Chapter 91
Chapter Ninety-One
Kade
Kade’s inner wolf howled, and his immense power tingled at his fingertips.
Madness descended on the war camp. Rain poured.
Thunder boomed like Linx’s explosives. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the demons weaving through the tents and pouncing from victim to victim.
With the sword of ancients, Kade slew a monster that charged, slicing its wolflike head clean off.
Ahead, four more feasted on a warrior he’d not reached in time.
He released a frustrated growl. He’d expected soldiers—to fight blade to blade—not demons.
“Where did Riven get them? How is he controlling them?” Evelyn asked, chest rising and falling.
Black blood splattered across her face. She held her staff firmly in her grip, black leathers forming to her figure. They’d had barely enough time to dress, let alone assemble units before the demons swarmed the camp.
“Moons.”
Ahead, Bétar wrestled with a béar demon.
Much like its namesake, it possessed a burly build.
Four stocky legs, thick ink-colored fur, and claws sharp enough to shred bone.
Yet, its face was nothing but a skull. Teeth bulbous, eyes fathomless.
Positioned behind its ears, antlers, better suited for an elk, reached towards the storm clouds.
Kade conjured his power. Gravity yanked from all around as he drew up his might. Blue swirled at his finger tips, and he thrust a sphere of power towards the demon. He hit his mark.
The béar bellowed. Its moment of hurt allowed Bétar enough time to step back and drive his sword into the demon’s belly. It grunted and thrashed, swiping its clawed paws.
“Bétar, look out!” Kade said.
Evelyn readied her silver flame. It danced at the tip of her staff. Steam rose from the luminescent tendrils as the rain spilled. She spun and cast her magic at the beast. Silver burst across its back.
Kade stepped closer, narrowing his gaze. No—it had to the trick of the light. Where Evelyn’s magic traveled, the dark-colored fur lightened to a brown. As if—
Something whistled from the east, and a resounding pop followed, yanking Kade from his reeling thoughts.
A werewolf’s arrow stuck out of the demon’s all-black eye. It stiffened. Swayed.
And then burst into a cloud of gray dust.
Yennifer marched between two tents. “The west side is completely overtaken.”
“Riven?” Evelyn asked.
“He remains at the Void,” the archer said, bitter.
“Are there any signs of General Oziel’s arm?” Kade asked.
Yen shook her head. “No, Riven’s forces are entirely made up of demons.”
Confusion rippled through Kade.
Evelyn furrowed her brows, mirroring his bewilderment. “I don’t understand. He’d need dark magic to control them.”
“What if it’s this ‘Mother of Darkness’?” Bétar asked.
Kade looked at Evelyn. Her steely eyes didn’t waver, not a hint of doubt in them. “I don’t think it’s her—“
Bétar roared. A madras had bitten into his shoulder and dragged him through the muck. The commander thrashed, but the demon didn’t relent, digging its canines deeper into his flesh. Kade flushed with panic.
“Bétar!” Yen called, readying another arrow.
Kade raced after his friend, Evelyn following behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose—rot and sweet licorice thickened in the air. A scream ripped from behind him, and he spun.
“Kade!” Evelyn pointed to the sky.
An italog carried Yennifer up and up, soaring north. She thrashed against the beast—alive—but it flew far away from the camp and towards the Void.
“No!” he shouted.
Kade’s insides stretched as if he were being tugged in too many directions.
His friend’s shouting for help. His love’s distress shot down their bond.
The sound of the dying weaving with the storm.
The gray, death and loss brought him back to the nightmares he’d experienced, as if the horrific future Tenebris had showed him sat on the horizon.
No.
Kade roared internally, and his wolf howled alongside his resolve.
He’d fucking fight for a different one.
From the north, a horn blared. Unlike the deep bellow werewolves used to warn others, this tremored for miles, reaching Kade’s bones.
Like dark magic had been woven into the sound.
Nearby madras paused, becoming disinterested in their recent kill.
With ears slicked back, they waited, oily, black fur bristling up their backs.
The horn blared again, and they sprinted off, funneling out of the war camp.
Evelyn and Kade followed, racing ahead. At the edge, Tovi, with Eldrick at her side, faced off her brother. Hundreds of witches, werewolves and vampyrs stood behind them.
No one moved. No one breathed.
Except the storm raged on. Thunder, sleet, gusting winds. The land didn’t relent as those of Sorin waited.
Riven dismounted his kelpie, pacing with a sinister smile.
Clad in ghastly armor, the metal swam on him.
The prince had lost more weight, rake thin with sunken cheeks.
Black rimmed his eyes while his irises shined red instead of jade.
Whatever dark power he possessed, it drained him.
Kade’s wolf bared its teeth, and Riven’s gaze snapped in his direction.
His smile grew wider, and more malice festered in the air.
“Ah, the prophesied union! It is so nice of you to join us,” Riven drawled. “I was just telling my dear sister this could all be over soon.”
As Kade and Evelyn reached Tovi’s side, Riven stepped back, giving them a clear view deep into his legion of demons.
Evenly gasped, and Kade froze. Their loved ones had been taken as prisoners. Nadia and Aramis. Bran and Cas. Bétar and Yennifer. They were all tied together, their pleading words muffled by the gags tight around their mouths.
The Gray Fenris members struggled towards something—no, someone.
“Linx,” Kade breathed.
The mage healer lay motionless on the ground. Blood rushed into the muck, the wound on her side angry and deep.
Next to them, the Carson coven members sat chained to one another—Artie, Rodrick, Josepha and Ruth. Remnants of battle stained the witch protector, and her one-eyed stare was like a dagger aimed at Riven’s back.
“No.”
Kade grasped Evelyn’s arm and dragged her behind him. She swallowed, trembling as she fought tears.
The Carsons weren’t the only ones captured from Nūa. Todd, with arms bound behind his back, kneeled by Belle, the magical induced sleep still clinging to her.
“It’s easy to win against those so easily manipulated by the heart,” Riven said, running his tongue across the tips of his fangs.
Tovi stepped forward, shoulders straight. “There is no winning in this, brother! Countless will die for nothing!”
“Iona and Oli are not nothing!” Spittle fell from Riven’s lips. “My wife and son will walk at my side by dusk, mark my words.”
Kade stepped forward, stilling his rage and rallying a collectedness. “You’ve been deceived.”
Riven’s stare narrowed, his focus falling past Kade’s shoulder.
Boots squished through the mud, and the army parted to make way for the Mother of Darkness.
She scanned the horizon as if searching for someone.
Her blade dripped with blood, her tattered cloak soaked from the rain.
Behind her, Blair and Lorkan followed. The witch’s shadows whirled at her boots, and Kade’s brother prowled in his beast form.
Blood coated his fur, but he didn’t spy any alarming injuries on Lorkan.
Thank the stars above.
“There is no Blood Goddess to bring back your loved ones,” Badb declared, her voice booming with ancient authority.
For a moment, Riven’s face fell. Horror streaked across his face.
Then he tipped his head back and—
Laughed. He shook, his metal armor clanking together as he cackled.
Riven wiped away tears and tsked his tongue. “Oh, I see. You think me a fool.” He jabbed a finger into his chest. “Much like you, I recently learned the truth, but the difference is, I’m on the right side of this battlefield. Darkness will prevail!”
Kade’s wolf grew restless. The winds shifted, and a tremor vibrated through the ground. Demons dispersed, fleeing as the dirt bubbled and steamed.
Those of Sorin stepped back from the jarring sight.
A crack followed, more deafening than the thunder.
Before them, the Void fractured again. It opened wide, the ground trembling with the aftershocks.
Steam rose and lapsed over the edge. Rain hissed as it collided with the hot air.
Minutes of stillness followed, and everyone braced.
A delicate hand curled up and over the edge, and the Sun Goddess hoisted herself into their realm.
Kade straightened—of course, Riven wasn’t working with a dark witch. He’d allied with the Sun Goddess—
Light.
For the Prince to walk with Light.
Not redemption. Not goodness. Not true light.
But to align with the goddess who claimed to embody it.
Gold-plated armor framed Macha’s lanky, tall frame, shimmering with each step as she stalked towards them.
More gods emerged from beneath. Kade bared his teeth at the sight of the God of Night. He rolled his shoulders and flashed a dashing smile, appearing far too pretty for a battlefield. The bastard had the nerve to roam his predatory gaze over Evelyn.
“Patience, Nótt,” the Sun Goddess purred. “Your loyalty will be rewarded soon enough.”
Kade stepped forward, but it was Evelyn’s turn to grasp his arm and hold him back. A growl rumbled through his chest, and the gods snickered.
All one hundred of them. Larger than mortals by a foot, sometimes two, rippling with pure lethal muscle. They held swords with serrated edges, staffs with sharp points, and cross bows that fit three arrows at once.
The Sun Goddess, tallest of them all, wrapped her thin hands around Riven’s shoulders. She whispered into his ear, stare never breaking from Evelyn and Kade. “You’ve done so well, King Verena.”
Tovi hissed, and Eldrick growled. Metal sang in the air as their forces released their weapons. The Sun Goddess merely smiled.
“My, my, isn’t this a sight? It seems despite my meddling, you’ve proved triumphant. After my soul-sister was released from Hel, I decided I had to take matters into my own hands. So, here I am.”
Kade ground his teeth together. His inner wolf roared to be released.
She turned her attention to the prisoners and snapped her fingers. Fire flared to life, creating a ring around them. “Now, isn’t that better?”
The sleet didn’t stand a chance against the goddess’s power circling his those he loved. Red and orange cast across their faces, and heat bristled in the air.
The Sun Goddess released Riven, stalking closer to Kade and Evelyn. “The choices are simple—hand over the ever seed or there will be war, one that you can’t win.”
Kade seethed, his power rising and rising in his blood. Outmatched, outnumbered. The Sun Goddess had a point, but she was wrong about one thing: Sorin could win.
“Your hold on this realm ends today, Macha,” he said, tone unbending.
Murmurs peppered through the army of gods. The Sun Goddess sneered at the sound of her informal name.
“Very well.” She raised her hand, and the gods assumed position all at once. Demons stopped their pacing, facing Sorin’s army with razor teeth bared.
Kade turned to Tovi and Eldrick. “Lead the charge against Riven.” He glanced at Lorkan and Blair next. “Free our friends and family.” He addressed Badb last. “End her. Evelyn and I will break the curse.”
A knowing flushed through Kade. Winds from the east and west collided, salt and pine mixing. He’d tasted today before, like he’d known it since his first breath.
He shared a swift glance with Evelyn.
I feel it too, she said.
Seers had whispered of today’s battle. The possibilities coursed through their prophesied blood.
I love you, he whispered.
Then he charged.
A thousand battle cries followed, and the tempo of war beat against Kade’s heart.