Chapter 34
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule thirty-four: Try not to accidentally end the universe.
“Impossible,” Leon chokes out, gaping at me from a pool of his own blood.
Need freezes mid-step, staring as if she’s seeing me for the first time.
The darkness enveloping the castle wards thickens, and the courtyard is quickly being plunged into night.
The wards are still up, and mages throw magic into the barrier, trying to ensure no one can enter.
That just won’t do.
There isn’t room for self-doubt anymore. All that matters is that my family is on the other side of those wards, and nothing is going to keep me from them.
Without the collar, it’s easy to feel both the Reaper and Creator energies. It feels as though they’re contained in two separate wells, deep within me.
The Reaper energy is familiar and easy to call. But the Creator power still feels bound, like it’s pressing up against a sealed cap. Even with the help of my Reaper power, I only manage to siphon a drop.
A drop is all I need.
This time, there’s no gentle magnifying of one power using the other. The energies collide, violently trying to unmake each other, and the only thing holding them together is my body.
Searing pain rips along my spine as the volatile combination tears through me.
This doesn’t feel powerful. It feels like annihilation.
My body trembles under the force of it, and my muscles burn like they’ve caught fire.
Whatever this power is, I can’t hold it for long. I’m barely holding it now.
The air around us crackles from static electricity, and Need smirks, mistaking my shaking for weakness. She starts toward me again, no doubt feeling safe within the wards.
The storm within me shatters.
I lift my arm to the sky, hoping I can direct the power. A light detonates behind my ribs, and I drop to my knees as a scream tears through my throat.
The fused energies explode out in a violet storm. The blast slams into the wards, and Arianna’s darkness swallows us whole.
Crackling purple light illuminates my surroundings, and I watch with purple-tinged vision as Need panics and bolts for Leon.
I can’t stop her.
I can’t move.
Without the wards, the cap over my Creator power is gone. The well opens completely, and suddenly, I’m nothing but energy. More Creator and Reaper energies crash together, and their forced fusion feels like an atomic bomb detonating inside my chest.
I can’t turn it off.
The searing purple threads look more like a lightning storm as they radiate out, multiplying and devouring everything they touch. Every time they meet resistance, they vaporize it, only growing stronger.
My eyes widen, remembering how I almost tore a hole through Morgana’s realm. I try to pull my arm down. But the energy doesn’t stop – it redirects. There’s a deafening boom, followed by screams.
Off! I need to turn it off!
But I can’t stop it.
The world becomes nothing but blinding purple light.
The world I’m going to accidentally consume.
Panic claws up my throat, growing stronger until I notice a hint of red at the edges of my vision.
“Kitten!” a voice yells.
Warmth envelops me, even though the voice sounds like it’s coming from a long distance. Ever so slowly, the storm starts to dissipate.
Someone is holding me. Calloused hands gently frame my face, and I frown, wondering how someone can be holding me when I’m pretty sure I just accidentally ended the universe.
“Kitten, I need you to breathe. Focus on me. You’re safe,” the voice calls again.
More warmth floods my body.
I like the sound of his voice. It’s familiar.
Lips brush my forehead. “You need to let it go.”
A shaky inhale stutters past my lips, and I cling to the warmth while focusing on the voice that feels like home.
“That’s it, baby.”
Arms wrap around me, and the violet light fades from my vision. The crackling energies retreat into their wells. It feels as though the world goes still as the final thread retracts, until a sharp, invisible snap ripples through me.
I jolt upright with a gasp.
My head connects with something hard.
“Fuck,” Sin growls, clutching his chin.
He’s kneeling on the ground before me.
My heart stutters.
I can’t breathe.
“Sin?” I whisper, not daring to believe he’s real.
I probably did blow up the universe. This is probably some cruel hallucination that’s about to disappear as part of my own personal hell.
He’s looking up at me with proud wonder, and his tattoos glow faintly like embers.
His lips curve into a smirk. “You finally fought back.”
I don’t answer.
I launch myself at him.
Sin catches me with ease, and I melt into his arms. We hold each other like we’ve both forgotten what it’s like to breathe without the other, and his fingers tangle into my hair. He tilts my head back, but I’m already rising to meet him. Our mouths crash together in a wild and desperate kiss.
“Never–” he growls against my lips, punctuating the word with a kiss.
“Fucking–” Kiss.
“Ask–” Kiss.
“Me–” Kiss.
“To–” Kiss.
“Leave–” Kiss.
“You–” Kiss.
“Ever–” Kiss.
“Again,” he finishes.
His gray eyes burn into mine, and he pulls me closer, like it will never be close enough.
I only have a chance to gasp out, “Never,” before he crushes his mouth back over mine.
The kiss deepens, becoming more desperate. Every repressed moment of not letting myself think about the pain of losing him floats to the surface.
I cling to him, knowing that deep within me, something has irrevocably broken. Because I will shatter this world before I’m ever separated from him again.
A throat clears, and the sound pulls me back to the reality of where we are.
Right – the battle.
I pull back, only to find Morgana standing a few feet behind us with her arms crossed. “You might want to hold off a moment longer. The battle is done,” she notes dryly.
Heat floods my face, and I scramble upright, but never let go of Sin.
He rises with me, pulling me back against his chest, and resting his chin on my head.
Clearing my throat, I try (and fail) to ignore my mortification and pretend I’m a somewhat functioning adult.
“So, I might have found you an army to replace the Forsaken that I reaped,” I offer, acting like I wasn’t just mauling Sin in public.
Morgana raises a brow, then shakes her head. “No, you haven’t. That army doesn’t belong to me.”
She jerks her chin at something behind me.
I frown, turning to see what she means.
My throat tightens. At least a thousand freed prisoners fill the courtyard.
Every last one of them is kneeling.
“What–” I start.
“They’re bowing to you, kitten,” Sin murmurs against my ear. “This is your army now.”
Shock floods me, but it only lasts for a moment. Something behind the crowd catches my attention.
Suddenly, I realize what the deafening boom was when I tried to pull back my power.
The castle looks mostly untouched, except for one minor detail. There’s a line running through the center. Through the empty space, I can distantly see trees from the other side of the castle grounds. There isn’t even any rubble.
The castle has been cut completely in half.