Chapter 37 #3
I fought for control, but Caelan remained unresponsive, forcing me to look back at Morgana.
She was now descending back to the ground, a shrill cackle escaping her lips as she stood up, her hands twisting and crackling with energy.
The power saturated the air, making it hard to breathe.
Even Caelan recoiled at it, cringing as if wanting to run or flee.
Morgana's gaze sharpened, her head tilting slightly. A malicious snarl escaped her as she said, “You stole my pet.”
“This magic should have never existed in this world, Morgana. She was never yours.” Caelan said calmly. “And you already know you cannot control me.”
Morgana took a step forward and Xavier snarled.
“But I can get knowledge from you,” she said, smiling eerily. Power grew in her palm and it sizzled and sparked as a silver chain appeared in her grasp.
The chain. What was she doing?
Images began to flash rapidly in my mind, knowledge I hadn't known before searing into my memory.
I shook my head, the onslaught nearly painful, but realization ran through me.
That's how Caelan's sibling ended up trapped all those centuries ago.
I knew Morgana created them, but how? What were they made of?
I didn't get to find out as Caelan's anger flared, the details slipping away. It only confirmed my suspicions.
Caelan moved into a fighting stance, and Morgana didn't hesitate as she lunged.
Shadow obscured my vision and the sound of bones cracking, splintering rang through the air. Caelen took a few measured steps back, and my vision cleared. The back of a tall muscular male with inky hair now stood in front of me.
NO!
Morgana’s eyes were wide as she stared at Xavier, her fist now wrist deep in his chest cavity, that silver chain now wrapped around his throat.
A blow that had been meant for me—for Caelan.
Blood poured from Xavier’s lips and he gasped in ragged breaths as he smiled, a broken chuckle ringing in the air.
Morgana looked like she was in shock, her yellow eyes calculating, her mouth hanging open.
“One heir left,” Xavier sputtered and with a fast shove, he pushed away from her. A sickening, wet squelch sounded, and my eyes snapped down to her hand. There, slick and dark, was his heart pulsing feebly within her tightly clenched fist.
I screamed.
Jaxon was screaming too, and he was now on his feet, gaze fixed on his brother who was now crumpling to the ground.
Xavier’s emerald eyes were now vacant. Empty.
“Fools! All of you!” Morgana shouted, her power buzzing and building in the air around us.
Her hand shot toward Jaxon and he was lifted into the air.
A shield erupted around him, so thick and firm, nothing would be able to penetrate it.
He was trapped inside it, thrashing, screaming with rage. Grief.
“Your reign ends now, Morgana,” Caelan barked, and Morgana merely raised a brow.
“I think it’s just getting started.”
An invisible hand wrapped around my body, surprise rippling through even Caelan as she dragged us forward, my feet dragging through the mud.
Do something! I shouted, but Caelan cursed.
I can't.
You are a god! Do something!
When I untethered your soul, I interfered.
What does that have to do with anything?!
My magic is already transferred.
Transferred? What are you talking about?!
This path is sealed.
Stop talking in riddles! And do something!
Morgana’s cruel face inched closer and I snarled, fighting to gain control.
She was right. We were all fools. They were naive to think this plan would work, that they stood a chance.
Morgana was going to walk away from this battle alive, as queen over two realms. She would trap Caelan, find a way to conquer more lands, and gain more power.
She had Jaxon… and she would force him to create female heirs, to continue her bloodline, continue this vicious cycle of pain and misery.
She had won.
Morgana’s smile grew as her slender fingers wrapped around my throat. I could practically hear her thoughts. As if she were still an echo inside me. She was going to do what she had done to his sister. Use him to gain more knowledge, more power, and make herself even more invincible.
Movement caught my eye and my gaze sliced over Morgana’s shoulder.
Surprise rippled through me as I watched Gormick’s blade arch down onto Morgana’s neck. She must have seen the shift in my eyes as she moved last minute, the blade cutting through her neck but not nearly halfway.
That invisible hand that had been wrapped around us released, and we fell to our knees on the ground next to Xavier's corpse.
Morgana now had Gormick by the throat, and his gaze cut to mine. Untold emotion swirled in his depths, and with that one look, I realized that this entire time he had been just as trapped as I had been.
“How dare you,” she spat, and I watched as her tendons and veins knitted themselves back together. Much faster than should have been possible.
Gormick returned his gaze to Morgana as he growled. “I am tired, Morgana. There have been enough deaths. You made me kill every single one of my children for centuries. I won't let you kill another.”
Morgana cackled, “I hate to tell you, husband, but she is already dead. Feel free to join her.” She snarled, and a sharp snap sounded, but not before a shriek left Morgana’s lips.
Shadows dissipated between them, and a blade stuck out of Morgana’s chest, dripping with a thick green liquid.
Daka poison. She held the hilt with both her palms as she pulled it out and stared at it in disbelief.
My father lay motionless on the ground, a small smile lining his now cold, lifeless lips.
“This is for my brother, you fucking bitch.”
Jaxon materialized behind Morgana. Using his air magic, he propelled his fist through her back and into her chest, ripping out her heart just as she had done to Xavier.
Morgana gasped, turning slowly, still somehow conscious, and met Jaxon’s eyes.
“The funny thing is, I just found out he is actually my cousin,” Jaxon said, laughing softly. “Flynn sends his regards.”
Morgana’s eyes widened a fraction, understanding rippling across her gaze as his blade did what my father’s blade could not. Morgana’s head rolled and thudded into the mud in front of me. A massive wave of dark energy exploding from her corpse. It shot into the sky and power surged through me.
I thought you didn't have magic, I snarled, and Caelan sighed as he raised his hands to the sky.
A warm surge of energy was pulled from me as a light shot from his hands, followed by a thunderous boom.
The earth shook as the dark matter turned bright white, and a ripple of magic shot out in every direction.
Caelan slipped from me and my body without responding, and hatred bloomed in my chest.
Darkness consumed my vision, and my body swayed precariously.
I felt the jarring impact with the earth, and as my sight cleared, Xavier’s face came into view.
I was lying on the ground beside him, and my vision started to blur again as shouts, muffled and distant, reached my ears.
A chilling cold spread through me, like an icy frost creeping over my skin.
I felt myself drifting away, and I reached out a phantom arm toward the male I wish I could have saved. The mate I should have protected.
He deserved better than me, and maybe we would find each other in another life. One that didn’t end like this. One where we had time. Time to get to know each other. To love each other the way we were meant to.
Xavier’s emerald gaze was vacant, his features slack, and despite the finality in his death, in my own, I was grateful that I got to see his face one last time before the end.