Chapter 42
Brigid
The pull of the void is palpable, a sickening lurch in my gut.
"Brigid, focus!" Marius's voice calls.
I meet his gaze, those fathomless dark eyes gleaming. Power radiates from him in waves as he grips my arms, and I feel my magic expand and dance with his.
Shadows undulate around us, responding to our combined energy. The rift pulses, grows.
"What are you doing?" I gasp.
Marius's lips curve in a wicked smile. "Giving you a taste of your true potential, little bird."
His magic surges through me. Darkness slams the guards back.
But the rift grows more unstable, its hungry mouth widening.
"Marius, stop—we need to close it!"
The shadows respond to my conflicted emotions, lashing out wildly. They’re slipping from my control.
The rift yawns wider, a swirling storm of nightmares. The pull intensifies and I stumble, only Marius's iron grip keeping me anchored.
"Let go," he commands, voice thick with dark promise. "Accept it."
I feel it. I could lose myself in it.
"I can't—"
A guard's spell sizzles past, singeing my hair. Instinctively, I fling out a hand. Shadows slice through his defenses. Blood sprays.
The coppery scent fills my nostrils. My stomach lurches, but a part of me—a primal, hungry part—revels in it.
Marius laughs, low and wicked. "That's it. Show them what you're capable of."
The remaining guards finally fall back, eyes wide with fear.
Of me.
The rift is a heartbeat of darkness. Each throb sends a shockwave through me, resonating with the shadows gyrating beneath my skin. I'm losing myself, drowning.
"Brigid." Marius’s fingers dig into my arm, pulling me back. "Focus."
I gulp air, trying to center myself. The shadows dance at my fingertips, eager to lash out again.
An incredibly stupid guard charges towards me, magic whizzing around his fists in golden circles. Without thinking, I reach out. Filaments of night wrap around his legs, yanking him off balance. He crashes to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Did I just—?
"He's not dead." Marius whispers in my ear. "Not yet."
My stomach churns. This isn't me. I don't want to hurt people.
But the darkness whispers seductively, offering vengeance against those who've wronged me.
"I can't control it.”
Marius's laugh is sharp. "Who says you need to?"
The rift surges, shadows spilling out like ink. They tremble hungrily, seeking prey. A guard screams as they latch onto him, dragging him in.
I reach out instinctively, trying to pull him back. But the shadows tighten their grip, resisting my command.
"Marius, help me!"
His eyes gleam with wicked amusement. "Why? You have all the power you need."
The guard's terrified eyes lock onto mine as he's pulled into the rift. In that moment, I see myself reflected in his eyes—a creature of darkness, terrible and monstrous.
What have I become?
Lochan's movements are graceful, lethal. He weaves through the remaining guards, each strike precise and devastating. But there's a set to his jaw, a returning wariness in his glance as it flicks to me.
"Brigid!" Callen's voice cuts through the din. He's torn, I can see it in the way he hesitates, gaze darting between me and the rift. "What the fuck is happening?"
I open my mouth, but what can I say? That I'm losing control? That the darkness is consuming me?
A bone-chilling howl pierces the air. Rory .
My heart stops as I see him, massive wolf form straining against an invisible force. His claws gouge deep furrows in the stone floor, muscles bunching as he fights the rift's inexorable pull.
"No!" The word tears from my throat.
Rory's eyes meet mine, wide with panic. The rift pulses, shadows tighten around his legs.
I lunge forward, but Marius's grip on my arm is like iron. I claw at him, scratching him, drawing blood, but he won’t let go.
Rory's claws lose their purchase. With a final, mournful howl, he's dragged into the swirling vortex.
The darkness inside me howls in answer.
My heart shatters, each jagged piece a shard of ice in my chest. "Rory!" I scream, the sound ripped from my lungs.
Marius's grip tightens. "Focus. We're not done yet."
I whirl around to face him, vision blurred by tears and fury. " You
bastard!”
A blast of energy rocks the room. The guards called reinforcements.
Callen appears at my side, eyes wild. "Brigid!"
Reality crashes back. I force the grief down, letting rage take its place. The shadows respond, coiling around my fingers like eager pets.
"Come on then, you fuckers." I accept the darkness, letting it flow through me.
The shadows roll around me, feeding off my rage, my despair. They're a living thing now, an extension of my will.
"Brigid!" Lochan's voice cuts through the chaos. "Whatever you're doing—don’t!"
But it's too late. The darkness surges, a tidal wave of shadow and fury and grief. It crashes over the guards, their startled cries drowned in its inky depths. The rift pulses, destabilized by the raw power.
My vision blurs. I'm dimly aware of Callen shouting something, but his words are lost in the roar of blood in my ears.
The shadows are hungry for more. I feel myself slipping, consumed.
A flicker of movement. The rift trembles, and for a nanosecond, I think I see him.
Rory.
His wolf form flickers, caught between worlds. Our eyes lock, and in that instant, a lifetime of unspoken words passes between us.
"Rory, please,” I plead.
But he's fading, his form growing translucent.
"No!" I scream. I rush towards the rift and Lochan grabs me by the waist, hauling me backwards.
Rory's form wavers, then solidifies for a moment. His muzzle opens in what might be a smile or a snarl. Then he's gone, swallowed by the void.
The rift pulses once, twice, then collapses in on itself with a deafening crack.
Silence falls, heavy and final.
I sink to my knees. The guards are gone, but so is Rory.
Callen kneels beside me, his hand hesitant on my shoulder. "Brigid..."
I shrug him off, my voice a raw whisper. "Don't."
The horror of what just happened threatens to swallow me whole. But as I stare into the darkness where the rift once stood, something is left behind.
A feather. Raven-black and gleaming.
Hope, dangerous and fragile, flutters in my chest.