Chapter 82
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
Ashadow fell over Lita, and soon, a red dragon reached the earth next to her and Ciana. Reiya hopped off, and Xander shifted back into his human form. He rushed to Reiya’s side as she reached for the wolf.
“It’s too late. There isn’t anything we can do.” As Lita said this, Caden’s body shifted from his wolf back to his human form. Her tears fell. His wolf was now gone.
Reiya grabbed onto Caden’s hand and bit her bottom lip.
Xander placed his hands on Reiya’s shoulders, and they both closed their eyes.
A white beam from the heavens shot down over them, shoving Lita aside.
Xander, Reiya, and Caden’s body had been sealed within the light, which shrunk and formed a round bubble around the three of them—a moon bubble, like the one that had sealed Lumi.
“I won’t let your soul leave, Caden,” Reiya said, her voice soft.
She extended her palm upward, a shimmer of golden light pooling in the center like liquid sunshine.
The energy pulsed with her heartbeat, casting shadows across her face.
Across from her, Xander mirrored the gesture, though his power manifested as a swirling orb of crimson, cracking with tiny sparks that danced between his fingers.
Together they pushed a piece of themselves inside Caden’s body.
“I hope this works,” Xander whispered as he knelt down on the other side of Caden’s body.
“It will work … it has to work. I just hope—I hope he can forgive us for this, though.” A tear trickled down Reiya’s face. This was still going to be painful, even if they succeeded.
Darkness beat against Jade as blue energy slammed against Mephisto. Mephisto was on the run. With every step, he continued to retreat. Leviathan alone would have been a tough fight, but with Jade here, it was all he could do just to avoid being hit.
When the earth began to tremble, the three of them glanced backward toward the clashing armies. This was when Mephisto lost all hope. The Kraken was now mutilating his demon army. Two tier-one deities and a demigod had joined forces against him. This was no longer a battle he could win.
He fixed his gaze on Jade. It was all her fault.
If it wasn’t for her, he would have already killed Leviathan.
At the very least, he would end her life.
He used this moment of brief distraction to go after her with a surprise attack.
He would decapitate her and at least go out knowing her existence was gone as well.
There was no time to evade the incoming attack. Jade watched as the creature of darkness blurred toward her.
Mephisto’s body slammed into the hillside as a dragon collided with him.
The moment the dragon flapped away from Mephisto, Leviathan pounced onto the demon, sinking his fangs deep into his neck and unleashing a ball of blue energy.
The power surged into him, and the creature of darkness began glowing with a blue light.
The light glowed brighter and brighter until there was an explosion.
The original demon combusted. The light had beaten the dark. All around, the demon army was being eradicated, and with the loss of Mephisto, the surviving demons began to retreat in fear.
Lee sighed with relief. He turned his gaze toward the large brown dragon, who had his eyes fixed on the unknown black dragon, standing only a few steps from her.
“Perfect timing,” Lee said as his blue dragon walked up to the other two.
The brown dragon kept his gaze on Jade. “I couldn’t let anything happen to my mate.”
Lee nodded his head in understanding. He lifted his gaze, looking for Reiya. “Well, I’ll let you two talk then.” He flapped his wings, creating gusts of wind and lifting into the air. He needed to see Reiya and make sure she was alright.
Jade watched the brown dragon as he shifted to his human self, and she followed suit. Her amber eyes locked onto the man in front of her, who closed the gap between them quickly. He reached his hand out, sifting it through her silky brown hair.
“What’s your name?” he asked gently.
“It’s Jade.”
“Jade, my beautiful mate. I’ve been waiting for you. Will you accept me?”
Jade bit her bottom lip and nodded her head. She didn’t know who this man was, but her body was screaming for him. She watched as a sweet smile spread over his face.
“Jade, my name is Weston. I am the Dragon King of the South. From now on, you shall be my queen. Now, why don’t you tell me about yourself?
It’s obvious that, even as a dragon king, you’re stronger than me, which is very interesting.
” Weston leaned in closer, taking in the scent of his mate.
It didn’t matter to him who she was. She was his.
“Which, to be honest, I find kind of hot.” He let his hot breath pelt against her cheek as he lowered his head to her neck.
She had agreed to be his mate. And while they had things to talk about, he couldn’t help what he was about to do now.
The immediate danger was now gone, and his newly accepted mate was in front of him. He licked his lips before he flicked his tongue over her neck, preparing to mark her.
The last wave of demons froze on the battlefield as they saw the front line retreating.
A low, dark chuckle echoed over them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the Kraken said as his body manifested above the demons who were frantically pushing, trying to escape. “A little too late for that now.” He smirked as the ground began to crumble. Large rock walls erupted from the ground as it caged in the surviving demons.
A blue dragon flew next to his hovering body.
“Ken, you don’t have to kill them. Just let them go. This battle is over,” Lee said, as he hovered next to the other deity.
Ken grinned as the large rock walls smashed forward, flattening the remaining demon army.
“Oooops,” Ken said with a small shrug. “The walls fell the wrong way. Really must get a handle on these powers again. I tell you, they have a mind of their own sometimes.”
Lee shook his head, seeing the enjoyment on the other deity’s face.
The moment Ken entered the battle, it was over.
Just as an original demon on his own could have destroyed the army in front of Elysia, Ken was just as strong.
But with there being two tier-one deities and Jade, all hope for the demons was lost. Ken destroyed the demons effortlessly while he was busy with Mephisto.
But Lee was puzzled. Why did the Kraken get involved in the first place?
How did he even know about it to get involved?
He could only think of a certain meddling goddess and what she must have done to involve him.
Selene was always planning, always thinking ahead.
“Don’t go anywhere. I want to talk.” Lee looked upward and saw a glowing light.
He knew Reiya was inside it. With one last look at Ken, he flew in her direction, gliding over the cheering armies that had fought to protect Elysia.
Bodies of both sides littered the ground, but the war had been won.
Victory was theirs, and Elysia was now safe.
It had taken quite some time, but Reiya finally finished healing Caden’s body. Then she and Xander pushed Caden’s soul back into him. This was the best they could do. And once they finished, the bubble around them gently popped.
Many familiar faces surrounded the area where the bubble had been. Reiya felt herself become reenergized as Lee gathered her in his arms. Her body was being drained by the child growing inside her. And along with needing to use her own energy, she was feeling the weight of it all.
Xander held Lila tightly in his arms and lowered his head into her neck to comfort himself. Even with all the casualties, his close group had remained intact, for the most part. He lifted up his head to look at Caden.
“Is he …?” Sam asked in a croaking voice as he knelt down next to his father.
Reiya looked around at everyone. Her mother and father stood side by side, holding hands.
Next to them were Freja, Hunter, Brody, and Chasen.
Standing just behind them were Adam, Winston, Garrett, and Caspian.
Then next to Ciana were Dex, Mason and Ruby.
She didn’t see Weston, but none of them looked sad, so he must still be around.
She looked back at Sam, where Grayson was now kneeling beside him next to Caden.
“He will live,” Reiya said in a tired voice.
She could see the relief in everyone’s eyes, but she held up a hand.
“But he isn’t the same anymore. In order to bring Caden back, I bestowed upon him a part of me and Xander together.
” She glanced up at Xander, who smiled back at her.
“Caden’s wolf has died. He will never be able to shift again.
He’s now more like a fairy than a werewolf, but he will live.
I hope—I hope he won’t be upset with me for this. ”
Sam shook his head as tears fell from his eyes. “Thank you, Reiya. Thank you for saving my father’s life.”
“Where’s Weston?” Xander asked, looking around.
“He has found his mate,” Levi said, looking out in the distance. “Actually, Xander … we need to talk.”
Caden finally began to stir, and all attention snapped back to him.
Asher and Lita both knelt at his side as his eyes opened.
He looked around at everyone in confusion.
He looked relieved to see Sam and Hunter, and everyone else was alive, thank the gods.
But then a small frown formed. He rose onto his arms, trying to sit up.
“Easy, Dad,” Sam said.
“He’s fully healed, physically. He should be fine,” Reiya said, as he gazed at her.
“I feel weird,” Caden said quietly, searching through his thoughts. “Wait … I died, didn't I?” Then his eyes widened in shock as he noticed something else. “My wolf … I can’t reach him.”
“I’m sorry, Caden,” Lita said, grabbing onto his hand. “Your wolf didn’t make it. But Reiya managed to save you. She kind of turned you into a fairy now.”