Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Later that day, Morthul made Daniel sit next to his throne again.
"Let me show you what I can do." Morthul brushed his thumb across Daniel's cheek. "What you have given me the power to do."
Daniel recoiled, but he couldn't move away. Even if he'd had the strength, the shadow tendrils still held him in place, their cold touch seeping through his clothes. His head throbbed where it had hit the floor, blood crusting at his temple.
Still, he didn't feel defeated. "I didn't give you shit."
Morthul smiled at him, but said nothing more. Instead, he turned to his followers. His worshippers. "My children!" Morthul's voice rolled across the transformed theater. "I believe it is time for a demonstration."
A murmur of awe filled the hall as those mindless idiots turned to the throne in rapture. They came closer, stopping just in front of the copper symbols on the floor.
"Your devotion will be rewarded." Morthul raised his hands. "Your blood will forge the path."
A flash of silver as all of the followers drew knives at the same time and held them in front of their chests. In perfect unison, they stabbed themselves. Blood splashed onto the copper symbols. The metallic scent hit Daniel's nose at the same time as horror coiled in his guts.
No!
This was so wrong.
This was so fucking wrong.
And all the while, the circles began to glow brighter, brighter, until he had to squint against their radiance.
The air crackled, and reality rippled like heat waves off summer pavement.
A tear formed at the far end of the hall, edges ragged and bleeding shadow. Through it, Daniel saw a bleak landscape—twisted black trees rising from ash-gray earth, their branches reaching like grasping fingers toward a deep purple sky.
Veridia's shadow realm.
Shapes moved in that darkness. Countless glowing eyes fixed on the opening between worlds. Claws tested the boundary, sending whispers of shadow seeping through before pulling back.
The connection wasn't stable yet. It couldn't be.
But it would be. When Morthul had his way.
"Please." A woman fell to her knees, arms outstretched toward the portal. "Transform us, my lord. Make us worthy."
Others joined her, begging, crying, reaching toward that blasted hellscape like it held salvation.
Daniel's stomach lurched. These people had no idea what waited on the other side. What those creatures would do once Morthul unleashed them.
"Soon." Morthul's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. With a gesture, he sealed the portal closed. The sudden absence of that otherworldly pressure made Daniel's ears pop. "But first, you must prove yourselves worthy of such gifts. Remember, it is the faith that flows through your blood that makes this possible."
The shadows around Daniel tightened as Morthul turned that alien smile on him.
"And of course, you have your part to play as well." Morthul's fingers brushed Daniel's cheek. "Rest now, little mate. You'll need your strength to sit on the throne of our new world beside me."
Darkness crept across Daniel's vision. He fought it, but his body betrayed him, dragging him down into unconsciousness.
Icy plains stretched into darkness. The dreamscape wavered like a reflection in water, as if it might dissolve at any moment. Wind howled, but the sound came from impossibly far away.
"Daniel."
The sound of Caelen's voice made Daniel's chest ache. Where was it coming from?
"Listen." His voice was so faint, but his urgency was clear. "The merger… break the symbols when he starts. His power will spread thin and then…" The words faded into wind.
"Caelen!" Daniel's voice echoed strangely in the unstable dream. "Where are you?"
"Stab his heart. When the ritual becomes unstable. It's your only chance."
Daniel's throat closed. To stab Morthul, he would have to stab Caelen. "That would kill you too."
"Better dead than watching him use me to destroy—" The dream flickered violently. "Daniel, promise me. Promise you'll end this."
"But I can't?—"
The winter landscape shattered. Daniel jerked awake in the silk-draped bed, heart beating too fast. Caelen's voice echoed in his head, those last desperate words playing on repeat.
He pressed his face into the pillow. Break the symbols. Stab Morthul's heart.
Caelen's heart.
His fingers clutched the sheets until his knuckles went white. How could he…?
His phone buzzed on the bedside table. Daniel ignored it. Then it buzzed again. And again.
Finally, he reached for it. His lock screen overflowed with notifications. Missed calls from Jamie. News alerts. Texts from Adrian and the others.
He wanted to talk to his friends, but what could he say to them? Hey, the guy I'm in love with just asked me to kill him?
They'd probably agree.
Swiping the messages away, Daniel opened the news. Riots in Chicago. Strange lights over Tokyo. Mass hysteria in London. A video auto-played—massive orcs chasing screaming people.
Daniel turned it off and dropped the phone onto the bed.
How was any of this real?
He longed to go back to a time when the stories he read remained just that: stories.
He'd never have met Caelen then, and there was something infinitely sad about that, but wouldn't it have been better for both of them? If they'd never met.
Daniel blew out a breath, rejecting the thought.
Falling into despair would not solve his issues. The important thing was that Morthul needed to be stopped and Caelen had told him how.
But how could Daniel plunge a blade into Caelen's chest?
Morthul brought him back into the throne room later that day, tying him to the smaller chair next to his own once again.
He seemed excited, and so did his followers.
Daniel's chest tightened. Their happiness could only mean bad things for him.
"What are you up to?" Daniel demanded to know, wrists aching as he tried to free them from the shadows that bound him.
"Oh, but I already told you, didn't I?" Morthul smiled widely. "I will merge this world with Verida and become god of both wolds. It is finally time."
Daniel wanted to throw up in his face, but he didn't get the chance.
He didn't get the chance to do anything.
Stab him, Caelen had said, but even if Daniel had a knife, he couldn't move as Morthul's followers readied themselves to spill their blood for their new god.
A tall woman in flowing black robes stepped forward, head bowed in reverence. "My lord, we await your command."
"Begin," Morthul commanded in Caelen's voice, though Caelen would never have wanted any of this.
Caelen wanted Morthul to die, and Daniel was failing to kill him.
The first blade bit into flesh. Blood welled, dark against pale skin. Daniel struggled against his bonds, the shadows cutting deeper.
Fuck it all.
He had to stop this. Had to do something.
A crash echoed from beyond the great doors.
The follower with the bleeding palm looked up, crimson drops spattering the symbols below. Another crash followed, closer this time. A song drifted through the cracks between the doors, wrapping around Daniel's thoughts like silk. His head grew heavy, floating.
The doors exploded inward.
The throne room... changed. Daniel blinked hard, but the walls still bent at impossible angles. His friends charged through the entrance.
Knox, and Zev, and Adrian and… Adrian again?
Daniel's vision doubled, tripled. Knox moved like he was dancing, or maybe there were three of him, all moving differently. Zev's sword caught the light, leaving trails in the air that lingered too long.
And there was Jamie, pressed against the wall, eyes wide with horror.
The song grew stronger. Lyrian's voice filled Daniel's head until he could not hear his own thoughts anymore.
Something was wrong with the room. Or something was wrong with his mind. He couldn't focus long enough to tell which.
He had to be trapped in one of Knox's illusions just as he was trapped in the siren's song—and he had just enough presence of mind to hope that all of Morthul's followers were too
"Daniel." Leon's voice cut through the fog. When had Leon gotten so close? Cool metal pressed into Daniel's palm as the shadows binding him dissipated. A switchblade. Hope flared in his chest, sharp and bright.
He had a weapon now.
Laughter shattered the moment.
The sound rolled through the hall like thunder, cutting through Lyrian's song. Knox's illusions crumbled. Daniel slid the blade into his pocket as darkness erupted from the floor, wrapping around his friends. One by one, they crashed to their knees.
"Did you truly believe you could challenge me?" Morthul rose from his throne, spreading Caelen's arms wide. "That your parlor tricks could match the power of a god?"
The shadows constricted. Lyrian's song choked off. Knox struggled, his illusions flickering and dying. Zev's sword clattered to the ground. Jamie called Daniel's name, voice tight with pain.
Meanwhile, Morthul extended one elegant hand to Daniel, his fingers casting unnaturally long shadows across the floor. "Do you see now? No one can stop what's coming. Not your friends." His lips curved into Caelen's smile, twisted and wrong. "Not even your mate trapped in here with me."
The switchblade in Daniel's pocket burned against his thigh. His friends lay scattered across the floor, each trapped in a cocoon of writhing shadows. Knox's face had gone grey with effort. Lyrian's song had died to a whisper. Even Zev, who Daniel had never seen truly afraid, had stopped struggling.
"Daniel," Jamie gasped out. "Daniel, don't."
Morthul's fingers beckoned. "Why continue fighting when you could rule at my side? When you could have everything you've ever wanted?"
Daniel's heart slammed against his ribs. The shadows around Jamie tightened, drawing a choked noise from his brother's throat.
"You goddamn asshole," Jamie cursed.
"Silence." Morthul clenched his other hand, and the shadows covered Jamie's mouth.
Daniel looked at his friends, pinned and helpless, at the arrogant smile on the dark god's face.
He really thought he was impressing Daniel.
Daniel was going to use that arrogance against him.
Still, his fingers trembled as he reached for Morthul's hand, and the touch sent disgust crawling through his veins.
Morthul's fingers closed around his. "I knew you would choose wisely."
Jamie thrashed against his bonds, his angry shout muffled by the shadows covering his mouth. His eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Daniel forced himself to look away from his brother's pain. To ignore Knox's sharp intake of breath. He had to make this convincing. Had to make Morthul believe.
"They don't understand," Daniel whispered. His voice shook – perfect, let Morthul think it was from emotion rather than fear. "They don't feel our bond, but I get it now. There'll never be anyone more powerful than you."
Morthul pulled him closer, pressing Caelen's lips to Daniel's forehead. "They will learn, my little mate. Once the worlds are merged, they'll see the glory of what we'll create."
Daniel turned in Morthul's embrace, letting the god's attention settle over him like a shroud. The switchblade pressed against his hip, a reminder of his purpose.
He couldn't let Morthul bind him to a chair again.
"I'm sorry," he said to Jamie's muffled protests. Made his voice cold, distant. "But I'm tired of being the weak one. The one everyone has to protect." He forced himself to lean into Morthul. "I choose him."
Jamie's body went rigid as he stared at Daniel. Daniel's heart splintered, but he kept his face smooth. Empty.
He couldn't let himself think about what he was doing—about what he was going to do.
If he wanted to protect his family, his friends, his world…
He needed to ram a knife into the heart of the man he loved.
"Shall we show them?" Morthul's voice rumbled against the back of Daniel's neck. "Show them what true power looks like?"
Daniel nodded, not trusting his voice.
He just had to wait for the right moment.
Morthul guided Daniel toward the center of the circle, keeping him pressed close. The copper symbols pulsed beneath their feet, hungry for power. For blood.
His followers raised their daggers. One by one, they sliced their palms. Blood splattered against the glowing metal. Each drop sent a shiver through the floor.
Power crackled through the air. Daniel's skin prickled as Morthul began to change. Light spilled from the god's pores, turning Caelen's pale skin translucent. Even his eyes blazed white, consumed by divine radiance.
The temperature in the room plummeted. Daniel shuddered, but Morthul's grip remained firm. Those glowing eyes stared past the walls now, focused on something beyond human comprehension. On the barrier between worlds, growing thinner by the second.
His grip on Daniel's waist loosened.
This was it. His chance.
Daniel's fingers closed around the switchblade. His heart thundered in his chest as he eased it from his pocket. One strike. That was all he needed. One clean hit to the heart.
Caelen's heart.
His hand shook. Memories flooded him. The warmth of Caelen's touch, of his lips…
How cruel was it that fate had delivered him his mate only for it to end like this.
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
Daniel's heart shattered as he angled the blade, drew back his arm and drove it forward with all his strength.
The switchblade stopped an inch from Morthul's chest, caught against something invisible but solid as steel.
What…?
Laughter echoed through his skull, deep and dark. You thought I didn't know what you were planning?
He tried to pull away, but Morthul's fingers dug into his arm like steel bands.
I know every desperate plan in your pretty little head.
Those steel fingers lifted Daniel's chin, forcing him to meet Morthul's blazing eyes. "Did you truly believe I wouldn't hear your pathetic little dream-chat with my vessel?"
The switchblade trembled in Daniel's grip. His chest heaved as understanding crashed through him. Morthul had known what he wanted to do all along.
"Your blood carries our bond." Morthul's other hand traced Daniel's jaw, fingertips crackling with power. "Not just Caelen's claim, but mine. You're as much my mate as his. Accept your fate."
Daniel's gaze dropped to the copper symbols pulsing beneath their feet, to the crimson droplets feeding their hungry glow. Blood of Morthul's believers, freely given in worship, strengthening the god's power.
His blood was nothing like that, no matter what Morthul said about a mate-bond between them. Daniel's blood held nothing but his absolute rejection of everything Morthul was.
"Look at me when I speak to you." Morthul's grip tightened.
Daniel raised his eyes, glaring at Morthul. "I'm your mate?"
A smile showed on Morthul's face. "Mine to do with as I please. One day, when you've truly accepted me, your blood will?—"
Daniel stopped listening. He had an idea, and he had to carry it out before he lost his chance, or his nerve.
He jerked back, tilting the knife. Not toward the god, but toward himself. He slashed his own palm.
Ignoring the sharp pain, he dropped to one knee and slammed his bleeding hand against the nearest copper symbol.
Power jolted through his arm, his blood sizzling as it hit the symbol. The copper lines flared crimson, then purple, then pitch black. Cracks spider-webbed outward, corruption spreading through the pattern like poison through veins.
"No!" Morthul's fingers tangled in Daniel's hair, yanking him back. "What have you?—"
The floor buckled. Daniel's blood, carrying all his hurt and fury and rejection, ate through the ritual circle like acid. Symbols crumbled into ash and power that had been carefully channeled went rogue.
Morthul's followers scattered, screaming, as the ground beneath their feet disintegrated. The god's divine radiance flickered, dimmed. His grip on Daniel's hair loosened.
And somewhere in those blazing eyes, green flickered through.
"Caelen," Daniel gasped. His vision blurred, head spinning as his blood continued to feed the corruption. But he couldn't stop now. Not when he was so close. He dragged himself toward the next symbol. "Fight him. Please fight him."
The room spun sideways as Morthul shoved Daniel to the floor. He fell to his hands and knees, copper dust coating his bleeding palm.
"Daniel!" Jamie's voice cut through the chaos. The shadows pinning him dissolved as Morthul's power crumbled.
"No—stay back!" Daniel pushed himself up on trembling arms, but Jamie was already there, trying to drag him toward the door.
"We need to go. Now." Jamie's voice shook. "While we still can."
Knox broke free next. His blade flashed silver as he tackled Morthul. They crashed to the ground in a tangle of divine light and fury.
The corruption spread faster now, eating through the remaining symbols. Each one that broke sent another shockwave through reality. The massive throne crumbled. Shadows flowed from the walls like spilled ink.
"Let go," Daniel twisted in Jamie's grip. "I have to?—"
He froze. Knox had Morthul pinned to the ground. The divine light surrounding the dark god flickered, dimmed. And there, pinned beneath Knox's blade, green eyes stared up at the incubus.
"End it, incubus." That voice—not Morthul's thunder, but Caelen's quiet venom. "Kill me like you killed the rest of my family."
"No!" Daniel broke free from Jamie, stumbling forward. "Knox, don't!"
But Knox had already raised his blade.
Daniel slammed into Knox, knocking him sideways. The blade clattered away.
"Have you lost your—" Knox's snarl cut off as Daniel threw himself on top of Caelen.
Their lips crashed together. Daniel poured all he had into that kiss. His love, his fury, his desperate need to save what remained of his true mate. The bond between them blazed open and through it Daniel felt everything—Caelen's fading warmth, Morthul's ancient darkness, and all around them, the wild magic his blood had changed.
It called to him. Power torn loose from the ritual, twisted by his rejection, his defiance. His blood had changed it, marked it, made it his to command.
Daniel broke the kiss, pressed his bleeding palm against Caelen's chest. Right over his heart.
Get out of him.
He seized that corrupted magic and pushed it where he sensed Morthul's soul twisting around Caelen's. It surged through him like a tide of acid, following the path of their bond straight to the dark god.
It was power enough to eat through the barriers between two worlds.
Power enough to burn out a god?
Caelen's eyes widened and his fingers dug into Daniel's arms as shadows poured from his mouth, his eyes, bleeding up through his skin.
Daniel felt Morthul thrash against his attack, ancient darkness trying to hold on to its vessel. But the corrupted magic followed their mate bond like a precision blade, cutting deeper with each pulse of Daniel's heart.
Caelen arched beneath him, a sound like breaking glass tearing from his throat. More shadows clawed their way out of him, wild uncontrolled things.
Daniel's chest clenched at Caelen's pain. God, he was hurting him. Tearing him apart trying to get to Morthul.
Would there be anything left of him after this?
There had to be.
Please hold on.
The dark god's presence twisted, reformed, tried to burrow deeper into Caelen. Daniel pushed harder, even as tears blurred his vision.
Let him go, let him go, let him GO ? —
Caelen's hand shot up, caught Daniel's throat. Those green eyes had gone black as pitch, endless and empty.
"Foolish child." Morthul's voice ground out through Caelen's lips. "You'll kill him."
Daniel's breath hitched against the fingers around his throat. Every instinct screamed to pull back, to stop causing Caelen this pain. The power flowing through their bond felt like lava, burning everything it touched.
But beneath those pitch-black eyes, beneath Morthul's grip, he still felt Caelen. Felt his soul straining toward freedom even as the dark god's power tried to crush it.
"Better dead…" Daniel's voice rasped. "Than your puppet."
The words came out weak, but he felt Caelen's soul flare at them. Felt him fighting harder against Morthul's grip.
The fingers around his throat tightened. Black eyes bore into his, ancient and cold. "Then watch your lover break."
Caelen's back arched off the ground as darkness poured from his mouth again in an endless torrent. But this time, Daniel heard the scream beneath it. Heard Caelen's voice, raw and desperate, drowning in Morthul's power.
Daniel's heart shattered at that sound. But he couldn't stop, wouldn't stop. Not when Caelen was fighting so hard. Not when this might be their only chance to be rid of this monster.
"I've got you." The words came out choked as he pressed harder against Caelen's chest. "Stay with me. Fight him."
The corrupted magic surged stronger, following the desperate plea in his voice. It ripped through their bond like wild fire, burning away Morthul's shadows piece by piece.
Caelen's body convulsed. The hand around Daniel's throat spasmed, then fell away. Those black eyes flickered. Pitch to green to black again as Morthul and Caelen fought for control.
"Daniel." His name came out mangled, torn between Morthul's thunder and Caelen's broken whisper. "Please…"
Please stop or please don't stop ? Daniel couldn't tell. But he felt Caelen's soul reaching for him through their bond, felt him pushing against Morthul's grip from the inside while Daniel attacked from without.
He grabbed Caelen's face with his free hand, forced those flickering eyes to meet his. "I won't let him keep you."
Caelen's chest heaved under Daniel's bloody palm as the last of Morthul's shadows ripped from his body. They hung in the air, writhing with oppressive malice, a massive dark thing that screamed with terrible voices.
The shadows twisted, trying to reform into something solid. But Daniel's corrupted magic followed, eating at them until Morthul's presence fractured, splintered, dissolved. Until only wisps of shadow remained, curling into nothing like smoke in the wind.
Caelen went limp, eyes rolling back and closing.
The room fell silent except for Daniel's ragged breathing.
"Caelen?" The word came out broken. Daniel's fingers trembled against his chest, searching for a heartbeat. Nothing.
He pressed harder, smearing more blood across Caelen's still chest. "No. No, no, no?—"
Knox's hand landed on his shoulder. "Daniel."
"Get off me!" He shrugged away violently, bending over Caelen's body. This couldn't be how it ended. Not after everything. Not when he'd finally freed him
A faint flutter beneath his palm.
Daniel held his breath, pressed his fingers against Caelen's throat. There—weak, but unmistakable. A pulse.
His eyes opened. Pure, brilliant green.
A sob of pure relief tore from his throat. He collapsed against Caelen's chest, fingers curling into his shirt as tears came hot and fast. Every fear, every moment of desperation and loss crashed through him at once.
Caelen's arms rose shakily, wrapped around him with barely any strength. But they were his arms. His hands. Not Morthul's. Not anymore.
Never again.
Caelen breathed Daniel's name. The sound was rough, broken, barely a whisper. But it held everything neither of them could say.
Daniel pressed closer, his tears soaking into Caelen's shirt as he listened to that precious heartbeat. Each pulse that said alive, alive, alive.
Caelen's fingers tangled in Daniel's hair, and Daniel knew that he would never let go again.
Neither of them would.