Chapter 55 – Raelyn
Chapter Fifty-Five
RAELYN
Iblink, and I’m standing on a dark, rocky plateau. It takes a moment for my mind to catch up with everything before me—a burning fire, an altar, a golden net holding a bleeding . . . wait, is that gold blood? Is that a goddess? Where’s Kian?
I stifle a gasp when I spot Kyros standing above Kian’s limp form, ready to plunge a golden sword into his already bleeding body. I can scent him from here, and a howl leaves my lips.
Kyros spins to look at me, confusion marring his features. “That’s not possible.”
With a hand pressed to my middle, I rush at him, screaming, needing to do anything to get him away from my husband.
My eyes catch on an abandoned sword behind him, and at the last second, I slide to my knees, ducking underneath the blade Kyros holds aloft.
To my relief, my fingers close around the hilt.
Doing my best to block out my pain, I spring to my feet behind the god and swing the sword with all my might.
The clang of metal on metal reverberates up my arm, and I gasp at the speed with which Kyros has outmaneuvered me.
“Daughter, put down the sword,” Kyros says placatingly, withdrawing a step. “We can finally be a family after all this time. I’ll take you to her . . . to your mother. I’m sure she would be overjoyed to see you.”
“Don’t listen to him.” Cary grunts from where he lies on the ground, trying to push himself up.
My eyes dart between both of my fathers and then to Kian, who lies far too still on the ground . . . but I’m alive, aren’t I? He has to be okay.
“Come, daughter. Put down the sword,” Kyros repeats. “Let me have my revenge, and then we can be a family.”
I hate that there’s a part of me that wants to listen to him.
The little girl who felt unloved by her mother, the girl who always felt different, the girl who sought a father’s approval above all else.
But my eyes flash to Kian on the ground.
Kyros was ready to make a killing blow, knowing it would also kill me.
“Such pretty lies, Father,” I retort, readying my stance. “I will never trust you again.”
Kyros’ golden eyes burn as I swing at him, trying to get him away from Kian. “You’ll regret your choice, daughter. I won’t make such an offer twice.”
I fly at him with a vengeance, and we parry back and forth, but I can’t quite get the upper hand.
I’m faster, more agile than ever despite the aching hole in my gut, but he’s stronger.
The clang of our swords rings out through the night, and a faint cackle comes from the direction of the mysterious goddess.
I can’t afford to lose focus now. I need to stop him.
“You think I want to go with you?” I grit out, punctuating each word with another slash or thrust of my sword.
“You tricked me! You brought me here, and instead of being honest and asking me to take your place, you deceived me. Did you ever love me more than you loved yourself?” I cry as tears roll down my cheeks.
Kyros looks unmoved as he swings at my legs, and I barely jump out of the way in time. “You can’t possibly understand my love. I’m a god. Wait until you’ve lived millennia. Then we’ll speak again.”
I scream, and it’s my undoing. Kyros knocks the blade from my hand and holds his to my throat.
“Perhaps I should decide for you. I’m sure your mother would love to see you,” he muses, then frowns. “How did you escape the pit?”
“A fae broke the enchantment,” I reply.
A low growl emanates from him. “Damn. Now I have to figure out what to do with Luna.”
My eyes dart to the goddess under the net. There is no way in hells . . . Luna? The goddess of the moon?
Kyros runs a hand through his hair in an oddly mortal way before his face hardens again. “You have caused me much grief, Raelyn. Perhaps I should just end you now.”
I stand my ground, not willing to show weakness, even as I break inside. “Do what you must.”
Kyros retreats a step, withdrawing the sword from my throat.
His muscles bunch as he pulls his arm back, ready to thrust it into me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the killing blow doesn’t come as I’m shoved out of the way.
I catch my balance before I fall, my eyes flying open to Cary standing in my place, a sword plunged into his chest.
“No!” I cry out. As angry as I’ve been, a part of me will always love the man who raised me.
“You fool,” Kyros spits at him. “You’ve only delayed the inevitable. With you out of the way, what’s to stop me?” He closes the distance between them, pushing the blade in to the hilt. “You’ve lost, Cary. You failed.”
Cary chokes, and blood sprays from his mouth, but he smiles an odd sort of smile. One of acceptance and . . . cunning? “She will always be my daughter.” His eyes dart to mine, and he whispers, “I love you,” right before he plunges a golden dagger into Kyros’ heart.
“No!” the trapped goddess wails.
Kyros blinks in shock. Once. Twice. His free hand goes to his chest, and then he collapses.
An explosion of light shoots out of his body, heading straight for me, and I scream as it hits me with a fiery heat.
Knowledge of the realms floods my mind in an overwhelming rush, and I grasp at my head in agony. It’s so much . . . too much.
I’m on the ground, staring up at the night sky, unable to move, when smoky grey eyes meet mine. I want to sob in relief as Kian pulls me to his chest, holding me tightly as I allow all my tears to fall.
“Love . . .” he whispers. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.”
“Are they really gone?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“Kyros’ body disintegrated into ash,” Kian says. “Cary is dead.”
I squeeze him, and he flinches. “Gods, are you okay?” I pull back, searching for the wound on his abdomen, but it’s sealed shut. Thanks to our connection?
A low chuckle comes out of him. “It’s not so bad anymore, surprisingly.”
Loud sobs grab my attention, and I twist to look at the weeping goddess. “I have so many questions,” I whisper.
“Let me just say, the gods are incredibly screwed up,” Kian replies.
“Watch it. Apparently, I’m one of them now.”
Kian cups my face in his hands, examining me closely. “You’re incredible, Rae. You saved me.”
I shake my head, even as tears pool in my eyes. “I didn’t do much . . . Cary sacrificed himself for me . . . for us.” I take a breath before continuing, “I’m grateful to him, but at the same time, he was a terrible father.”
Kian squeezes me to his chest again. “It’s a complicated thing, to love one who treats you poorly. It’s okay to have mixed feelings about it all.”
I take a deep, shuddering breath, shoving those thoughts away for later. “We should probably deal with the angry goddess.”
“You’re right.”
Helping me to my feet, Kian wraps an arm around my waist, as if he doesn’t want to let me go, and we make our way over to the golden net.
“Is that Dylan?” I gasp as I take in the barely recognizable body and shudder at the gruesome display.
“Yep,” Kian says. “You can thank Kyros and Cary for that.”
Gods, I hope I can burn the image from my brain. I do not wish for him to take up any space in there ever again.
“What did you do!” the goddess shrieks at us.
“We did nothing,” Kian says diplomatically. “Cary is the one who killed Kyros.”
She screams again, and I want to throttle her.
I kneel down before Luna, allowing the goddess in me to shine a little brighter. “Kyros is gone. His power is now mine.” As I look upon the goddess, I’m filled with a sense of knowing. Flickering images of her history with Kyros flip past in my mind. Gods, Kian was right. Incredibly screwed up.
Luna glares up at me, showing surprising strength in spite of the enchanted blade pinning her to the ground.
“I will free you if you swear not to take out your wrath on this realm,” I say calmly, coldly.
“And if I don’t agree?” she grits out. “You can’t keep me here forever.”
“What’s one more dead god?”
She laughs almost hysterically. “Foolish baby goddess, you can’t kill me.”
I frown, looking to Kian, and he shrugs, clearly not understanding what she means.
“Kyros’ ashes would imply otherwise,” I say.
“Go ahead. Stab me. See what happens.”
“I do not wish to play games with you,” I grit out.
“All I will say is that Cary must have truly loved you for his blade to strike true,” Luna says. “It takes quite a sacrifice to kill a god as ancient as Kyros.”
My heart skips a beat, and I glance at his body, an odd grief threatening to overtake me, but I swallow and shake it off.
“There are very few things that can permanently contain a god, and by the sound of it, you just destroyed one,” Luna coos.
“But I have a fae who is more than willing to reactivate the wards,” I say, hoping to all the other gods that she won’t call my bluff.
Luna looks at me suspiciously, her starry eyes trying to bore through me.
I clear my throat. “Do we have a bargain? You will not harm this realm?”
Luna sneers at me but then nods. “We have a bargain. I have no desire to return to this gods-cursed realm anyway.”
“A blood bargain,” I say. “One you cannot break.”
Surprise flutters across Luna’s face. “You’re learning, baby goddess. Fine.”
She swipes a finger through her bleeding middle and holds up the shimmering substance to me. With a grimace, I gather some onto my finger and put it into my mouth. Magic surges through me, and I know her oath is binding.
Grabbing the hilt of the blade, I yank it out of her and am rewarded with an ear-piercing shriek. Kian carefully removes the golden net, and she rises a little unsteadily to her feet. She is striking to look at despite her disheveled appearance.
She licks her lips and sniffs the air. “You don’t mind if I have a snack before I leave? I smell cowards.”
I raise a brow at Kian, but before I can think of a response, the goddess is a blur of silvery light disappearing into the trees.
“What in the hells was that about?” I ask. “Oh gods, what if she goes after Alex and Sera?”
Kian shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure she’s tracking down Cary’s men who helped trap her.”
“Should we stop her?”
“Personally, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of a hungry goddess.”
“I’m glad she didn’t ask for proof that Sera can remake the wards. I don’t even know if that’s possible.”
Kian’s eyes widen. “Sera? I have much to catch up on, it appears.”
“Do you think Luna will stay away? I’m still figuring out how this all works.”
“I don’t know anything about blood bargains, but if she somehow finds a way to break it”—he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into him—“I believe I know a powerful sun goddess who will fight to protect her realm.”
He rests his forehead on mine, and I glow with warmth. His belief in me makes me want to prove him right. Kian presses a kiss to my forehead, and I melt into him. He’s my strength and my wings.
“What do we do with all these things?” I pull away and gesture toward the enchanted net and blades. “Surely we can’t just leave them here.”
Kian frowns. “I don’t really care to lug them down the mountain in that heavy chest.”
“I wonder if I have enough power to travel again . . .”
He quirks a brow. “Travel?”
“Ah, you were unconscious when I arrived. I got here by stepping through light somehow. I don’t fully understand it, but it’s a goddess thing. I’m not sure if I can bring anyone with me.”
“Well, it’s certainly worth a try.” He grins.
Kian places the enchanted net and blades back into the chest after setting fire to Cary and Dylan—it’s the least we can do. They’ll forever remain on this cursed isle.
Kian turns me to face him, his hands gently cupping my cheeks. “Are you truly all right? I can’t even imagine what’s going on in your mind right now.”
“I won’t lie and say everything is fine, but with you at my side, we can face anything.” I lift my right arm, the golden mark shimmering in the moonlight. “We’re eternally bound. You’re stuck with me, my prince.”
A grin splits his handsome face. “There’s no one I’d rather be stuck with.”
I rise to my toes, and he crushes my mouth to his in an all-consuming kiss. I thread my fingers into his unruly hair, pulling him even closer. When our mouths finally part, I whisper, “I love you, Kian. Let’s go home.”