Chapter Sixteen
“Love is a fearsome thing. It lays us naked and vulnerable at another’s feet. Hate is an addictive drug. It protects us with weapons and armor difficult to beat. To love, it takes incredible courage; to hate, only its mirage.”
—From the Ecliptic Prophesies, buried and forgotten
Ben was worried.
They were approaching the Beaufort Sea at a fast clip. Within the half hour they would arrive. He knew from the telepathic communications with all three strongholds that everyone was doing their part—driving the shadows from every direction toward the ultimate trap.
As a contingency against shadows doubling back or any additional attacks, most landed and sea Beasts and Andros’ centaur troops returned to the forts when they saw that the shadows were chasing raptors and sky dragons with a single-minded focus.
But they quickly realized that all dragons had to be part of the drive. If they tried to stay behind, the shadows also stayed with them. It was clear that the shadows’ target were dragons, first and foremost.
To ensure that their enemies continued toward the Beaufort Sea, Kai, Lancelot and Rui rode on Merlin, Arthur and Wolfe so that the shadows stayed with them for the southern drive toward the north. Eli and Clara came as well, riding on Divina, while Andros, Eir, Tristan and Ayelet stayed back to secure the stronghold.
The generals for each contingent—Sai in the North, Arthur in the South, and Ben for Mount Wilson—all agreed that the shadows were knowingly headed into their trap. The creatures didn’t seem independently intelligent, but whoever controlled them was. They knew what they were doing.
They wanted this to happen.
It stood to reason, then, if dragons had to all be together for the shadows to follow, that the shadows and their ultimate Master were driving them as much as Ben’s warriors were driving the shadows. They had to accept that the trap they had set was within a trap set by the shadows as well.
Which meant that this was going to be an all or nothing battle. They couldn’t let a single shadow escape, and the shadows wouldn’t let a single dragon stay behind.
Ben would have preferred more robust contingencies. But there was no backup. They were pitting their most powerful warriors against the most malevolent threat. If they lost, Ben didn’t know what the shadows would do and didn’t want to contemplate it.
Yes, there were still Immortals—Pure and Dark Ones, Elementals and Beasts—Ben’s family amongst them. Humans, too, possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be effective against these magical beings. Not all was lost.
And perhaps, the shadows were simply the Balance against Ben’s dragons, like Seven theorized. Perhaps they wouldn’t target anyone else. That gave Ben some reassurance.
But he certainly wasn’t going to roll over and let the shadows annihilate the dragons just for “Balance.”
Why couldn’t dragons exist on earth? Yes, Seven’s logic made sense. Gods, for example, always existed apart from the human world, though they intruded once in a while.
Yet…if there was anything Ben learned through all of his incarnations and the dragon quests, it was that rules were meant to be broken. They weren’t set in stone. And no matter the laws of the Universe, no matter Destiny or Fate or interfering gods, ultimately love trumped all.
There was no greater force than true love. He had to believe—he absolutely believed—that the Mated dragons who had become his close friends and comrades, his extended family, were meant to exist. Should exist. And he’d do his damnest to help them come out victorious however he could.
But he was worried.
The main reason was the profound silence of Seven’s mind.
Throughout their drive toward the Beaufort Sea, he’d heard from all of the warriors, his family and friends through their mind link, but he hadn’t heard a single word, not even a sigh, from his own Mate.
He gripped one hand over both of Seven’s, which were clasped around his waist, while holding onto Ere’s scale with his other hand. He didn’t usually need to hold on, but they were flying at top speed, and the wind currents were so strong he had to keep his eyes closed, face down; and his body as close to the dragon’s back as possible to avoid losing his seat.
Seven was plastered, in turn, to Ben’s back. He could feel the icy tip of her nose and cold lips through his shirt. He never had trouble with the windshield while riding dragons and aerial Beasts despite being human. Perhaps he was simply used to it with all the years of dragon-riding training.
But he also thought it was because he had all of the “ingredients” to become a dragon himself. His body temperature ran hot like other Beasts, especially in recent years since his return from the quest for the Truth. Not quite there yet because he was still human, but definitely hotter than typical humans. It was something he could turn on at will.
Which he did during the flight, so that Seven would be effectively hugging a furnace. So she could survive the journey unscathed. The thin air he could do nothing about. But she seemed to be all right, breathing slowly against his back, the oxygen she needed filtered first by his skin and clothes.
He debated whether he should have left her behind. Would she have been safer?
But that didn’t feel right either. The warrior part of him objectively determined that she might be able to help in the battle in a way that he’d yet to anticipate. She simply knew more than anyone about the supernatural world.
The Mated part of him recoiled viscerally at putting her in danger. Right in the thickest of the battle. And she was at her most vulnerable besides.
Human.
Mortal.
Powerless.
But it was too late to doubt these decisions now. They had to simply push through.
Are you all right? he sent the question across their mind link as he squeezed her hands at his waist.
There was a long pause.
Was she asleep? Had her body shut down to conserve energy?
Yes, Benjamin. Do not worry, she finally replied, sighing deeply against his back, as if filling her lungs with his scent for strength.
He wasn’t remotely reassured. If anything, his worry ratcheted up another notch.
Seven—
I’m not sure I like this name, she suddenly interjected.
Ben got a bit of whiplash at the non sequitur.
It’s unique enough, I suppose, she said in their minds, sounding as if she’d given this some thought.
Not a lot of humans are named Seven if I had to take a guess. But it’s not really my name, is it? It’s just a number my creators used to keep track of us.
I want my own name.
What do you think, Benjamin? What would you like to call me?
Were they really having this conversation? At a time like this, was this the most pressing thing to talk about?
But then, why not? Ben thought. Perhaps she was trying to distract herself from the impending battle. Perhaps thinking of smaller things would help calm her.
It doesn’t matter to me, he said, deciding to play along. Maybe he needed the calming too.
No matter your name, your form, your voice—I will always recognize you. Your mind, heart and soul are the only things that define you.
Well, humor me, Beloved, she said.
Ben’s heart thumped hard at that, feeling as if it might burst out of his chest.
Did she mean what she said? Did she understand?
He was taking it regardless. He wouldn’t let her recall the endearment now that it was out there. He wished she would say it more. These simple affections were priceless to him, and he’d been so very starved for them across their various incarnations.
What should I be called? she continued, as if letting slip the “love” word was a common occurrence. As if she’d called him that countless times.
Something simple or something exotic? she debated. Given my averageness, I guess exotic names don’t really suit. Like, you can’t possibly see me as a “Angelica” or “Evangeline” right?
What do you want to be called? Ben asked. He thought that was the most pertinent question.
What name would you like to claim?
Hmm, she mused, I want to be known as the proper Mate of Benjamin Larkin D’Angelo.
Again, Ben’s heart thrashed with joy, like a child getting all of his Christmas presents on a normal day.
Seven, however, seemed oblivious.
Couldn’t she feel his skin heating against her front? His temperature rose higher the harder his heart worked. And it was working very hard right now, excitedly jumping up and down.
She went on to say, A name that makes people immediately think when they hear it—oh, of course she’s Benjamin’s wife. Their names even go together.
Wife!
At this rate, Ben was going to have a heart attack. One of joy, but still.
But Seven remained oblivious to the reactions her words were inducing in him.
Even though I’m sure in private they’re thinking—what does he see in someone like her? He’s resplendently beautiful and she’s just a plain Jane.
She paused for a beat.
By the way, I get the rhyming effect, but I take umbrage on behalf of all the Janes that they should be synonymous with plain.
This name thing must be really important to her, Ben surmised. She was still going strong on the topic and didn’t seem to be slowing down.
You’re beautiful to me, Seven, he told her in no uncertain terms. You always were and always will be.
That’s nice of you to say, she replied. I know you mean it too. But let’s be honest, I totally hit the jackpot hitching myself to you. I, more than anyone else, know it. In all the ways beyond the superficial too.
But at least I can claim a name that matches yours, even if the rest of me doesn’t.
Ben frowned at how she’d been consistently putting herself down since their… confrontation at the park. She’d said so many times that she didn’t deserve him. Implied that she was lesser than.
He didn’t see it that way at all. The thought would never even cross his mind.
Yes, she’d made mistakes, from one perspective. But did she even know what “right” was? She’d fought the world from the moment she came into it. She’d never had the freedom to love. To care. Because when she did, it was taken away from her, often in horrific ways.
And just because he’d always loved her, Fallen despite himself, he’d never expected that she loved him back. He’d yearned for it, wished for it, sometimes even reached for it. But he’d never considered it his due.
She’d hurt him. Badly. And she only realized it now. Only learned to care recently. She apologized and regretted, and he forgave her readily. There was no balance sheet in his mind of debits and credits. She didn’t owe him.
They deserved each other because they chose one another.
He braced himself to tell her so.
Seven—
Eve actually isn’t bad at all. She seemed determined to not let him get a word in edgewise.
The first woman, according to some humans’ Bible. Lilith isn’t bad either, also Biblical. I like the way you shortened it to Lilly much better though.
The mention of Lilith sent Ben’s internal alarms ringing.
Have you thought of something specific to your Twin? Why are you—
But this is my one chance to claim something different too, she interrupted. Start over, so to speak. So I’m going to pick something new.
What was going on?! Why was she having this conversation more or less with herself? Why wouldn’t she let him speak?
What about…Elizabeth? she mused. Lizzy for short? I do love Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The movie remakes, not the book. Haven’t read the book yet. The BBC version is my favorite. But the most recent movie isn’t bad either, though Keira Knightly’s Elizabeth annoyed me sometimes.
Elizabeth and Benjamin, she said, testing the combination out. Those go together, right? Three syllables each. What do you think?
Seven, Ben said firmly, using his most authoritative tone. I want to talk to you about what’s going to happen. I need to ride with the dragons. I can help. It’s best if you stay on the ground when we arrive. Aella can protect you. We will still be connected through—
Emily is also three syllables, Seven cut right in, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said.
Emily is plainer than Elizabeth, so maybe that suits me better. Eleanor is a little old fashioned. And Camila is too exotic. Katherine is too distinguished. I’m definitely not distinguished. There have been many great Katherines in history. I can’t live up to that name.
Seven, listen to me—
Gods know I’m no Angela, she talked over him. Nothing remotely connoting angelic. Selina is too lovely. Tiffany is too Valley Girl. You know what, I think I’m going to choose either Elizabeth or Emily.
Which do you prefer? she asked, solicitous. Maybe I can use the one you don’t choose as the middle name. And if we get married like other humans, my last name can be your last name. I don’t have one right now. I just put “Smith” down on official forms.
You’re purposely avoiding talking about the situation we’re in, Ben got in.
Yes, I am, she agreed easily. Then continued, Did you know that Elizabeth means “God’s Promise”? Isn’t that cool? I Googled that. That’s a lot of pressure, but… well, it kind of fits the old me, right? Emily is a lot simpler. I don’t know what it means, but I can’t imagine it has the same weight as Elizabeth.
I like Lizzy, Ben put forth, hoping this would end the convoluted name search so they could focus on what was immediately before them.
I think you should leave your middle name for another day, he suggested. You don’t have to decide everything at once.
Elizabeth it is then! she chirped cheerfully. You’re going to get married to an Elizabeth, Benjamin. How do you feel about that? This is your last chance to change your mind.
At the casual mention of marriage again, Ben couldn’t help but tease, You’re pretty sure of yourself, hmm? You’ve mentioned marriage a few times now. I haven’t proposed.
Oh, I’m not going to wait for that, silly, she told him.
We’re already married in my mind in any case. Everything else is procedural. We don’t even have to have a wedding—honestly, I’d prefer not to; it seems like a lot of work. We don’t have to have a paper. And we already have the rings! We don’t even have to resize them since they resize themselves.
Nevertheless, Ben said, brooking no argument, I’m going to ask you properly when this is done. You can’t deny me that right.
But why ask if you already know the answer? She argued.
If you’re still not certain, I suggest you do it while you’re inside me and I’m orgasming. Which is pretty much every second you’re inside of me. I can’t possibly even think of a different answer than YES! YES! YES!
Seven…
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Elizabeth! she reminded him.
Lizzy… he murmured. Half purr, half growl.
She was driving him insane. In a good way, but still.
I love you, Benjamin, she said clearly, her voice strong and steady.
His heart rammed against its cage. His hand tightened on hers until her bones creaked.
I might not know what that means entirely, she said. I’m still learning. But I know that I do. And I want you to have no doubt that I do.
He didn’t. He’d never doubt her again.
I will love you forever, she vowed. No matter what.
When he was just about to return the promise with his own, she announced grimly, no longer playful and passionate:
We’re here.
~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~* ~ *~ * ~
It seemed like they were headed into a cyclone.
The winds were so fierce, whipping all around them, that it felt like they were flying into a wall. Yet the force of the counterclockwise churning hurled them forward and inward, dragging them inexorably into the eye of the storm.
Hold on tight! Ben commanded through their mind link.
There was no talk of taking Seven to the safety of the icy tundra below anymore. Not that it was any safer. She couldn’t even see the ground. Visibility was shot.
She held onto Ben for dear life and didn’t question how he was able to hold onto the Black Dragon. She couldn’t open her eyes even if she tried. She could barely breathe for the suffocating air pressure and merciless winds.
But she could see what was happening through their mind link, for Ben could see the battle as it unfolded through his link with the dragons.
All of the sky and celestial dragons had arrived, some of them carrying non-winged dragons. But very quickly, the sea dragons—Rui and Lancelot—from the Southern stronghold leapt into the whirlpool that Sai and Brigid already created, adding their strength to the vortex, trying to keep it controlled and keeping as many sea creatures away from it as they could.
Kai now rode on Arthur instead of Divina. As the only feathered dragon in existence, her wings weren’t strong enough to handle these torrential winds, so she transformed into human form and rode on Zai. She was also the only noncombatant dragon in the group, Seven knew. Divina was a love dragon for gods’ sake. She shouldn’t be here. But the shadows weren’t letting any of the dragons stay out of it.
And Seven knew why intimately.
Magnificent, aren’t they? her Twin’s voice hissed in her ear.
Each powerful and unique in their own right. Which is your favorite, dear sister?
She spoke as if they were having a conversation over tea, not in the middle of a life-or-death battle.
For my part, the Black Dragon is the masterpiece, Lilith observed.
After all, I made him. Even amongst the first three dragons, he is the strongest. And in his current form, he is a hundred times stronger than the original incarnation, isn’t he?
Seven didn’t answer. She was too busy trying to figure out a way to thwart her other half.
The dragons flew round and round, closer and closer to the eye of the cyclone funneling down into the sea. The shadows chased them so closely they were practically an extension of the dragons’ bodies. Like linked chains.
For every dragon there was a shadow. Who was herding whom toward the portal beneath the churning seas that Sai and Brigid created was anyone’s guess. It wasn’t obvious from taking in the scene.
But there was control in the madness; Seven could feel it.
She could feel Eli and Cloud’s command of the air, keeping it from blasting them off course; from hurling riders off their seats. They used their powers to keep the shadows at bay as well. Though some of the shadows stretched their necks to bite the tails or wings of the dragons near them, somehow they could never reach them.
The fire dragons added their dragonfire to the cyclone, making it a flaming wind tunnel where no other creature could get near, and no one within could get out. Sorin added electrical webs of lightning to the burning tornado too. Shadows who flew off course were zapped by the blazing walls and kept in line.
Fools, Lilith spat. You think you can trap me? You can never pin down shadows. You can never destroy your own reflection lest you—
The thought was abruptly cut off, but Seven knew what her Twin almost revealed:
You can never destroy your own reflection without destroying yourself.
She knew exactly what she had to do.
She knew what her Twin would do next as well, for already, the shadows started to lose substance, their forms dissipating into tendrils of smoke. The smoke was still whipped around in the wind and fire funnel the dragons created, but it tried to escape in thin tendrils.
Seven knew where the shadows were going. Lilith made it clear that she planned to attack the dragons’ Mates. Not all of them were down below, but enough of them were that her plan to incite the dragons’ full power would be fulfilled.
It took only one or two dragons going berserk to upset their coordinated attack. The funnel would lose its momentum and the shadows would have the opportunity to break out of the trap.
It wasn’t easy by any means for the shadows to escape even now, even with their amorphousness. But small tendrils got loose, like water trickling from a sieve. Eli and Cloud tried to wrangle them back, using their command of air, which diverted them somewhat from maintaining the cyclone.
The tornado shifted on its axis like a whirling dervish. They tried to keep the tail within the center of the whirlpool below, but it was in danger of spinning off course.
Meanwhile, the shadows pursued another avenue of attack, beginning to amass around Sorin, surrounding him like a cloudy fist that squeezed tighter and tighter. It served two purposes. The Phoenix’s electrical web weakened and flickered, allowing more tendrils to escape, making Cloud and Eli work even harder to pull them back. And the congregation around one specific point on one side of the funnel distorted its balance, pulling it even more aggressively off course.
At the thunderous roar unleashed by the Black Dragon, which shook through Seven like an earthquake, she realized the third purpose—to attack the most powerful dragon’s Mate and unleash Ere’s wrath.
The better for Lilith to absorb it. The better for her to unravel their trap.
Ere! Hold the line! Ben shouted in their minds. Clearly, he also realized what the shadows were trying to do, at least in terms of inciting the Black Dragon.
But Ere was beyond the reach of logic at this point. Seven could almost feel his madness as if it were her own.
She’d seen what the Black Dragon could do in the Celestial Realm, when he’d broken in by sheer force. Lilith made him. He possessed untapped powers they didn’t even know about. He probably wasn’t even aware of them himself.
But when he lost control, when the primitive Beast side took over, his powers manifested in unexpected ways.
As they did now.
Ere disregarded Benjamin’s command, fighting the vortex to reach his Mate. He unleashed a torrent of bright blue dragonfire at the shadows that now cluttered around Sorin like a thick dark cocoon.
The shadows couldn’t withstand the force of the dragonfire, dispersing a little. But Ere’s actions unbalanced the cyclone even more, rocking it off its intended trajectory entirely, making the tight funnel unstable, spinning wildly out of control.
Kai! Add debris to weigh it down! Ben shouted through their mind links, knowing that Ere would be beyond reach until he knew his Mate was safe.
The earth dragon did just that. He commanded rocks and ice from the ground below to rise up into the vortex, adding weight to the tail, creating a debris foundation to anchor the tornado, focusing it once more where it needed to go, pushing it back over Sai and Brigid’s whirlpool.
But the shadows redoubled their attack on Sorin, and the Black Dragon raged to stop them, breaking line. And worse, somehow the tendrils that had escaped plucked Aella from the ground below, trapping her helplessly in their ghostly grip, pulling her into the vortex.
Cloud was immediately distracted, even when Aella told him to focus on his task.
He couldn’t. A dragon’s Mate was their number one priority. When the Mate was in danger, all bets were off. Even for a celestial dragon like Cloud, his heart always overruled his mind.
The tornado began to lose its tight funneling strength, though Eli tried to compensate for Cloud’s distraction, and the other dragons increased their firepower.
Seven knew it was only a matter of time before Lilith found more weaknesses and took advantage of them. She could feel the shadows starting to transform, burgeoning with a staticky power, singeing everything they touched.
And where they singed the Black Dragon beneath her, Ere twitched like a live wire. He ignored it for the most part like one would ignore a low-voltage static shock.
But Seven knew it for what it was.
The shadows were starting to syphon power out of the dragons. Only in small sips now like leeches, but before long, the dragons would be dangerously drained. And then…they would all be at Lilith’s mercy. She’d pick them off one by one, absorbing their powers as her own.
Just like she planned.
You must drive them downward! Sai shouted in their minds.
Seven heard him loud and clear through her open link with Benjamin.
We can’t keep holding the portal open!
But the portal wasn’t going to stop Lilith, Seven knew. It would only contain her, like the way both of them had always been contained throughout time immemorial. Even if they were to succeed, which seemed less and less likely given how the battle was unfolding, what would prevent Lilith from escaping again?
It was now or never. Time to remind her Twin that she was only Seven’s shadow. A reflection of the real thing.
And the real thing could be destroyed.
No.
Lilith knew what she was going to do a split second after she had the thought to do it. Which was why she’d avoided thinking about it, keeping her mind an echo chamber for all the other telepathic communications up to this point.
She let go of Benjamin the same moment she used her thighs to fling herself backward. The blistering wind did the rest.
She was flung like a ragdoll off of the Black Dragon’s back, hitting his thorned tail in the process. The jagged scales ripped into her, puncturing her flesh in some places, slicing her skin in others.
She gasped at the searing pain, but her eyes lit with triumph when the shadows shrieked in ear-splitting screams with agony and fury.
Take that!
Lilith had weakness too, even though she didn’t love. Even when she had no Mate. Seven was her weakness. And Seven was down with playing dirty.
But she had more in mind than simply making Lilith weak. She didn’t know whether her mortal death would take Lilith down too. She couldn’t take the chance that it wasn’t enough.
No. She had to bind Lilith to her. Merge once more with her Twin. Become One, as they used to be.
Only then would Seven’s fate ensure Lilith’s as well.
She flailed and tumbled in the churning vortex, but she knew Lilith wouldn’t let her be killed accidentally by being stoned to death by debris. A swathe of shadows immediately converged on her, some of them leaving Sorin, though they still surrounded him and clutched Aella in a smoky fist.
The shadows held her carefully, a dark forcefield around her body, protecting her from the flying rocks and ice. Too late did they realize that the immediate contact with her made them susceptible to her draw.
She had no powers; she was only human. But these shadows were her. Like a living sponge, she began to soak them into herself.
The force of it was so strong that her limbs were stretched apart as she suspended in the middle of the vortex, eyes and mouth wide open, darkness shooting into her as if she were sucking them in like a voracious vacuum.
Lilith screeched in her mind. The shadows tried to fight the draw. She could feel them trying to claw their way out of her even as she continued to hoover them. At the same time, her fleshly wounds kept bleeding, draining the shadows of strength, making her ability to draw them stronger, even as her own body weakened.
All at once, a thunderous roar shook the skies.
She couldn’t see, though her eyes were peeled open. But she could feel him.
Benjamin.
In her mind’s eye, through the dragons’ eyes and through her link with Benjamin, she saw him as they saw him:
A massive white and yellow gold dragon, equal in size to the Black, charging through the cyclone at the shadows that surrounded her.
He’d commanded most of the other dragons to leave the funnel, now that the shadows were weakened. Only Cloud, with Aella safely on his back, Sorin, and Ere, carrying Eli, remained. They were strong enough to keep the vortex churning, drawing them down, down, down into the whirlpool below.
Stay back! she shouted in Benjamin’s mind.
This is the only way! I have to merge with her. We are one and the same!
No! I won’t let you go!
The gold dragon rammed against the cloudy forcefield that now kept her at its core, getting denser and more impenetrable the more shadows she drew to her.
Benjamin howled and stormed, opening his jaw to unleash a torrent of pale white flames, trying to disperse the darkness.
But he didn’t understand that he wasn’t fighting the shadows. This wasn’t their doing. They wanted to be merged with her no more than he did.
This was her will.
Seven.
The Destroyer of Worlds. Usurper of Gods.
No matter what form, she was the strongest of all. Stronger, even, than the Jade Emperor. Her mind, her soul, and now her heart. No one could stop her, not even her Mate.
And definitely not her Twin.
Her self.
Beams of blinding light erupted from her eyes and mouth, singeing away all darkness in their path. Soon, even the tips of her fingers radiated light. Then all of her skin, burning through her clothes.
She was like a newborn star, drawing all of the shadows to her orbit, sucking them in and falling fast.
Benjamin shot out of the wind tunnel to chase her, gigantic metallic wings tucked close to his body.
He was so beautiful, Seven thought, seeing him through the eyes of the other Beasts. Just as she knew he would be.
He was Benjamin. Pure joy and light. Eternally bright.
His shouts in their mind link were muffled now, as if he was a great distance away. He was telling Sai and Brigid to close the portal, and the pair were trying to obey.
Seven closed her fists, harnessing the power she’d absorbed from the shadows, from Lilith, to blow the portal wide open again just as it was closing.
The tidal waves that spread from the nexus was like the aftershock from a hydrogen bomb. Sai, Brigid, Rui and Lancelot were blasted far away, though she knew they didn’t sustain fatal wounds, only stunned and immobilized.
Now, the portal through the whirlpool was one of her own making. It didn’t lead to another plane like Benjamin and his friends originally intended.
It led to her own destruction.
The moment she fell through, it would close around her and implode. She wasn’t afraid. She was calm as she plummeted, dragging all the shadows with her.
It all happened in seconds, and yet time had no meaning now, as if she had returned to the Celestial Realm.
There was no cyclone any more; the sky was rapidly clearing. She had drawn all the darkness to herself, embracing her Twin as she should have done long ago.
I hate you, Lilith seethed, even as her voice became blended with Seven’s own.
I love you, Seven replied calmly, with a sense of rightness that grounded her, making her brave.
No matter what happens, we will always be together now. I will teach you the love I learned. Teach you to love yourself. And one day…maybe…we—I—will have the chance to love my Mate, wherever he is and whatever he’s become.
We cannot risk it, Lilith whispered, a hitch in her breath, like a little girl who was frightened.
Like the little girl Seven used to be when she found herself imprisoned and alone after the other gods destroyed her first treasured companion.
It is worth it, Seven reassured her.
Trust me. Trust yourself.
Take my hand.
She reached out toward the darkness that surrounded her core of light, her arm no longer a limb but a blinding beam of light.
The darkness hesitated. But carefully, it reached back. A streak of smoke twining around the light.
Tighter and tighter they gathered together, spinning now in a blazing sphere.
Benjamin was diving after them, plummeting from the skies like a shooting star.
But Seven was faster, her mass greater, as if she had truly become a star.
Don’t lose hope, Benjamin, she sent her last thoughts to him as she connected with the whirlpool, sinking into the portal.
Remember—I will always love you.
No matter what.
Then, the portal swallowed her whole, Lilith and her One at last.
And disappeared into nothingness.