Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(98)

My attack took her by surprise; she was already visibly beaten, no doubt thanks to Shadow, who also appeared a moment later, yanking her off me.

“Whoa,” I groaned, jumping to my feet. “You are one heavy bitch.”

She snarled again, hands out as she looked between Shadow and me. He had already backed up closer to me, and I felt a moment of satisfaction that he still chose me. I mean, sure, his mate was a complete psychopath with delusions of grandeur, but… technically, I’d still won the beast.

Score.

“She plans on using the sunburst stone from Len’s family to turn herself into the next Nexus,” I murmured to him in a rush, feeling the vibrating surge of his power across my skin.

“I know,” he bit out.

“I invited Shadow to join me,” Ixana said. “I mean, he started as a means to an end. My family wanted to take over Trinity, so they ensured I’d be in the perfect position to do so. But when I learned I would be their puppet, I decided that no longer would I fall victim to cruel, powerful rulers. I would take the power into my own hands.”

There was a dark story there, one that had left scars littered on her psyche, but we didn’t have time for it today. Today we just had to stop her before this plan came to fruition.

Shadow growled. “Cristell never betrayed me. It was Ixana all along. She killed my sister, used the illusion of her to throw everyone off, and orchestrated it all herself.”

The cunt in question laughed. “I mean, everyone thought illusion was such a weak skill. ‘Oh, you can make pretty pictures with your mind. How nice, Ixxy.’” Her voice grew stronger. “Little did they know, illusion is the closest power to the mists. I did what no other royal has been able to, I tamed them. And I was content to rule as I was, slowly building power into this stone, all the while keeping Cristell as the public enemy. An easy task since she was an evil little bitch, who probably was planning on taking over, only I beat her to it.” Her eyes flashed with an insanity she’d done well to hide up until now. “When I felt Shadow’s energy return, I knew I could finalize my original plans. It was time to turn myself into the next Nexus, using a Nexus born shifter to gather the thousands of creatures beyond my reach.” Her gaze smashed into mine. “Thanks for all your help with that, Mera.”

Shadow’s chest was rumbling, his muscles tense and visible through the many tears in his shirt. They’d been fighting, but at least no physical injuries remained on his body.

“You were my true mate,” she said randomly, and at this point it was fairly obvious she was completely bonkers. “But I could never break through to you. Why?” For the first time, she was genuinely curious.

“You’re not worthy,” he said without inflection… or hesitation.

She reached for the stone’s energy. I felt it as she used whatever bonded her to the gem, and when it gathered in her hands, I knew that it was going to be too much for us to handle. “You are not worthy,” she snarled back.

In my panic, I reached for the deepest recesses of my energy, drawing up from the Nexus. Or at least that was what it felt like. The spell she’d created from the sunburst stone shot our way, and I released the power I’d gathered as well. Just as our two powers were about to slam into each other, a bright light burst up between us, intercepting them both.

No! Not a light… a phoenix.

Dannie’s phoenix.

“Mother!” Shadow dove toward her, but the goddess was here to save her son, and she wasn’t waiting for a rescue.

Visibly hurt from the energy that had hit her, she swiped out with her flaming tail feathers and smashed Ixana in the face, sending her spinning and cartwheeling into a wall off the side of the platform.

Before she could right herself, Dannie was soaring high, her flaming bird strong and regal, so incredibly beautiful as it went for the sunburst stone.

Ixana shot more energy, but it was too late to stop Dannie from swallowing the stone whole.

Shadow’s painful howl was lost in the beat of silence, like the world held its breath, and then a light so bright that it blinded me instantly filled the room. I blinked and tried to shield my eyes, but there was no hope of getting around the power of that stone. Especially combined with a magical Nexus phoenix.

Shadow’s hands were on me, holding me close as he crouched protectively across my body, neither of us sure about what was happening in the room. Eventually, the power fell, the light faded, and I was wrapped around my beast, holding on for dear fucking life.

He ran his hands over me, checking that everything was in its right spot, and I took that extra beat of comfort by hugging him, my nails digging into his back.

“Sunshine?” he rumbled.

“Dannie?” I choked out in answer, hoping he would have more information.

There was a heavy pause. “Gone.”

Apparently, we could only speak in single-word answers, but I heard the grim tone in that one word. She was gone as far as he could tell, with no idea if she was dead or alive.

When he finally let me stand on my own, the first thing I noticed was that the lava barrier had dried up, allowing the creatures to cross to freedom. First thing first, though. Shadow found Ixana huddled on the floor, her hands over her face.

When she finally lifted them away, I choked on my gasp. Her eyes were gone, completely burned to nothing more than black embers, as she shook her head frantically.