SAGE
Silence fell across the field the mont the six n stepped into the arena.
I saw relief flood Adam’s face so openly it made sothing deep in my chest soften. The tight coil of tension I had been carrying since dawn loosened in one sharp pull.
I didn’t think about my next act. I only moved. Fast. Closing the distance between us in hurried strides until I finally crashed into him, my lips wide in a smile.
His arms ca around instantly, tightly, desperately. Like he had been holding himself together by sheer force of will and could finally let go.
And gods, I felt it. That quiet, bone-deep rightness. That sense of coming ho. Of being whole, complete.
I breathed him in, steadying myself, and for a brief mont the world outside his arms simply... faded.
When I finally pulled back, it was slow, reluctant. "Why are you here early?" I asked, though my voice carried warmth.
I quickly exchanged brief pleasantries with Feliq and his two warriors, then Adam’s brothers, offering each of them a grateful nod.
Adam’s gaze never left my face. "I couldn’t wait," he admitted simply. "I’ve missed you, Sage..."
Flutters in my lower belly. But before I could respond, the Queen’s sharp voice cut through the field.
"So," she sneered. "Are they here to lend help to Sage?" Her tone dripped with mockery.
I smiled faintly, gracing her a mocking glance. "Of course not."
Then I amplified my voice, letting it carry clearly across the packed bleachers and restless field. Since she wanted a show, I would give her one.
"People of Zophar," I called, turning slightly so all could see. "Allow to introduce our guests."
I gestured toward Adam first. "This is Adam," I said, my voice steady but warm. "King of the Lycan region... and my lifemate."
A ripple tore through the crowd imdiately, one of wonder and shock. I continued smoothly, introducing his brothers one by one before turning toward the final three n.
"And these," I said carefully, "are the Ancients."
That did it. The field erupted. Because the people had believed the Ancients were extinct.
My gaze swept the stunned faces calmly. "They have co to aid in the fight against the vampires," I continued. "For the past four days, the Lycan region has been battling a steady drove of them."
Uneasy murmurs spread. They knew their Queen had been behind it.
"But today," I added, voice firm, "they are here to make peace. To form a truce with the witches’ communities."
The Queen snapped. "You will have to kill first!" she shrieked.
Sothing flew through the air, very fast and unexpected. It was a shoe.
It smacked directly into her face. And for half a heartbeat, the entire field froze.
Then, I laughed. Because it was painfully obvious what had happened.
The Queen was highly sensitive to magic attacks. But that? That had been pure, ordinary, beautifully human irritation.
Whoever threw it... was a genius.
The Queen’s face darkened dangerously anwhile, as she searched for the audacious person.
I turned smoothly back to Adam and the others. "Please wait at the bleachers with the quafars... have a fight to win."
Reluctantly, they moved. Adam, not leaving, without dropping a kiss on my forehead.
Only then did I turn back toward the center of the field, ready to begin—
And then abruptly stopped. Sothing was missing.
My brows drew together. "Where is Darius?" I asked, turning around.
Noah answered this ti. "He is with his mate."
My frown deepened. Mate?
Adam stepped closer, voice softer. "Freda is Darius’s mate."
For a second, then two, I simply stared. Right before bursting into loud, boisterous laughter.
"Makeh," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head. "You are entirely too clever."
Honestly. Could the woman not have simply told directly instead of sending in circles?
"He is currently undergoing the ritual with her," Daniel explained. "The black magic had tainted her organs. The only way she could survive... was to be turned into an Ancient."
Relief hit so suddenly my eyes stung. "They will be alright?" I asked quietly.
Feliq t my gaze with calm respect. "They will."
I nodded slowly. "Thank you," I said sincerely, my gaze lingering on him for a mont.
Then I turned back toward the field, toward the Queen.
—
This was it.
The thought settled heavily in my mind as we began to circle each other.
If I killed the Queen, the visions I had seen would never co to pass. All of it would die here.
But I was not foolish. I knew this would not be easy. Not with the Queen feeding on black magic. Not with her consuming dead magic from the Barrenlands for more than a decade.
We circled slowly. asured. Predatory.
Then I stopped moving altogether. My eyes locked onto hers. From the corner of my vision, I could see her children clustered together in the bleachers, their faces tight with expectation.
They believed she would win.
A cold promise curled through . They would pay for that.
The Queen’s voice rang out again, still amplified. "Do you truly believe you can defeat because the Goddess touched you?"
I shrugged lightly.
"Do you believe," I returned calmly, "that you can win against the Goddess?"
Her smile turned... wrong. Twisted. Evil. And she nodded.
What?
The crowd behind , anwhile, erupted into chants of support, but I barely heard them.
Because sothing else hit first.
Her magic, which rolled off her in thick black waves were not just wrong... they were darker than black magic.
My stomach dropped.
Because beneath it... there was sothing else. Sothing older. Sothing hostile to light itself.
My eyes widened slightly. She was in league with a dark spirit. One fundantally opposed to the Goddess.
I took an involuntary step back.
The Queen’s smile sharpened. "Already giving up?" she purred.
For one dangerous second, fear brushed the edges of my mind.
Then, Adam’s voice filled my head. I trust you.
My chest tightened.
You can do this. El, this ti.
I exhaled slowly, and let go. Not fully. Never fully. But enough.
I allowed El to step forward, inside , our wills aligning, our power threading together in seamless harmony.
The Queen moved first. A massive ball of black lightning tore toward . Wrong in a way that made my magic recoil instinctively.
I twisted sharply, dodging just in ti as it scorched past , but it didn’t dissipate.
My eyes narrowed.
The ball curved midair. Then ca back at like a heat-seeking missile.
Clever.
I raised my hand quickly, forming a swallowing force that opened like a glowing maw and devoured the attack whole.
But the Queen was already moving again. Too fast. Another black sphere launched from her palm.
And this ti, it hit .
Pain exploded across my side as the impact threw backward across the field.
Reviews
All reviews (0)