A cold weight settled in her gut. She didn’t know much about Leukos’ sword skills, but Nik had the best chance of defeating her, and he was already injured.
“Laran—”
The god raised his dark eyebrows, infuriatingly calm, sword resting across one shoulder.
Katell pressed her lips together, fighting the knot in her throat before forcing the word out. “Father”—something unreadable flashed in his eyes at the word, gone as quickly as it came, buried beneath his usual air of smug detachment—“please, do something. Don’t let anything happen to my sister.”
He shook his head. “Those are the Western Lands. I can’t intervene. But you can. Embrace what you are, and you can go.”
Magic writhed beneath her skin, a rising tide that clawed at her fragile control.
And there it was.
The ruse.
The trap.
Laran wasn’t any better than Dorias. He might be her father and had helped her in some ways, but in the end, he craved the darkness coiled inside her. He would gladly twist her into the very monster she fought so hard not to become—and he was willing to gamble her sister’s life to achieve it.
Her chest heaved. Her fists clenched so tight that blood welled between her fingers. “And what if I refuse?”
He huffed. “You really think you can escape who you are?” Rolling his shoulders, he swung the massive blade free in one fluid motion. His grin curved, sharp and merciless. “Fine. Let’s do this the hard way.”
In the next beat, he clamped down on her shoulder and drove his sword straight through her gut.
A scream caught in Katell’s throat and fractured, pain exploding through her body. She staggered, blood spilling hot and fast down her new tunic. Her vision blurred—part agony, part betrayal—each breath a ragged battle to stay upright.
When Laran wrenched the sword free, white-hot pain ripped through her again. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ashy ground. Blood poured everywhere. Her control splintered, and raw magic began to churn within her.
Stars be cursed…
Laran seized her chin, forcing her face upwards. He loomed above her, unreadable, as if he hadn’t just gutted her. If she’d had even a scrap of strength left, she would’ve driven her knuckles straight into his smug face—god of war or not.
He arched an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that.”
A dozen curses burned in her mind, but when she opened her mouth, blood trickled past her lips. She met his gaze instead, defiance flaring through the haze of pain.
“You asked for help,” Laran reminded her, tilting her face higher. “And this is it. You’ve spent days in my realm surrounded by magic. You ate immortal food, bathed in our waters, and still you refuse to embrace what makes you strongest. This way, you’ll have no choice.” His thumb traced her cheek as if soothing a child. “You want to save your sister?Then stop pushing my magic away.”
Her strength ebbed, the wound pulsing as flesh knit together. But worse—far worse—was the magic. It coiled within her, curling tighter with each heartbeat, surging through her veins, seeping into her very bones. It was… claiming her.
Terror clawed at her ribs. If she gave in, there would be no turning back. She would become the thing she feared most—the monster she’d fought so desperately not to be.
Her breath hitched. “Every time I’ve let go… dozens have died.”
Laran knelt before her, his massive frame blotting out the light. “The power you fear so much isn’t the darkness you believe it to be, daughter.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, his tone softening. “It’s simply me.”
His magic pulled at her, threading through every fractured part of her being. It coiled in her chest, waiting, demanding.
He leaned closer, eyes a storm-dark brown, touched with a flicker of crimson light that burned like a hidden forge. In their depths smouldered the fury of countless wars, yet behind them lingered something almost familiar—a reminder that he was not only a god, but her father.
“Make no mistake. You are not just a warrior, daughter.You are war.”
Her heartbeat thundered. Crimson light flared from her fingertips, snaking up her arms until it sheathed her skin in living armour.
Laran’s magic.
Her immortal side, no longer dormant.
