Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(102)



Streams of light and fire burst from me, but unlike my last attack, which focused on brute force, this time, I went for a different strategy. Distract, deflect, and detain.

Drawing on the strength of Shadow, Midnight, and my creatures, the bonds I had to them fueled my power. I only took enough to boost my own strengths as I wove my power around Dannie in long beams of light.

Angel, my beautiful best friend, tried to reach out to me through the bonds as well, but she was weak. Instead of taking, I sent power back to her, the connection between us stronger than ever. It was so strong that when Dannie saw what I was doing and changed her attack to focus solely on Angel, I felt the full force of her crushing blow.

I screamed as Angel’s presence flickered in my mind, each beat of her lifeforce fading as Dannie decided to take her out and remove one of my strengths. No matter how hard I held on, there was no way to counter the goddess.

Angel, I sobbed, holding on to her with all my power. Pull from your land. Take all the energy. Fight her.

The touch of her mind was so strong and calm, the ancient being that she was did as I said and used the last of her strength to draw on her ancestral power. It was at this point that I felt some hope, right up until a burn of power shot down our bond. Take this, Mera. Take this and finish her off.

Angel gave me the strength of her family. Strength that could have saved her life, but she knew without it, we’d all be dead against the might of this goddess. In that moment, I didn’t care though.

“Angel, fuck, no!” I screamed both mentally and through our bond. “Save yourself.”

It’s too late, Mera. My power base is fractured and I’m leaking my life force. I can’t replenish it fast enough, and this power would be wasted. Use it to save the others. Save yourself.

I tried to pull away from Dannie, but she wouldn’t release me. And with more power funneling into me as Angel faded from this realm, a scream built in my chest. Hopelessness crashed into me and I was crying and screaming and fighting, but there was nothing I could do.

It’s my time, Mera. You saved me and now I can repay the favor. I’ll be at peace, with my family. You need to let me go.

No.

I was an ungracious stubborn asshole, but I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let her go.

No, I repeated. If you fall, so do I.

Angel chuckled, a whisper so weak, it crushed my heart into a million tiny pieces. This was our last moment, I knew it even as I fought against the inevitable. But how could I accept that I’d never hear her laugh again? Or sit by her side in the dining hall, teasing her about her love of smelling apples? I’d never hear her formal talk when she was ready to kick ass. Or see her warrior outfits as she palmed weapons like she’d been born with them in her hands.

This was our last moment, and I knew that even if we won against Dannie now, I’d lost.

I love you, I told her because there was no time left. Our bond, that fluttering feeling of home and family in my chest, was nearly gone.

I love you, treasora, Angel whispered until her voice faded out. Death had stolen the last of her, leaving the rest of us to mourn in its wake.





56





My scream of rage burst from me, and everything went dark and red and broken. My fury and pain were relentless in their assault. The only thing that kept me from losing it completely was the knowledge that Angel had gifted me this power to save the world.

Her death could not be in vain.

Channeling my wrath, I focused one part of my attack on Dannie, sending her spiraling across the sky with a sharp strike. Another part of my energy went to the remaining members of my pack, blasting the lava army back into the depths of the chasm, and freeing the mists who’d fallen under their attack. I then repaired and rebuilt my pack’s broken bodies, washing away burns and fixing fractured energy bases. I could do all of that, fight the phoenix and drown in grief, because I was a woman.

We multitasked well.

Dannie came at me with full force, but her assault brushed off me like water droplets. Reaching out with my strength, I wrapped my power around her throat, and for the first time, she was helpless against me. The power I used was not the burning flames of the mists, but the ancient heavenly power of the meadows.

As I flew closer to her, weapons appeared in my hands, and as I stared down at the curved blades, my eyes burned. Angel’s favorite weapons. Her last assistance in this battle, and fuck, it was fitting that they would be what ended this once and for all.

“This is for Angel,” I rumbled at Dannie. “Angel, who sacrificed herself to save us and all the worlds.”

My blades swiped through her shields, moving as if extensions of my body. I only had to think of what I wanted to do and they were slicing with speed and grace.

“Mera, please,” Dannie said, and there was real fear in her birdy eyes.

“You will find no mercy here,” I told her, my voice vibrating and unfamiliar.

Dannie held her hands up, but I was done waiting. Slicing again, my blade landed deep in her chest. I knew where to hit, feeling the stone’s power, and the moment I opened her up, a bright light emerged, blinding the world with its intensity.

Len was at my side now, his Silver Magic wresting the sunburst stone from her chest. It came to him willingly, disappearing into a small silver container that went into his coat.

I jerked my blade free from the phoenix’s chest, and there was no sense of satisfaction or success.

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