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The demonic dragon suddenly turned mid-air, banking its wings. It circled above the battlefield, once, twice, resisting her demand. Maebh grunted with effort, stumbling under the strain of power. Leaf feared it was too late. The leash had slackened too much.
Nova gripped Maebh’s arm, gifting her mana. Maebh’s power amplified. Electricity skipped over Leaf’s skin, crackling and snapping. The hairs on his body lifted with static charge.
“Go,” Maebh snarled to the souls within the beast. “No queen holds you now. You’re free.”
The dragon’s roar abruptly cut off as its body burst into a swarm again, darkness spilling in all directions. Within the rolling storm, little stars twinkled like lightning.
“Find a body and make it your home,” Maebh ordered. “Live again. Be free of this unending torture.”
Stars fell, whistling and whining, shooting off in all directions. A ribbon of shadow trailed behind each, and then they clashed with the undead. Life returned to their eyes. First, it was the excitement, the thrill of being alive again. But then came the wickedness, the cruel intent. These souls were the worst in existence.
The distraction was enough for Rory and Willow to finally escape the horde. With the ladder freed, the airship lifted them clear from the ground. Maebh squeezed the Prime’s hand and whispered, bleary-eyed, “We saved her.”
“Yes,” the Prime returned, her soft gaze turning hard on the evil souls, now understanding they’d been given a second chance. “But now the work begins.”
“Now we kill them.” Leaf rotatedReckoning.Steel glinted in the sun. “For good.”
“Go,” Nova urged, gesturing to the battlefield. “Tell your friends what to do. I’ll stay here and—”
“Watch over us,” the Prime finished. “Your mate will watch over us as we return balance to the Well.”
Nova walked around the fallen litter to ransack the dead orcs for a weapon.
Leaf didn’t want to leave her.
Aleksandra and Maebh clutched each other’s elbows tightly as though their embrace held salvation. Perhaps it did.Life on Earth moves in cycles.White wings on one side, black on the other. Slowly, they started to shift. Feathers and fangs melted away. White lashes and hair turned black.
Devastation shone through Maebh’s war-painted face. Grief on Aleksandra’s. This was their fae sides returning to the Well—becoming human again.
The demogorgon’s screech grew louder as it slinked over from the battlefield, low and appearing wounded. Tentacled wings dragged on the dirt and slid over bodies. Liquid eyes begged Leaf for help, but he stood back. It had to be unmade, too. It started shifting, skin rolling and muscles pulsating. Animalistic hands reached for their maker. Claws morphed into fingers. Maebh gasped and sobbed, clutching Aleksandra tighter, steeling her resolve against her pet’s whimpers of pain.
Leaf felt a shift in the atmosphere—ripples in the Well.
Nova picked up an orc’s fallen bone sword with a scrunched nose and noticed he hadn’t left.
“Go help your friends,” she said to him, bravely trying to hide her frayed nerves. “I survived months in a war camp alone. I can survive this.”
He believed her. Most of the danger was elsewhere by now. Violent love spilled from his heart. He rushed to her in two quick strides, gripped her hair, and tilted her face to his. His mouth opened to say something, anything to let her know how much he needed her.
“I know,Papi,” she whispered, her gaze softening.
His lips clashed with hers. His tongue drove into her mouth, demanding entrance and laying claim to everything she was. As he deepened their kiss, bending her back with his passion, he made promises in his mind—to hold her, to kiss her, to always miss her. To trust her, to listen to her, and to stay up all night making love to her. Breathlessly, he pulled away and brushed her glowing freckles with his thumb.
“I love you,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes.
“I love you, too.”
“Now, be a good girl, and don’t die while I show these imbeciles what to do.”
A sharp laugh burst from her lips. She wiped her wet eyes. “You love them too. Admit it.”
“Only when they do as they’re told,” he joked, then ran headlong into the horde.
ChapterFifty-One
Pain squeezed Willow’s lungs. No, this was worse than pain. When she reached deep inside, she felt the dry and crumbling cavity where her well used to flourish.
Shadows swarmed around her. Flashes of movement in the sunlight. Someone shouted a warning, but she got hit—rocked to the side—as they fought. The sudden movement jolted tears from her eyes.
