Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
MOIRA
Ascream of rage and defiance tore through the skies, the voice of the divine feminine clawing itself back home. Flowers sprung up beneath us, a carpet of riotous color underneath our feet.
Poe and Fee shot through the sky, their wings beating in glorious color as they circled the tree that had brought us so much misery.
A jagged tear formed in the bark, the ragged edges the color of crimson and gold, a beacon of power shouting a challenge to anyone who might question its right to appear.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
A soft shuffle of wind and Cernunnos and Cliona appeared inside the Keep.
“Get back,” the Fae King warned, his eyes trained on that crack. He said nothing else, only kept his attention on the tree.
We stepped back as a shield of silver and green rose around us.
The tear widened, the edges of it glowing with crimson fire.
A hand slid into mine. Ash. I squeezed his fingers, unable to form any words.
The Shifter Lord’s posture was tight, his expression blank, but his eyes burned a fiery gold.
The leaves were the next to catch fire, a cheery crimson bonfire.
“Fuck yeah,” I whispered. “Burn it all down.”
We waited for I don’t know how long, watching with held breaths as the tear slowly widened and fire consumed the World Tree.
None of us gave a shit about the fae at that moment, at the possible consequences this might bring.
I wasn’t even sure Cernunnos or Cliona cared. They did nothing to stop what was happening, only provided a shield for us in case things worsened.
But when the wood began to groan, Cernunnos took a step back, his eyes widening. Cliona stepped closer to his side, her face a pale mask of worry.
He extended his shield to protect him and Evie’s mother.
Seconds later, the world exploded into fire and knocked us all ass over teakettle.
A nude woman with burning skin and long ebony hair stood there, her naked back to us.
Her eyes glowed a furious crimson and gold. She opened her mouth and a vengeful scream tore from her lungs. Magic sparked at her palms as she raised her hands.
The ancient tree trembled under her gaze, its wood groaning as it tried to arch back from her fury, but it was too old, too rooted to the world to escape her rage.
Evie Quinn sent all her power at the remnants of the World Tree.
And a moment later, the world stood still as that all-consuming tree collapsed into a pile of crimson ash.
My best friend stared at it, her lips still curled with fiery anger. Her hands dropped a second later, and her eyes rolled back into her head.
Caelan, the Shifter Lord of Texas, and the shifter I suspected might become family soon, caught her before she hit the ground.