Chapter 64 Isabeau
sixty-four
Isabeau
The Dark Lord’s power crashed against my magic like a tidal wave hitting a sandcastle.
I staggered back, my hastily erected shields crumbling under his assault.
Each attack stripped away layers of my strength, my inexperience painfully obvious as I fought the being who’d orchestrated my entire existence from the shadows.
He wasn’t just the Dark Lord. I could see it now in the depths of those burning coal eyes. He was Hades himself, god of the underworld, playing with realms and forests and lives like a bored child with toys.
“You begin to understand, little godling,” he rumbled, his voice vibrating through my bones rather than my ears. “How small you truly are.”
My mother’s bow of golden light flickered in my grip, weakening with each blast of his darkness.
Outside, the sounds of battle raged. Steel on steel, men shouting, animals crying out, but in here, it was just us.
Me, the half-goddess who hadn’t known her own heritage until moments ago.
Him, the ancient god who’d been manipulating events since before my birth.
And Enid, my aunt hovering at the edges, her haggard face beginning to fracture again, watching with conflicted eyes.
“I don’t care what you are,” I spat, gathering my faltering strength for another attack. “You won’t have this forest. You won’t keep my beasts imprisoned.”
I loosed an arrow of pure light, watching it streak toward his shadowy form.
For a heartbeat, hope flared as the arrow pierced his chest, embedding itself in what should have been his heart.
But Hades merely laughed, the sound like grinding stones, and plucked the arrow out.
It dissolved between his fingers, my magic consumed by his.
“Brave words from a half-breed who only discovered her powers months ago,” he mocked. “I have walked between worlds for millennia. I have consumed the souls of gods far greater than your mother. What makes you think you can stand against me?”
The claiming mark on my shoulder pulsed, burning with the combined essence of my mates. Through it, I felt their strength, their determination, their love. But even that couldn’t fully replenish what Hades was draining from me with each exchange.
“She abandoned you, you know,” Hades continued, circling me like a predator.
His form was solidifying further with each passing moment, no longer smoke but nearly flesh, horns curving from a head that now bore features.
Cruel, handsome, yet so terrible. “Artemis, goddess of the hunt, of wild things. She hid you away, disguised your power, left you to fumble in ignorance.”
“She protected me from you,” I countered, though uncertainty crept through me. Why hadn’t my mother taught me what I was? Why leave me so unprepared?
Hades smiled, teeth glinting like obsidian shards. “She feared what you would become. The potential in you.” He gestured to the bow. “That weapon you wield so clumsily? In your mother’s hands, it felled titans. In yours...”
He flicked his wrist dismissively, and a wave of darkness slammed into me.
I crashed against the wall of the hut, bottles and jars tumbling from shelves around me.
Something shattered near my head, splashing liquid that hissed and smoked against my skin.
Pain lanced through me, but I forced myself upright.
“You talk too much,” I gasped, trying to sound braver than I felt.
Inside, my magic was faltering. The golden light that had flowed through me since awakening was dimming, retreating to a tiny core deep within my chest. I was draining faster than I could replenish, like a well running dry in drought.
Hades sensed it. Of course he did. His smile widened.
“I can taste your fear,” he said, voice almost gentle now, seductive. “Your doubt. You’re right to doubt, little godling. You are nothing but a half-made thing playing at power.”
“Isabeau, run!” Enid suddenly called, her younger half briefly dominant, eyes wide with an emotion I couldn’t name. “He’s too strong. You can’t—”
“Silence!” Hades roared, and a tendril of darkness lashed across Enid’s face, leaving a smoking welt. She whimpered, shrinking back, the older half reasserting control immediately.
I used his momentary distraction to gather what remained of my strength.
The claiming mark burned hotter, feeding me energy that wasn’t mine.
I could feel my beasts climbing, striving, reaching for me across the barrier.
I could feel Alain fighting, his triumph as Gaspard fell. I wasn’t alone in this.
But was it enough?
I released everything I had in one desperate blast, channeling it through the bow.
The arrow that formed was brighter than any before, trailing sparks of white-gold fire as it flew.
It struck Hades square in the chest, and for one beautiful moment, his form wavered.
Light shone through cracks in his shadowy flesh, and he staggered back, a look of surprise crossing his terrible face.
Then the light winked out. The cracks sealed. And Hades laughed.
“A valiant effort,” he acknowledged. “But ultimately futile.”
I slumped against the wall, utterly spent. The bow faded from my grip, the magic sustaining it nearly exhausted. I couldn’t even stand, my legs trembling with fatigue. The claiming mark still burned, but the energy it provided couldn’t match what I’d expended.
Hades advanced on me, no longer bothering with magical attacks. One clawed hand reached for my throat, lifting me as if I weighed nothing. His grip tightened, cutting off my air.
“Your blood will complete my manifestation,” he said, his face inches from mine. “The half-divine essence that flows through your veins, the last ingredient Enid could never provide.”
My vision began to darken at the edges as I struggled for breath. I clawed at his hand, but my fingers passed through the semi-solid shadow as if through smoke. The claiming mark flared in desperation, my mates sensing my peril, but they were still too far, the barrier still too strong.
“My Lord,” Enid spoke, her voice stronger than I’d heard it before. “Perhaps we should save her. Use her power rather than consume it. She could be an asset.”
Hades didn’t turn, but I saw his lips curve in amusement. “Having second thoughts, little witch? Remembering your sister after all these decades?”
“She is my blood,” Enid said, taking a step forward. Both halves of her face seemed to be working in concert now, the internal battle momentarily suspended.
“Your blood,” Hades sneered. “The same blood you spilled to seal our bargain. Too late for familial sentiment, I think.”
He tossed me aside like discarded trash.
I hit the floor hard, rolling until my back slammed against the cauldron’s base.
Pain exploded across my shoulders and spine as his claws lashed out, tearing through fabric and flesh in one vicious swipe.
I screamed, the sound ripping from my throat before I could stop it.
Blood, hot and wet, soaked the back of my dress. I tried to crawl away, but my limbs wouldn’t obey. Everything was pain, bright and pulsing. The claiming mark throbbed in sympathetic agony, my mates feeling my pain across the barrier.
“You see?” Hades said to Enid, gesturing at my crumpled form. “She’s nothing. A failed experiment. Your sister’s desperate attempt to create a loophole in our curse.”
“My sister,” Enid murmured, and something in her voice made me look up despite the pain.
She was changing. The division in her face was shifting, the younger half expanding, reclaiming territory from the withered crone. Her eyes—both of them now—glowed with amber light identical to mine.
“My sister’s daughter,” she continued, moving toward me with a grace that belied her earlier shuffling gait. “My niece.”
Before Hades could react, Enid dropped to her knees beside me. Her hands were no longer gnarled on one side but both youthful, strong, cupping my face. She pressed a kiss to my forehead, and warmth spread from the contact point, dulling the pain of my wounds.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and I felt her tears fall onto my skin. “I didn’t know she was pregnant with you. I didn’t know she was my toll. I didn’t know you existed until I found you in that castle. She shielded your magic so we couldn’t find you to save you.”
“Enough!” Hades roared, darkness swirling around him in agitation. “Remember your place, witch! Remember our bargain!”
Enid ignored him, her focus entirely on me. “Look at you,” she said, wonder in her voice. “So like her. The same eyes. The same stubborn chin.” Her hands stroked my hair back from my face. “The same power flowing in your veins.”
“What are you doing?” I managed, my voice weak even to my own ears.
“What I should have done from the beginning,” she replied. “Artemis created the loophole through you, through the blood we share. But you’re not ready to face him alone. You haven’t had centuries to master your gifts. But I have…”
The hut around us began to tremble, dust and debris raining down from the ceiling. Something was happening outside. The earth itself seemed to be shaking, responding to some massive shift in the magical balance.
“We need to get out,” I gasped, trying to rise despite the pain.
Enid helped me to my feet, supporting my weight as we staggered toward the door. Hades moved to block our path, his form now almost completely solid, horns gleaming like polished obsidian.
“You betray me?” he demanded, towering over us. “After everything I gave you?”
“After everything you took from me,” Enid corrected, her voice steady. “My sister. My youth. My connection to the forest. My very soul.” She straightened, facing him without fear. “No more.”
With a gesture of her free hand, Enid sent a blast of amber light directly into Hades’ face. He recoiled, more in surprise than pain, giving us the moment we needed to slip past him and through the door.