Chapter 46 Luka #3
“If only you’d loved me and coveted my loyalty the way you did hers,” Dagian returned. “Your entire existence has revolved around finding her to gain Achaz’s favor. I was a necessary inconvenience until you found her.”
“You would have been given everything,” Rordan said calmly. “A kingdom to rule. A Source for your power. A wife to warm your bed and give you powerful heirs. I blame your mother for the way you turned out. She coddled you too much. Intervened too much.”
“You tortured her!” Dagian roared. “You used me to manipulate her into giving you more and more power. She—”
“Loves you?” Rordan interjected, his features all cruel amusement now. “This is Devram, son. Love doesn’t exist here, and do you know why?”
Dagian held his tongue, his jaw clenched so tightly Luka could hear his teeth grinding.
“The gods didn’t want it to. They know how useless it is. How it sways kings and queens. How it causes wars and breaks alliances. And look just how accurate that is,” Rordan continued, gesturing to Tessa and Theon. “Five kingdoms that have worked seamlessly for centuries are now broken.”
“You did that,” Theon retorted.
“No,” he countered. “Love did that. Why do you think we take the Fae to Estates as babes? So mothers do not have the chance to love and sacrifice for them. Why do you think Matches are contractual obligations? So this doesn’t happen.
Everything we do is to make sure none of that can flourish, and yet, despite our efforts, it does.
Look at Maya? So distraught by the death of her Source, she can’t think clearly,” he said with disgust. “So no, Dagian, I’ve never loved you.
The only thing I’ve ever wanted from you was your loyalty, and instead, you’ve brought me betrayal.
I can see it well enough on Theon’s finger. ”
Luka glanced over, seeing the ring Dagian had delivered back on Theon’s middle finger where it had sat for years.
“The payment for that betrayal is your Source’s power,” Rordan said.
“No,” Dagian snarled. “You will not take that from her. You’ve taken enough. You have enough!”
“So be it.”
It happened so fast, no one could do anything. Not as Rordan’s light struck precisely, coiling around Sasha and yanking her violently to the space between them.
“No!” Dagian roared, lunging for her, but Rordan’s power wrapped around him too, suspending him in the air as Sasha screamed. His light twisted and coiled, taking the shape of a snake that wound around her before sinking fangs of pure power into her throat.
Her screams stopped, and the world was quiet save for the sound of Dagian being dropped back to the ground. Rordan had subdued his son with scarcely any effort, and Dagian was powerful.
“Sasha!” he cried, crawling to her still body. “No! No, no, no!”
“And then there’s you,” Rordan said, his eyes sliding to Tessa and ignoring his son’s broken cries.
Tessa’s fury was palpable as she took a single step forward. “How incredibly weak of you to pick a fight with someone you know cannot hold their own.”
“I am anything but weak, child,” he replied too calmly. “But you? We all know your weaknesses now, don’t we?”
“No!” she cried, and it took a second for Luka to realize what was happening. Rordan’s power moved too fast, and Luka didn’t know how he did that. But a wave of swirling golden mist was blinding them, as if the sun itself was laying siege, and Luka was being thrown back, flying through the air.
But not because of Rordan’s power.
It was the impact of Tessa’s magic colliding with it.
Luka hit the ground hard, banishing his wings a moment before impact. He felt the skin on his back peel open as he skidded across the ground, but he was scrambling back to his feet in the next breath.
“By the gods,” someone muttered. Maybe Razik?
Because Tessa’s chaos was arcing over everyone like a dome while Rordan’s light slid along it, looking for any cracks to gain entrance.
Seraphs pelted that dome with magical attacks.
Tessa’s hands were raised in front of her, power flowing and racing, reinforcing.
In truth, Rordan had been stupid for waiting until now to attack.
She’d been feeding her magic for hours. If he was going to be part of this, he should have been here from the beginning, when she was at her weakest.
Theon was running, clearly having been thrown as far as Luka had.
Tessa, draw from me! Do it, tempest! he ordered down the bond.
Luka was shoving people out of his way as he took long strides back to her too, and then he stumbled as there was a yank on his power. Because Theon was drained, and she was taking from him, forcing Theon to draw from him as his Guardian.
“Shit,” he muttered, finally reaching his side. “This can’t last forever.”
“I know, but it will give us a little time to…try to think of something,” Theon answered, looking around as if he’d find the answer somewhere.
They stood back, not wanting to get too close to her and be a distraction. Her features were twisted in concentration, and her power had her off the ground, so at least she wasn’t having to hold herself up.
“Where the fuck is Xan?”
Luka turned at the growl from Razik, and he dragged a hand down his face. “I don’t know.”
“He just fucks off in the middle of a godsdamn battle?” Razik demanded, Eliza looking just as furious at his side. Beside them was Dagian, holding Sasha’s body to his chest.
“He is going to come back to a massacre,” Razik snarled.
“Tessa is stronger than Rordan,” Theon bit back.
“Until her power gives out. Then we’re all fucked, even if Rordan’s gives out too. They have more forces. He’s draining her on purpose, and then we will be overwhelmed because he fucking abandoned us. Not that we should be surprised. It’s what he does,” the male sneered.
Even Luka had to admit this looked pretty fucking bad.
“Let’s just figure out what we’re going to do in the meantime,” Eliza cut in. “Travel out?”
“We need to do that now. We’re all drained,” Luka said. “We can’t afford to lose any more power and risk not being able to Travel. And we won’t be able to take everyone.”
“How do you decide who gets left behind?” Theon demanded.
Eliza’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “You just…do. This is war. Not everyone survives.”
“That’s not acceptable,” Theon bit back. “Look around you. They’re still fighting. We can’t just abandon them.”
And they were. Trapped on this side of the barrier, their forces were easily overtaking the Achaz warriors. But the fact remained that the moment that barrier fell, there were at least a hundred more warriors waiting for them, not to mention the seraphs in the sky.
“We have to go now,” Razik said. “War requires making impossible choices.”
“He’s right, Theon. We can’t—”
A roar ripped through the air.
They looked up to find a dark stain against the sky, and he wasn’t alone.
Those were flames flying beside him. Bright oranges and reds.
People with wings of flame. Some were riding flying creatures of the same.
They clashed with the seraphs, and a small whimper came from Tessa as some of the strain on her power was eased.
“Stay with her. Tell me when she’s almost tapped out,” Luka ordered Theon. “We’ll do what we can.”
Then he and Razik were back in the sky with their wings, not wanting to waste their magic by shifting fully. As he got closer, he realized these were Anala Legacy. He had no idea they had an aerial fleet, but Xan had known. He’d known and gone for backup.
Flames flickered around him as they fought side by side. If they could keep them busy up here, maybe they could figure something out down there. So he fought with everything he had alongside his father and his brother, praying to anyone that would listen that it would be enough.