89. THE SUMMONS #2
Silence ensued as he regarded me. I weathered his stare, holding my ground and preparing myself to wield my power at levels I had never attempted.
“Honestly, I’m surprised your mate let you come alone.
Or did you not tell him where you were headed?
” He tilted his head, then let out a deep chuckle that grated against my ears.
“You’re smart to not drag him into all of this.
Besides, I think the goddess’s shadows will be enough to keep him busy. ”
“You mean Skadi’s?” I asked, straightening my spine.
“I do. It always baffled me how she arrived in just the right place at just the right time. I think the fates might have tipped their favor to my side.”
“Doubtful,” I said through clenched teeth.
He let out a soft but menacing laugh. “She’s quite desperate to get her hands on whatever your mate possesses.
I wouldn’t want to be on that goddess’s bad side, especially after she figured out the amulet was a fake.
” He paused, then scoffed. “A clever trick, but a foolish one. She’ll be seeking her vengeance right about now.
” His eyes flicked to the valley behind me.
I kept my focus on him, ignoring the urge to turn around again. Every word he spoke took up precious time, and lives were being lost. “Yes, I do wish I was there to watch her little family reunion. Sisters, after all, are said to share a bond like no other.”
Lyceius scoffed. “I must say, I never expected you to sweet-talk the witch goddess into fighting on your side. Had I known her allegiance was so easily bought, I, myself, would have gone after long ago.”
“Her allegiance wasn’t bought,” I growled.
“It was earned. An effort in which you seem to lack the skills to achieve.” He narrowed his eyes on me, but I continued.
“You once begged the fates to side with you, but in that, you failed just as well. Skadi may have conveniently fallen on your doorstep, but don’t think for one second that her arrival was a bone the fates threw to you. ”
The corner of his mouth tugged up, but it was not in amusement. His patience was thinning, and I was gnawing at his ego.
Good. It was about time he got invested in this.
“Oh, Auren. I wish you could see how different things could be if you would just take your place at my side. Despite not being at my full strength, I’ve achieved this.” He spread his arms out to the chaos beyond. “Think of what we could do, together.”
“I’m here to end you, not join you,” I replied.
He paused for a moment before tilting his ear forward. “Do you hear that?”
I squinted, unease prickling against my conscience.
“The screams . . . the death.” His eyes fluttered closed. “It shouldn’t sound so good, but it does.”
“You monster!” I spat.
His eyes snapped open, and he took a powerful step forward. “This war could end right this minute. No more death. No more destruction—”
“Liar—”
“Submit to me!” he shouted, his voice shaking the stones. “I do not want to take your life, but I will do it, Auren. I will take what is mine!”
“You can try.”
I sank into my well, expecting to have to defend myself against a wall of Lyceius’s power. What I did not expect was a rush of wings and shadows breaking into view on my right.
Niall and Silas emerged from thin air, dripping with a ferocity I’d never seen.
“Are you in need of assistance, darling?” Niall’s voice was low and deep. His shadows spilled forth, wrapping around me like protective hands as he took his place at my side.
His leathers and armor were slashed from claws and blades. Somehow, somewhere, he’d lost his helm, and his hair was matted with sweat, dirt, and gore. Even covered in the blemishes of war, he was still a masterpiece—the embodiment of collected rage and deadly devotion.
Silas looked much the same. His once white wings were stained with gore, and his twin blades were so defiled with blood and dirt that they hardly reflected any light at all.
He rolled them in his wrists, aiming them toward the fallen god as he took his place at my other side, a beacon of strength, with a grimace to match the wrath in his pulsing red eyes.
They’d found me, just like I knew they would. They would always find me.
Lyceius smirked as he beheld the three of us.
If he thought Niall had exhausted all his power, he was wrong.
And if he thought Silas was just another Dionach, he was mistaken in that as well.
Silas fought with a fierceness that had only been matched by Remic.
It didn’t matter if it was a god or the god-king himself standing in his way, he would fight for me with unwavering fervor.
As for me, I had been saving all my strength and power for this moment. The fallen god truly had no idea what he was facing.
“It’s a shame that we couldn’t settle this, just the two of us,” Lyceius said, leveling his silver stare back on me. He tilted his head again, a strand of his silvery locks falling over his cheek. “The one who is meant to stop me. But then why haven’t you? I’m perfectly within your reach.”
“That’s enough,” Niall growled.
Lyceius ignored him. “You feel it, don’t you?
That little piece of me? That darkness that wants to come to the surface?
I can see it in your eyes. You nearly succumbed to it not too long ago—in this very spot.
Don’t you remember? You nearly gave into it earlier as well.
Your taste for vengeance is . . . inspiring. ”
Niall tensed. Clearly, Roirdan hadn’t had time to tell him everything that had happened.
“So, why not act on it?” Lyceius pressed. His voice was cloying but bitter at the same time. The words were like an allure, tempting my will, like a compulsion. It pulled at the kernel of his power inside me, trying to tug it to the surface.
I ground my teeth, fighting the tension that rose within me.
“Don’t be afraid of it,” he coaxed. “Embrace it.”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Niall commanded.
Silas took a vengeful step, readjusting his weapons in his grip.
“Have you forgotten that you’re a descendant of me as well, Auren? Why don’t you show your beloved the side of you that you long to give in to.”
His essence crested in my mind again, crashing through me like a tidal wave of endless night. It felt wrong. It felt devoid of everything good.
And then, it felt like mine.
No. No. No—
Black claws lashed out, gouging deep slashes into the stone of my mental shield. I fell to my knees, clutching my head, and biting my lip so hard I tasted the tang of blood as it filled my mouth.
Between the jolts of pain, I saw Silas move.
He launched at Lyceius, wings spread wide, his swords aimed at the fallen god’s throat.
I tried to scream, to tell him to stop, but it was too late.
Lyceius’s dark power struck, surrounding Silas in a fury, and before I knew what was happening, I heard what sounded like fabric ripping.
But it wasn’t fabric, it was feathers—entire appendages.
The crackling of cartilage and bones followed, and Silas let out a crippling yell that grew louder and louder. It bellowed down the valley, and I watched in horror as the god’s dark power tore the wings from my Dionach’s body and tossed them to the dirt.
Silas fell to the ground, writhing in agony.
A cry of pure rage nearly shredded my throat as it burst from me. I thrust my hand out, hurling a jolt of my light at Lyceius, scattering his malevolent darkness to the wind.
“That’s the spirit,” Lyceius snapped, eyes bright with wicked delight. He wanted me to lose control so he could chain me to the facet of my power that had surfaced earlier—the same way he’d corrupted himself.
Another current of his power hammered the walls in my mind, and I strained.
Then, Niall’s essence was swimming through the torrent, trying to help me fight.
I focused on his presence and wove fractures into my mental shield so that his shadows could join me.
The smokey tendrils slid into each crack and crevice, fortifying my wall.
Lyceius’s laugh echoed. “If only you had more control.”
I paused.
Control. All I needed was control.
I was made to overcome this. This was what I was born for.
Karios’s power ran within my veins just as much as Lyceius’s.
So, I honed in on that kernel from the god-king, clinging to the goodness in it and the purity of my morals as I descended, deeper than I had ever gone, and too fast for my body to handle.
Power rushed into me like a flood. It overwhelmed my senses and shocked my system.
I gasped at its abundance and how powerful it truly was.
It filled me with a charge of energy, so potent and so vast, that I thought I would burst. My veins burned with cold starlight, and my body strained to contain it all.
A faint buzzing began in my ears, which then became a roar, drowning out the world around me. I was aware of my body, yet I wasn’t. I toed the line of consciousness while I harnessed the overwhelming cascade of power. It was too much. I felt like my very existence was on the cusp of oblivion—
My arm moved, but it was in slow motion.
I was reaching to my side . . . grasping something.
Slowly, I raised a trembling hand in front of me.
Control, I told myself.
The talisman shook in my grip, pulled from the magical pocket I had safely stowed it away in.
Lyceius’s eyes flared as he beheld what I possessed. I didn’t give him time to react, though, before I slid it around my forehead, and everything went white.