59. Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Gray
G ray shot his shadows from his extended arm, roaring at Henry to stop, his voice raw with desperation and fury. He tried to pin Henry’s arms to his sides, to prevent him from twisting his fingers and freezing time, but it was already too late. In the blink of an eye, Henry was gone. Before Gray could even finish his command, he’d disappeared, taking Lea with him.
The sight of her vanishing, his mate, his life , shattered something deep inside him, and his shadows exploded in a rush that made the ground beneath his feet tremble. Who knew how long she’d been gone? How long had time been stopped? Who knew how far she’d been able to travel while he stood there, unable to move or breathe or even fucking think.
Fury unlike anything Gray had ever felt before surged through his veins like molten fire, searing every nerve, every muscle, until he could hardly breathe through the anger, so intense it threatened to consume him entirely. His shadows continued outward in a violent wave, black tendrils reaching in every direction, desperate and frantic, searching with a mind of their own. They hunted for Lea, their other half, as if they shared the same agonizing loss that was tearing him apart from the inside .
“Lea!” he roared, the name tearing from his throat with such intensity it echoed across the woods, mingling with the wind and the rain pouring from the sky.
Above him, storm clouds gathered, the physical manifestation of his wrath and terror. They darkened with his every breath, growing and building until they were almost black. His gray lightning crashed through the sky, splitting the night apart with each crack of rage.
It wasn’t enough. None of it was enough to dull the agonizing terror of knowing Lea was gone. “Find her!” he commanded his shadows, his voice thick with the promise of violence. He didn’t wait for their answer, couldn’t afford to as he launched himself onto Obsidian’s back. The stallion reared, sensing his urgency, his fury, and surged forward as fast as the lightning overhead.
“Lea!” Gray roared again, the sound vibrating through the air, a haunting mix of absolute rage and the deepest, rawest fear he’d ever known. How could she do this? She had betrayed him. Not just him—she had betrayed their love, their bond. She had gone to find Alaric on her own. Gray wasn’t a fool. There was only one reason she would do something so reckless: she was going to sacrifice herself to end this war. It was the only reason she would ever leave his side, would ever put herself in such danger knowing that it would completely destroy him. Gray’s heart twisted painfully in his chest at the thought. She was planning to trade her life for his.
Again.
“No!” He nearly choked on the word, his chest tight with the weight of his terror. Gray knew there was a chance either of them could die in this battle—he had accepted that long ago. But he refused, with every fiber of his being, to let her choose death. Not this time. He wouldn’t let her slip away like a ghost to sacrifice herself to save the rest of them. No matter what Lea wanted, they would face this together. They would fight together, live together.
Or, they would die together.
His shadows stretched out farther and farther, a tsunami of black, inky darkness that crashed through the trees, uprooting them from the ground, but there was nothing. No sign of her. No proof she’d ever been there at all. She was gone, disappeared into the pitch-black void.
“Please. Please ,” he whispered, his voice cracking, his plea directed to anyone, anything that might listen. “Protect her.” He prayed to the goddess, to the universe, to the stars above. He would have prayed to his own enemies if it meant keeping her safe.
Obsidian’s hooves thundered against the earth, each beat in time with the frantic pounding of Gray’s heart. Rain battered against his face, mingling with the tears he refused to shed, and his lightning—his fury—crashed around them, illuminating the forest in bursts of blinding white light.
In that moment, Gray made a vow—a vow stronger than any he’d ever made before—a vow etched into the very fabric of his being.
“I will find you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, his throat raw. “I will find you, Lea, before you find him.” He would not let her face Alaric alone. He would burn Alaric’s entire army to ash if he had to. He would rip the world apart if that’s what it took. And when he did find Alaric, when he faced his brother at last, Gray would prove to him that no matter how much power he had stolen, he was the weaker Nestruir. He would trap Alaric inside his shadows, pin him down with every ounce of hatred and fury that had been festering in his heart for years, and he would hold him there. Helpless. Only then, when he was there at his mate’s side, would he allow Lea to deliver that final, killing blow—the blow that would free them all .
It didn’t matter that Alaric was the strongest Fae in the kingdom, that his power could shake mountains and bring down the sky. None of it mattered. Nothing was stronger than Gray’s love for Lea. Not the gods. Not destiny. Not the universe itself. And certainly not his fucking brother.
Gray clenched his jaw, his heart thundering painfully against his ribs as he urged Obsidian to go faster. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and still, his shadows spread out in every direction, hunting, searching. He could feel them yearning, just as he was, desperate to find that one flicker of light that was Lea.
“You will not take her from me,” Gray snarled at the storm. At the darkness. At the gods themselves. “Do you hear me? You will not take her from me!”
Because she was his mate, his life, his everything. And he would tear the world apart, piece by piece, if it meant getting her back.