Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(81)

“Only if the fortress of binding works,” Shadow rumbled. “We have to weaken her first. And then we take our shot.”

No one said anything more, just nodding their agreement with Shadow’s plan as we started to move again, making our way further into the grounds of the royal compound.

“She’s close,” Shadow murmured, warning us when we were closing in on the castle. “We should start forming the fortress now so that we can send it forth as soon as she comes into view. We’ll have mere seconds to take her by surprise, and in that time, she cannot break our formation.”

Everyone nodded, no one disagreeing that this attack had to be timed perfectly or she would destroy us before we even had a chance to use the fortress. And since we were her only “check,” as previously stated, it was imperative that we didn’t fall before giving it a real shot.

Another thrum of power hit me in the chest, trailing down my body. It was the strongest burst of Nexus energy I’d felt since stepping into the realm. My wolf started to whine in my chest, her unease over that power growing. From the first time we’d entered this world, my wolf had been stronger and more out of control, and now I was starting to recognize her anxiety for what it was: She was uncomfortable with the Nexus power. My shifter and Nexus sides had been forced together, and for my wolf, it was unnatural.

With this knowledge came a surge of guilt that my beautiful wolf soul was trapped inside a being who should never have been a shifter.

She whined again, and I sent comforting thoughts toward her. We didn’t really talk to each other like we had the first time we’d shifted—now it was more of an emotional exchange—but we were always connected on a deep level. I felt her. I loved her. Even as I knew that I should never have had her.

“Are your creatures okay?” Shadow asked, no doubt wondering what the current expression on my face was about.

“Don’t worry about me,” I said, waving him off. “Focus on the fortress you’re in the midst of building.” The fortress that was dangerous enough to destroy everyone.

Shadow shot me a familiar look. It was his you’re acting like an idiot expression. “Can you feel them?” he pressed.

I closed my eyes and dug deeper into the power surrounding us. “Possibly,” I finally said. “There’s a lot of energy here, and it feels like Nexus energy. So it could be Dannie or my creatures.” Or both. “Maybe she’s sacrificing them for the power too?”

“Dannie should know better,” Angel said, her voice a little ragged from trying to weave the fortress strands. “She’s the mother of creatures, and no true mother would sacrifice their children for power. Her soul is corrupted beyond repair.”

They were all preparing me, and how could I argue with the truth in front of me?

Reece’s energy swirled around me, a dusty dry wind that I sensed could turn into a force of nature if needed. “You’re not alone, Mera Callahan,” he said in his rumbly voice that reminded me of Shadow, while still being unique to the desert god. “We don’t have packs in the desert lands, but we do have dynasties. Family units. Shadow is my family, and now… so are you. We will fight with you today, and if we die, there are no regrets.”

“Dammit,” I choked out. “You’re not supposed to make me cry before we go into a life-and-death battle.”

His chuckle was strained, as it was his turn to weave a strand of power. Reece reminded me so much of Shadow, and I wondered briefly if the desert lands had their own version of a true mate bond. If so, I’d bet ten to one that if Reece found his “mate,” he’d be as possessive as Shadow.

There was a reason I called him Shadow the Second, after all.

If we survived this, maybe I’d get a chance to find out.





44





Their fortress of binding power was half done by the time we reached the castle. Dannie’s power was the strongest here, a veritable itch under our skin we couldn’t scratch. Unlike with Ixana, though, who had rushed into creating the final parts of her Nexus through a mass sacrifice of creatures, Dannie appeared to be doing it the old-fashioned way. A slow build of energy.

Had she started her Nexus the moment she’d messed with our memories and expelled us from the realm? Maybe that had been her plan all along, and she’d simply pretended it had been about the balance. If that was the truth, letting her go would be far easier… She was already lost.

When we rounded the largest side of the castle, heading toward the entrance that led into the lower chambers, I was hit with all the memories. Within those chambers, with its deep pool of lava from the chasm, was where I’d lost my creatures.

“Is she in the lower chamber?” I whispered, hoping I wasn’t about to alert an angry Nexus goddess to our presence.

“I don’t think so,” Shadow rasped, sounding more strained than he had the last time he’d spoken. It was definitely clear that the larger the fortress grew, the harder it was to control the energy. “Her power essence is closer to the main chasm.”

“Her energy is strong,” Lucien said, forcing the words out. “She’s taking on the full power of the leicher mists as she weaves herself into a power source with no equal.”

My next breath escaped in a defeated manner. “She was way more resentful of those mists than the ether. The mists who spat out the royals.” Royals who had taken her creatures and fucked up the realm. “I bet she’ll find it fitting that they’ll form part of her Nexus, which she’ll completely control.”