Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Katla had believed all her tears had dried up years ago, but it was an illusion. Much like most of her life these past fifteen hundred years. The truth had stripped away the deception and cleared her head, leaving her reeling.
Maybe she had gone to Stonemore on purpose after her clash with Villette . She might have subconsciously sent herself there to finish what she’d begun. All that did was turn her rage from the dragons to Villette . She hadn’t learned anything in her many years of isolation. Anger was safe, easy. She was intimately familiar with it.
And she didn’t have to delve deeper or peer inside her soul to see what she had become. What she had willingly and eagerly taken hold of and made hers.
Yet , for all her uncontrollable indignation, she had been frightened and panicked. The sight of Stonemore and all the people was a shock to her system that sent her reeling. The fear grew, and it was scarier than her anger, so she’d shoved it down and away. Kora had helped her refocus, but then the priests came for her.
Then , it was all about the children.
It had been so long since she had seen a child, and the moment Aven , Perick , and Maely understood that she wasn’t there to hurt them, they clung to her. A new kind of wrath settled over her then. It was immense. A line drawn in the sand. She intended to protect them at all costs.
Against anyone.
Anything .
Merrill spoke about burning Stonemore to the ground. She had understood because she had considered it herself. And she would’ve done it, wiped out every shred of horror the children had endured and she had experienced within the city. Except her magic took her away again. But not far.
If she had gone farther, she wouldn’t have returned to Stonemore and encountered Merrill . She wouldn’t have watched him level the priests with that single blast of magic. He wouldn’t have followed her, and she never would have known his friendship. Or his passion. So many things had to happen for them to meet. She’d once believed that everything happened by chance. Now , she wasn’t sure. Could it all be by design? Had someone, somewhere in the cosmos, decreed that she and Merrill should meet? She liked to think so.
Yet if that was the case, it also meant his torture was part of the plan. And she couldn’t abide by that.
The sound of his yell cut through her mind, and her eyes filled with tears. She squeezed them shut, but a tear leaked out. The wind caught it and dragged it across her temple and into her hair. Another followed. Her throat tightened, and she held back her incensed, enraged scream, swallowing it.
There would be time later to give in to the wild emotions running amok within her. But not now. Merrill needed her. And she required her magic in every capacity she had—the parts she knew and those she hadn’t explored before.
Katla opened her eyes. The wind dried the streaks from her cheeks. She glanced up to find Villette watching her. Katla quirked a brow. Villette looked away without a word, but she had seen the tears. Katla should be worried about her nemesis seeing such a weakness in her, but she didn’t care.
A deep rumble vibrated through Derek , the sound holding a note of fury and indignation. Katla knew he had found Merrill . She placed her hands on the silver-tipped black scales and leaned to the side to peer around Villette and Kora . She saw nothing but trees. There were no screams of agony, at least none she could hear over the howling wind as it wailed past her.
Katla’s heart battered her ribs, thumping hard and quick. Ice replaced blood in her veins as dread filled her. She wiped her clammy palms on her thighs. She looked down and spotted the clearing as they flew over it. Then she saw Merrill . His back was arched, head thrown back, and mouth open on a bellow she couldn’t hear. But she felt it.
She trembled with fear. She needed her magic and wouldn’t be able to use it. They were outnumbered and possibly outmatched, but it didn’t matter. She would face a horde of entities for Merrill .
“ Now ,” Villette urged Derek .
He quickly swung around. Katla had to lean to the opposite side to keep from sliding off. The moment he righted himself, she and Kora got to their feet. She eyed the warriors milling about.
“ Ready ?” Villette asked.
Katla locked her eyes on Merrill and the woman repeatedly stabbing him in the chest. Magic filled her palms, sparks rising around her. It exploded from her, shooting to the warrior. She grinned when the female crumpled. “ Ready .”
Then they were on the ground. Katla called to her magic, but the metal in the ground blocked it, just as they had feared. No shouts of warning filled the air, just the pounding of footsteps rushing up behind her. Katla ran to the woman she had just killed and grabbed her dagger as she spun to face her attackers.
She chanced a glance at Merrill . He was awake, the veins in his arms and neck bulging. She shouted his name, but there wasn’t time for more as she faced two warriors. Without her magic, Katla could only bob and weave, ducking and rolling while keeping clear of their blades.
The pain became an ally, a companion. All the commotion in his head began to dim, bit by bit. He was falling into an abyss as black as pitch, and he welcomed it. Saluted it.
Embraced it.
Others moved around him. He didn’t pay attention to their faces. None of them mattered. He no longer worried. Or cared. There was only him.
And the reckoning he would bring.
He got his feet under him, but his arms were still chained. He glared at the metal holding him. A woman caught his attention. Her black hair swung out around her like an inky curtain as she turned. Their eyes met. She called out something, but he couldn’t hear her over the ringing in his head. One of the redheaded men who’d been torturing him knocked her to the ground.
Rage erupted, exploded. He furiously yanked the chains as the black-haired woman rolled out of the way of a sword aimed at her head. A large shadow fell over the clearing, followed by a thunderous roar. It was a familiar sound. One he recognized. He looked up to see the dragon. Chaos reigned in the clearing. He wanted—no, he needed —to join in.
Suddenly , his chains unlocked. His arms dropped to his sides. He rubbed his wrists, shook off the lethargy of his many wounds, and reached out to the first person who came near. His fingers wrapped around the man’s neck. The warrior clawed at his hand. Merrill stared into brown eyes and squeezed until the bones broke, and the man went limp.
He was the first of many humans who would lose their life.
He tried to shift but he was still too weak. But not too weak to face the mortals.
Katla sank the blade into the warrior’s side as they fell. He landed on top of her, knocking the breath from her lungs. She rolled him off. Another came at her, sword raised as she climbed to her feet. Large hands grabbed his head from behind and twisted, breaking his neck. She stared in shock as Merrill let the warrior drop. Their eyes met.
She dragged in a deep breath to fill her aching lungs and grabbed a fallen sword. She smiled, but Merrill didn’t respond. He stepped toward her. They saw the woman at the same time. Merrill made quick work of her without breaking a sweat.
“ Derek !” Kora shouted, his roar suddenly silenced.
Katla looked up in time to see Derek’s dragon body tumbling from the sky. They had all known the entity would go after Derek first. Katla turned in time to see a woman swinging a sword at her. She leaned back, watching the blade as it passed so close it nearly touched her nose.
Katla straightened and rammed her shoulder into the warrior. The impact knocked the sword from the female’s hand. Katla used the momentum to take them to the ground, but the female was stronger and quickly got the upper hand. Katla found herself on her back, using both hands to block the dagger now pointed at her throat.
She had lost the sword she had been using during the fall, but unlike her, the warrior had another weapon. Katla was using all her strength. Sweat broke out on her forehead. The female grinned as she leaned forward, knowing Katla’s arms were about to give out. Suddenly , the warrior’s head separated from her body. Blood sprayed Katla as the woman went limp. She tossed the body aside and surged to her feet.
Katla scanned the area for Merrill . She counted seven remaining Orgate warriors. It was easy to find Merrill because he was going after them. His shirt fell off, giving her a view of his back and the dragon drawn there.
“ Merrill !”
No matter how many times Katla shouted his name, he didn’t respond. She ran after him, catching up as he killed two more men. Villette dispatched hers as well as the one coming up behind Kora . Soon after, Kora ended the life of her opponent. They watched as Merrill effortlessly killed the final two warriors with a violence that shook her. Leaving the three of them with him.
“ We’re too late. There’s no saving him now,” Villette whispered.
Merrill’s gaze locked on Kora , who was the closest to him. There was murder on his face when he stalked toward her. Katla moved to block his path. A shiver of terror went through her the moment his dark blue eyes focused on her. There was nothing of the Merrill she knew staring back at her. They had arrived too late. But she wasn’t ready to give up.
“ Merrill , you know me,” she told him calmly.
He prowled closer, his head tilting to the side like a predator sizing up its victim. She retreated with every step he advanced. Everything in her told her to run, but she knew that was the worst thing she could do. If only she could get through to him. Maybe she could help him find his way back if he heard her.
“ It’s over,” she told him. “ Those holding you are dead. You can return to the other dragons.”
He halted as a frown furrowed his brow. Dark blue eyes lifted to the sky.
“ Derek is hurt. He needs us. We need to help him,” Katla said.
Merrill’s eyes lowered to her once more.
“ Varek will be here soon.” It was a lie. She had no idea where Varek was, but she hoped the name would trigger something in Merrill’s memories.
He began advancing on her again—the opposite of what she wanted.
Katla had no idea where Villette or Kora were, but she didn’t dare look away from Merrill . He was a predator now, one intending to take her life. She backed up another step. Her heel caught on something, and she went down. In an instant, Merrill was over her, his hands on either side of her head.
“ Remember me,” she whispered, reaching with shaking hands to touch his face.
The wildness she saw in his eyes made her heart catch. There was no warmth, no kindness. Just callous indifference.
“ Merrill , I know you’re still in there. Please , hear me.”
It seemed her words got through. One moment, he was there with her, his eyes clear. Then , something slammed into him from the side, knocking him away. Katla rolled over and watched Derek tangle with Merrill . It was a savage, frenzied clash, unlike anything she had ever witnessed before. The violence, the brutality. The carnage.
She scrambled out of the way when their fighting brought them toward her. Katla caught a glimpse of Merrill’s face. She didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t the blood or the bruises, it was as if Merrill’s very essence was gone, replaced by something else.
“ We need to go. Now . Before he sees us again,” Villette said from behind her.
Katla knew she was right. Derek was giving them time to leave. He could hold his own against Merrill , unlike the rest of them. Yet she couldn’t look away from the brawl. She still sought some sign that Merrill was still in there.
He grabbed Derek’s arm and flipped him. She heard the loud pop of a bone breaking. Merrill shoved Derek away and fled without looking at her. A second later, they heard the crack of wood splintering before Merrill shifted and launched into the air.
Katla watched him fly, his orange scales bright against the afternoon sky. She lowered her eyes as Derek held his arm awkwardly and walked out of the clearing to heal with Kora by his side. Katla turned her head to Villette . The rest of them were dirty, their clothes torn, but Villette looked as pristine as ever.
“ I lost the entity after it attacked Derek ,” Villette said.
Muscles Katla had never used before were tight and achy. She hid her wince when she tried to move. “ It could still be around.”
“ If it is, it’s hiding. Though we need to shift our concern to Merrill .”
“ Can you follow him?”
Villette glanced in the direction he had flown. “ Doubtful .”
“ She won’t.” Derek’s pale olive eyes were narrowed in anger and directed at Villette . “ Tell us why.”
Katla sensed that something had changed. She looked between the three, trying to figure out what was happening.
“ Could it be you don’t want to?” Kora shifted to the side, though she stayed out of the clearing.
Unease curdled Katla’s stomach. There was no mistaking the undercurrent. What did Kora and Derek know that she didn’t? Katla slowly stepped back to ease out of the clearing.
Villette ignored the allegations. Instead , she locked eyes with Derek . “ How’s the shoulder healing? Do you have any idea how hard it is to break that particular bone? Yet Merrill did it with ease. He’s stronger and faster than before.”
“ Then help us stop him.” Katla stepped into the tree line. She instantly felt her magic again. She eyed the edge of the clearing while wondering why Villette hadn’t exited it like the rest of them.
“ Was this your plan?” Derek demanded when Villette didn’t answer. “ Did you set all of this up?”
“ You won’t believe anything I say, so I’m not going to bother trying,” Villette replied.
Kora shook her head. “ I saw the fear on your face when the entity showed and went after Derek . I don’t think you set this up. But you aren’t telling us everything.”
Villette couldn’t teleport out of the clearing. Katla recalled the lengths Villette had gone to get her there. Now that Merrill was gone, Villette seemed reluctant to offer any more assistance.
Katla took a good look at Villette . Kora was right. She was scared. But perhaps Katla was wrong about who Villette was afraid of. She had pressed upon Katla the need to get to Merrill before he went insane. Villette had been eager to fight—right up until Merrill got loose.
Katla knew she hadn’t freed Merrill . She never even got close because of the warriors. Kora and Villette hadn’t been near him either. Derek had been in the air. So , who had released him? Her stomach roiled as the truth dawned on her.
“ It’s Merrill .” Three pairs of eyes swung to Katla . She met Villette’s blue eyes. “ He’s the one you’re afraid of.”
Villette tensed, the only indication that Katla’s words had hit their mark.
“ And there’s only one reason for that. He can kill you,” Katla stated.
Kora’s brow furrowed with confusion. “ Dragons can’t kill Star People .”
Katla recalled Villette speaking about how the maddened dragons had annihilated worlds. What else had they destroyed? “ Not usually. Not unless they go mad.” Magic pooled in Katla’s hands as sparks danced in the air. Villette glared at her, blue eyes sparking with anger. “ Isn’t that right? You discovered that when you prolonged the dragons’ lives. They went insane and slaughtered worlds. But you left out the part where they killed your kind, too.”
Villette raised her brows and shrugged demurely. “ Seems you know everything. Which means you also know I won’t go near Merrill .”
“ You’ll leave it to the Kings , I suppose,” Derek bit out.
Katla wasn’t done with her questions. “ What about the entity?”
“ What about it?” Villette asked.
“ Where is it?”
Villette briefly lifted her gaze to the sky. “ If it was here, it would’ve come after us.”
If it was here . Katla swung her head in the direction Merrill had flown. “ The entity had tracked Merrill . It’d tortured him until he went mad. And it had released him, knowing he would kill.” Katla swallowed the bile rising in her throat and met Villette’s steady gaze.
Villette released a breath. “ What does Merrill hate more than anything?”
“ Humans ,” Katla whispered.
And they were everywhere on Zora .
“ We lost,” Villette stated. “ We didn’t get to him in time. The best thing for all of us to do now is leave while we still can.”
Kora quirked a brow. “ And leave everyone else to their fate?”
“ Once Merrill finishes here, he’ll go to Earth ,” Villette replied.
Katla wouldn’t let it come to that. “ You stopped the others who lost their minds. Do it again.”
“ Get your fucking siblings,” Derek ordered furiously.
Villette shook her head. “ Miena stopped them before.”
Katla’s knees went wobbly. She had to grab a nearby tree to keep herself on her feet. This couldn’t be happening. There had to be something the Star People hadn’t thought of. Merrill’s wild eyes flashed in Katla’s mind, and she fought the urge to give in to the tears.
Kora erupted in flames, her gaze leveled at Villette . “ Then you’ve served your purpose. It’s time to face justice.”
They had Villette . All Katla had to do was call to Rhi . Perhaps Derek had already sent word to the Kings . They could end Villette right now. But at what cost to Merrill and any humans he encountered? Katla had gotten through to him. She was sure of it. And if she did it once, she could do it again.
Merrill or Villette . Katla couldn’t be in two places at once. The longer she waited, the farther away Merrill got. Villette was a scourge upon worlds. She corrupted and killed, all for her own gain. She was the foulest of them all. The fact that Villette could move about the universe easily meant they should take the opportunity. It might not come again.
Then there was Merrill . He hadn’t asked for any of this. He had to be stopped before he hurt innocents. She had set out on this journey seeking redemption. All this time, she thought she might get it by killing Villette . Maybe her path had been to pull Merrill back from madness all along—or, at the very least, stop him.
The memory of their kiss filled her mind. And it was all she needed to make her decision.