes, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He coughed, the sound rattling his chest.
Kairoth let out a yell, sending one of his shadows to hit Khalasa. She tumbled to the ground, her head hitting a stone vase and knocking her unconscious. She wouldn’t be out for long.
Kairoth’s shadows had formed a wall around the gods, but their magic was puncturing the shadows over and over. He was doing too much, holding off the gods as best he could to give me the time I needed.
I placed my hands over my father’s stomach as blood continued to seep out. My brothers gathered around, horror pasted on their faces.
“Father,” Jorah said, voice shaking.
“We have to do something,” I said as tears streamed down my face.
“Let me go, darling girl,” Father said. “You did good, Bell. So, so good. This, you all, was always my dream.”
With that he crumpled forward, into Ryder’s arms, his eyes wide open, blank.
“No.” I let out a sob as my brothers crowded around me.
In the distance, light boomed from the treetops. The jungle where everyone had gathered. The gods slowly stopped fighting, all of them looking toward the light.
“What is that?” Ragar pointed with his hammer.
Fire, wind, water, earth, and frost shot into the sky in swoops and swirls.
They were trying to lure the gods to the jungle. They must’ve seen some of the battle, must’ve known we needed help.
“We’re being summoned,” Aethira said, her voice full of amusement like this was some game. “These mortals actually think they are a match for us.”
Larissa scoffed. “So mortals have grown stupider since we’ve been trapped.”
Ragar’s face turned red. “A match for us? Are you saying you think they want to fight us?” He peered into the distance at the trees stretching upward, water shooting into the air.
“What a spectacle,” Ysar muttered, his wings rustling.
“Good,” Uruth said, running a finger along the sharp line of his axe. “I’m growing bored of this.”
“Let’s go teach the mortals a lesson.” Larissa rose into the air, her water-blue hair rising around her. “We’ll take care of you later.” She pointed at Kairoth, who’d sunk to the ground, his shadows surrounding him.
With that, the gods flew off, straight toward the battle waiting.
Ryder laid my father down gently as rain fell harder, soaking us. Kairoth walked over, laying a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” he said quietly.
Tears continued to stream down my face. I’d saved my brothers but doomed my father.
“At least he got to see us free.” Phoenix’s voice wobbled as he knelt by my father’s head, stroking his hair back.
Soloman stayed quiet, staring. The others sniffled.
Kairoth looked toward the jungle in the distance. “I have to go.” He pressed his lips to mine in a swift kiss. “You stay here as long as you need to say goodbye.”
With that, he lifted and flew toward the commotion in the jungle.
We sat around my father, all of us holding hands as we cried and remembered everything he’d done for us. My brothers knew of everything from his diary entries. I’d kept them updated when I visited their dreams.
The earth wrenched under us, the balcony tilting as it broke in two. Screams peppered the air.
I wanted to stay here with my father, to celebrate his life, but we had a battle to fight and no more time to mourn.
“We have to make them pay,” Ryder said, coming to a stand. “We have to go fight that battle and we have to win.”
My brothers nodded, and I stood. “Are you sure about this? You just came out of a curse. You might not be ready to use your magic.”
“I will avenge my father,” Ryder said. “I will get revenge for what was done to me by that horrible woman.”
“Let’s not wait,” Klaus said, punching a fist into his hand. “She’s unconscious, so let’s make her pay now.”
We all looked to the corner of the balcony where Khalasa had been knocked out, but she was no longer there.