Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
ARABELLA
I’d never considered myself a powerful individual—in fact, it had been the exact opposite for most of my life—but as I spoke those words and let my magic out, I realized how wrong I was.
The magic rose from a deep well inside of my chest, one that’d been formed through ancestral magic of other sis metas over time, and began to boil.
With frustration. With anger. With so many strong emotions that all revolved around War.
I had given him a chance, but someone like War would never give up—so he needed to be removed from the equation.
I’d known the moment the other sis metas had joined us, their magic colliding with mine to create a spectacular rainbow-like glowing beam that shot out of my hands and straight towards our target.
The power vibrated my bones, and my ears popped from the sonic vibrations of War’s magic fighting against ours.
He was so incredibly strong, even while hurt, but it was no match for the sis metas.
We had been placed on this earth as an equalizer.
Our job was to protect.
Our job was to remove people like War.
I could feel that inside of my soul, and an angry cry left my throat as I threw more of our magic towards War, his body pinned against the door to the building.
Around me the humans were shrieking and making feral noises, their bonds vibrating with pain because War refused to let go of them.
My mates were protecting me and warding them off, and I knew the minute that War was rendered useless, Saint would remove him.
An angry battle cry from above sent another surge of power through me, and I grit my teeth, my eyes watering at the pure amount of power and magic running through me.
I could feel us burning at the bonds he had on the humans, but more than that, his magic was growing weak from fighting us. Was it fast enough, though?
We couldn’t afford to mess this up.
Closing my eyes, I pulled from the very bottom of my magic, from a reserve I didn’t know existed.
I thought about every single person counting on me to do this so they could go home to their families and live out their lives knowing they were safe.
I thought about every moment with my mates and what a future without the hatred of humans could mean.
I thought about how far society could go with just the removal of this one toxic being.
With every ounce of determination I had, I yanked my magic up from where it was buried, my eyes snapping open as I released it into the world.
War’s scream was full of pain, and despite the chaos erupting around us, the earth shaking and the sky thundering, I could hear it clear as day.
I relished in it. The rainbow beam blasted into him, growing in size as it began to eat away at the magic surrounding him, not just rendering him useless but… killing him.
We were killing War.
We were killing a god terror.
Yet instead of regret I thought about every death he had caused, and as tears of fury leaked down my face, I watched his skin turn into a sallow gray that began to crack like dust. The flame of power in the center of his chest flickered, and with a final push of energy…
Blew out.
My magic cut off immediately and it snapped back through me and towards the cliffside where the other sis metas watched on. I trembled, feeling dizzy and almost drunk on magic, as my knees broke. The hard ground didn’t catch me, though—no, Damian caught me, but he didn’t move me.
Instead we both watched on as War, who was staring glassy eyed at us, began to break apart, his skin like ash, revealing only bone underneath.
The wind returned, and with it, War’s body began to fall.
Saint was there in that moment, and I watched in awe as his power surrounded the ash and bone and from it pulled a weak flicker of blue light that he held between his fingers.
His silver eyes met mine, and just like he promised, with a press of his fingers he extinguished the life force of the man responsible for war between humans and nightmares.
As relief toppled over me, everything went dark.
I wasn’t in a dream or memory—I was somewhere I’d never been before, and it was beautiful. Not just beautiful, but tranquil. I was in a cave with white arched ceilings and lanterns that lined small alcoves on all sides of me. In front of me, my toes tracing the edge of the water, was a deep pool.
Despite not understanding what was going on, I didn’t hesitate to slip in.
It wasn’t normal water. It felt like…jelly. It was cold and liquid, but it ran against my skin differently than I would have expected. I submerged myself completely, and when I resurfaced, I was no longer alone.
“Sis meta. Welcome.”
Blinking and pushing the liquid away from my face, I found a woman had joined me, sitting cross-legged in her robes at the edge of the pool.
I couldn’t tell her age from here, and I wasn’t positive she had one, because despite her silver hair, she could have been anywhere from my own age to much older. I just couldn’t tell.
“Where am I?” I asked, my voice echoing through the space. “And who are you?”
“I am the first sis meta—the first soother created to bring peace between nightmare and human,” she said softly. “I am where you come from.”
Wow.
“And you are at the ritualistic pool of awakening.”
“Fancy,” I murmured.
“You arrived here because you awakened your magic while fighting off the god terror with other sis metas. You used your ability to siphon magic to combine all of it and actually kill him,” she said proudly.
“That is a feat rarely accomplished by a sis meta. You came here because you faced the pool of awakening and chose to dive in.”
I looked around the peaceful water. “And what would have happened if I didn’t?”
“You would have died from the power explosion you went through.”
“What?!” I stared at her in horror.
“You’re fine, though.” She flashed a smile as if what she said wasn’t a big deal. “In fact, you are sleeping peacefully in the arms of one of your mates, although I’m not sure where.”
“Right,” I breathed out, looking down at the pool. “So how do I get back?”
“Submerge yourself, but make sure you feel well enough to go back into the land of the living. You will have to find a way to get rid of the excess power still churning within you. This would have gotten rid of most of it, but not everything.”
Hadn’t Damian helped me the one time Ashur’s dream messed me up…
“I’m going to go back,” I said, swimming backwards. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Oh, it was good to meet you as well, Arabella. I can’t wait to see what you will bring into this world.”
The way she said that was so odd, I felt momentarily frozen. Then she disappeared. Murmuring under my breath about how crazy all of this was, I took a deep breath and held it, submerging myself beneath the cool liquid.
“Cherry blossom, breathe.”
I had flung up so hard that I’d slammed my head against something, and now my breathing was rapid and uneven, my skin feeling like it’d been lit with live wire.
Everything seemed hazy around me, and the only grounding I had was the touch of Damian’s hands on my hips as he held me against him.
I groaned as the world swam around us and my heart palpitated rapidly.
“Damian, you have to help me,” I whimpered. “Everything hurts—”
My words were cut off by the same electric kiss that he’d seared to my lips that time in the forest. I moaned against his lips as the rest of the world silenced.
My excess power trailed over his skin and seeped into him, the ability to share it between the two of us allowing my chest to expand in and out, my breathing slowing.
My heartbeat was still erratic, but the longer he kissed me, one hand cupping my jaw and the other at my hip, the more even it began to sound.
“What do I need to do?” Damian pulled back slightly and I winced, my head beginning to pound again.
“Please keep kissing me,” I begged. He groaned and melded his lips to mine once more, and as my arms wrapped around his neck, my hips rolling against his hard length that I was straddling, I realized briefly we were in a car. I didn’t sense anyone else with us, but we were very much in a car.
“Maybe we should take a minute—I don’t want you to panic again,” he said softly, probably freaked out by how I had woken up.
“You won’t,” I breathed out against his lips. “I need this, Damian—I need you.”
I didn’t fully understand it, but my magic was demanding that I connect to him now.
That I finish the bonds with my mates. That Damian be the one that shared in this excess of power with me.
The man hesitated for a mere second of examining my face, but then his lips met mine in a heated, passionate kiss that melted my entire body.
My hands ran through his hair and up his horns, gripping them as his tail wrapped around my waist so his hands could cup my ass. I ground against him as he trailed his lips down my jaw before nipping it, causing me to moan out his name.
“Fuck, I need to touch you,” he demanded sharply.
I whimpered as he tugged my shirt over my head, and I pulled at his, feeling eager and unable to control my excitement and need for him.
Pink electric power jumped between us, and his skin began to morph as his frame grew larger underneath me, my pussy tightening at the idea of taking him in this form.
The tearing of fabric made me realize I was only in a bra and panties, his hiss of pleasure filling the space as I ran my tongue along his bottom lip before nipping it, drawing blood.
When the tip of his tail began to brush over my skin, moving from my waist down to my hips, my thighs pressed together, attempting to gain some level of friction.
“I want you soaked when you take me,” Damian growled against my mouth, “even if you’re frustrated until then, cherry blossom. I promise I’ll fix it, but I don’t want you coming until you’re on my cock.”