Chapter 5 #2
“My fire,” I offered, and when I touched the lock, I held onto it this time, ignoring the shock of electricity and Az’s sound of concern. Another roar sounded, this one loud enough to shake the entire building, as I used the full force of my new power and lit the metal contraption on fire.
The strange man hadn’t been wrong—my magic felt intense and so different than before, almost wild and untamed.
The metal turned blue within my flames right as the wall to our left crumbled with a hard hit from Ry, exposing us to the open air.
I grabbed the chest as the lock broke open and ran towards the back of the room, Az shouting something about finishing the job.
I didn’t argue, and when his angelic power filled the space, I realized two things—one, he had put up a shield, but secondly…
Holy crap was he powerful. Like, so insanely powerful.
Throwing open the box, I breathed out in relief to find half of a black onyx heart inside.
I grabbed the heart in my hands, my eyes widening at how hard and cold it was.
There was no way this was a living organ; it felt more like a precious stone.
I looked up in concern for Az’s safety, glad to see that he was behind his own faint silver shield of power, as Ry suddenly shifted into his human form.
It was odd, because he was honestly kind of handsome…
in a way that was only appealing on the outside.
You couldn’t ignore the toxic darkness that seeped off of him, which ruined the whole effect.
He stood completely naked in front of the shield, his eyes on me and his face completely devoid of emotion.
Az didn’t take his eyes off him, but I knew he probably didn’t understand what my hesitation was, why I hadn’t destroyed the heart yet.
“Maya,” Ry said, infusing that one word with a plea.
I squeezed the organ in my hand, and he hissed, my breathing uneven as I considered everything this dragon god had done.
How many people he’d imprisoned and how much that infuriated me.
He deserved this. This wasn’t like when I thought I’d killed Lorn—I’d been unprepared for that.
No, I was going to look Ry in the eye as I destroyed a part of him that he wouldn’t be able to get back.
“Don’t do this,” he urged, his pleading tone somehow now mixed with fury. “It doesn’t have to be like this. I can give you things that your mates don’t have access to, the type of protection that ensures you’ll live through everything to come. I can make you a queen.”
I didn’t want to be a queen, though.
That was what no one seemed to understand—I didn’t want power. I just wanted to be with my mates.
“You’ve hurt the people I love. I don’t want anything from you.”
“Don’t,” he begged as I raised the heart higher above my head.
The heart shattered on the floor, my magic lighting the shards in blue flames. Ry let out an inhuman roar, shifting and throwing Az across the floor in the process. Crap!
On pure instinct, I threw up a shield to protect my angel.
An onslaught of fire surged through the room as my mates began attacking Ry from the outside, drawing him out to fight so we wouldn’t be cornered.
My hands were on Az, and when I looked down, I found him staring up at me with a look that seemed shocked.
“You did it.”
“Of course I did,” I said in confusion. “I couldn’t stop thinking about everything I know he’s done. And worse, I can’t even imagine the things I don’t know.”
Az sat up and nodded sharply, his gaze going distant and haunted for a minute, making me know I’d made the right choice. “Let’s kill this bastard.”
I’d never in my life felt bloodlust, but with every direct aim Ry struck towards my mates, paired with the knowledge of everything he’d done, my blood boiled.
Ry would die at my hands.
Once Az was on his feet, I dropped my shield and blasted into the sky, training my gaze on where Ry was trying to get some distance from the recent attack.
I had to be the one to kill him, to use my fire to make sure he was never around to hurt anyone ever again.
To turn my gift of rebirth into a weapon of death.
I would do so gladly to rid the world of him.
Pushing through the air, I felt my energy build as blue flames licked my fingertips and magic like I’d never felt before ran over my skin.
I positioned myself looking right at him, his distraction giving me the perfect opportunity for the lethal moment.
I could feel centuries of power streaming through me, and a cry broke from my throat as something connected inside of me, a fundamental part of my being clicking into place.
A matched call sounded through the air, and I snapped my head to the side to find a portal opening, a circle of blue and purple flames making me smile.
My parents.
There was no question that the response call had come from my mother. Only a moment later a streak of blue and gold broke out from the portal, followed by a deadly group of dragons that I recognized as my dads…and my brothers. Holy crap, they were all here.
The center of my chest expanded at the outpouring of support, suddenly feeling supremely confident in my ability to pull this off. I could feel that my mates felt emboldened by our growing numbers, their bloodlust intensifying exponentially.
After all, we had been put through the wringer, so none of us were functioning on the perfect level right now. I would take all the help we could get.
My mother soared towards me as I noticed the flights behind her, my mates, my brothers, and my fathers working together in a well-practiced military formation.
Az squeezed my hand and drew my attention.
“I’ll go check on Croy and the younglings below.
” I nodded as he disappeared, and my mom appeared next to me, looking like some avenging warrior angel.
Her hair was lit in flames and her eyes were filled with a determination and clinical light that made me feel like she was a different person than I’d met before.
She looked like a true military leader, lethal and dangerous.
I felt a stab of awe and jealousy, wanting to be like her—wanting to have the confidence that radiated off of her.
“What do we need to do?” she demanded, not questioning what was happening or my reason. I could feel the trust she had in me, and it emboldened me.
“I need to use my fire to kill Ry. I’ve already destroyed his heart.”
She nodded sharply. “I’m so proud of you, Maya.”
“Mom—”
“Come on, let’s defeat this bastard.”
The confidence that she had as we flew higher very obviously came from her military training, but it was rubbing off on me. It was also obvious that Ry was being worn down, but despite that, he was fighting harder than ever before, probably because he knew he could truly die.
“Do you want me to help?” my mom asked. I shook my head. This was something I had to do myself.
I froze mid-air and looked down right as Ry’s head snapped up towards me.
I didn’t feel a moment of regret or hesitation about what I was going to do as I connected to my fire, the part of me that was purely a phoenix.
The part of me that was going to kill him.
I was no longer worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it, that it wouldn’t be enough—I could feel the raw, unlimited power inside of me, waiting for my command.
My magic exploded out of me.
Flames shot out of my hand, barreling towards him.
An inhuman roar burst out from him, vibrating the air.
I celebrated in his pain as the sound washed over me, experiencing pure joy at his undoing.
The creature inside of me let out a cry of victory, and as the last ounces of power left me, my vision grew spotty.
I began to fall, my body exhausted as I gave into the moment.
Ry was dead.
He was completely, truly dead.
He couldn’t hurt them anymore.