Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(87)

By the time Dannie flew back toward us, the flames around her the largest I’d ever seen, Shadow was ready and waiting. Gathering up the finished golden strands, he flung them at his mother using every last ounce of his power and strength.

When Dannie was almost coated, she let out a cynical laugh. “You’ll never win,” she squawked, the vibration of her power felt for a brief moment before the last strand of the golden spell locked into place.

I hurried to Shadow’s side, just as he collapsed to his knees, barely able to hold himself up.

“It’s got to work this time,” Angel murmured, bringing to my attention the fact that all of them were on their asses, having given everything they had, and then maybe a little more.

I hated to see them so broken and defeated, but it would be worth it if this cage worked. We needed it to work.

Wrapping myself around Shadow, I shared as much of my energy as I could, all the while keeping my gaze firmly locked on Dannie in the golden fortress. So far, it was holding, with no slivers of light breaking free.

For many minutes, we watched the prison, the eight of us still and silent in our blackened section of forest. I wondered at what point we could relax and expect that this time it had worked.

“I think we did it,” Len rasped out, managing to pull himself to stand so he could straighten and clean his silver jacket. Lucien stood as well, wiping ash from his face, exhaustion pulling at his perfect features. Even Shadow turned to the others, preparing for the next step.

I was the only one still staring at Dannie. The only one who refused to be lulled into a sense of false success. Not until there was not a shred of doubt.

Just when I was satisfied and about to turn away, the tiniest speck of light caught my eye as it crept out of a sliver of the prison, right near her left hand. My blood iced in my veins as I took a staggered step toward her.

No! No, no, no, no, no, no! Fuck.

It hadn’t worked.

Our last effort was about to fail, and none of them had an ounce of strength to try to prevent it from happening. Except me.

I had no idea if it was possible, but I’d learned from watching them weave this cage multiple times, and this was my chance to prove that I was strong enough to do this. Darting forward, I pulled up the deepest, strongest parts of my energy. The parts that burned like the center of a volcano, molten and intense, and when it filled my hand, I pressed it against the sliver of light that had already started to spread as Dannie poured her energy into the weak spot.

Shadow’s roar shook the land, and with that one guttural, broken sound, I understood that what I’d done… the choice I’d made… was not going to end well for me.

Clearly, there was a reason none of them had tried to reinforce the fortress last time when she’d broken through with her fire energy. A reason they knew and I did not.

“Mera! Stop!”

“It will drain your energy!”

They were all shouting, but it was too late. There was no way to prevent this from happening; my palm was already fused to the golden light, the power that had been in my hold now a tether linking me to the fortress itself. A fortress sucking my power into itself, draining me in an instant.

It took from me what it needed to secure the prison, and I was helpless, unable to pull away or resist its strength. By the time Shadow got to me, there was barely even a shred of conscious thought in my head.

Exhaustion forced my eyes closed as the fortress of binding power did its job, binding my powers and using them to bolster itself. It stole the essence of my being, sucking it down greedily and without remorse for the life it stole.

In my desperation not to die, I clung to the bonds in my chest. Shadow. Angel. Midnight. The creatures. My connection to them was the one thing still tethering me to this world, but even with their immense power, it wasn’t enough to stop the inevitable.

I dragged them down as far as I could before understanding that this was killing them too.

Maybe under normal circumstances, the bonds would have saved me, but Shadow and Angel were weaker than they’d ever been, Midnight was no longer my mist, and the creatures were too far away. So, facing the risk of destroying us all, I found the strength to let them go. The strength to accept my fate.

Contentment flooded through me at the thought that at least Dannie would be stopped. My wolf howled one final time in my chest, and I hugged her soul to me so that we wouldn’t leave this world alone. Always together, I whispered. I love you.

She whimpered but didn’t fight. We knew that our energy, as it turned out, was exactly what they’d needed in their cage to truly secure Dannie. It was the last gift we could give the worlds. The last gift we could give our loved ones.

We could die for them, and I would hold no resentment in my soul for it.

When the power was gone, my heartbeats slowed, and as they finally faltered, I was released from the cage, falling back into Shadow’s arms. His hands and power were the last touch on my body, and the last breath I took was mingled with his as he pulled me close, desperately trying to save me with whatever strength he had left inside.

It was too late, though. Love…

My heart stopped before I could finish.

My time was done.





47





Shadow Beast





For two thousand years, I’d been the raging beast who’d walked in shadows. Alone. Always alone. I’d learned to rely on no one, to trust very few, and to ensure that above all else, I protected myself.