This was such a useless fight. Everything Gabby and I tried canceled each other out. No amount of magic or power would end this battle. We could do this forever, so long as one of us didn’t weaken.
It would be me first. I was still mortal, and Gabby had a goddess’s power. She had more energy than I did, and my body was already struggling to keep up. I couldn’t force this fight to keep going, because eventually, I’d have to succumb. I had to think of an alternative way to get her guard down.
Words were the most powerful magic there was. And if my powers weren’t strong enough to take Gabby down, then the only way to stop her was to beat her at her own tricks. Gabby thought she was a master manipulator, but she had nothing on me. She wanted to play the game of power?
Fine. Let’s fucking play.
Gabby approached me. She breathed raggedly, teeth clenched as she draggedLodburzanthrough the mud.
“Do you honestly think you can stop us?” Gabby screeched. “Droga and I are gods, more powerful than all the others because we have the Crystals of Harmony. We’ll create a dead world, then once all the souls on this plane are under our control, we’ll use the Crystals to jump to new realities, moving from place to place until every realm in the universe has become ours!”
“You’ve lost your mind,” I said with horror.
“That’s what the weak say when they can’t understand the perfect vision of power.”
Gabby swung at me. I had to dodge the blade of my own weapon, and roll in the mud to avoid getting stabbed. I managed to scramble to my feet, backing away as Gabby cornered me with her rage.
I thought wildly of deceptions and lies. Until I realized that the worst thing I could say to her wasn’t a fae trick, but the truth.
Gabby only had one weak spot that I knew of, and I had to utilize it. It was time to twist the knife in.
“Did you know Droga’s been playing you?” I let out a mad laugh. “He’s had the power to bring Elijah back ever since you gained the Crystals.”
Gabby froze, and I knew I’d hit her right where it hurt. Denial ebbed at her words as she spat, “No. Droga wouldn’t lie to me.”
“All he does is lie. He could resurrect your mate with the help of the Crystals, but chose not to, because he wants you under his control!”
“You’relying!”
She swung the blade at me, and I had to duck. I kept backing away, speaking as fast as I could.
“Maybe you’re not insane,” I said frantically. “Maybe you’ve had too much power for too long, and you know what? Power corrupts when it’s unbound. You’ve carried nothing inside of you since Elijah died but bitterness and resentment. You’ve tried to bend the world to your will, and yet, none of it matters, because you lost it all. And when you try to change the world for too long, well, it changes you. I should know.”
She punched me across the face, and I fell onto my knees. Gabby took me in, staring at me for a moment or two before her expression took on a look of dispassion.
Gabby flung Lodburzan down before me, and it plopped in the mud. I had no idea what she was doing, until she said, “I’ll hear no more of your words. This fight is over. You will submit to my will…Damawilke.”
Ice ran through my veins at the mention of my true name. I didn’t know how she’d found out, until I thought back.
Jasper. He must’ve overheard Ethan and I talking in the woods after my ceremony. But if that was true, why hadn’t Gabby used my true name against me immediately after she’d learned it?
The answer came to me quickly. Because shehadtried, and failed. I’d been lost in time shortly after Jasper told Gabby what he knew. When my true name failed to render any power over me, Gabby must’ve figured it ineffective, a lie he had told her to mislead her… even though it was Kalina’s time powers that protected me, keeping me out of her reach. She couldn’t use my true name against me if I was lost in the time vortex of the universe, even as a goddess.
I wondered why Gabby had waited until now at this point in the battle to put Jasper’s words to the test, and use my true name against me, until I realized it’d been due to a sore spot of pride. Gabby wanted to prove to herself she could beat me on her own merits. It’d eat away at her forever if she had to deal with the bitter truth that she had to take total control over my magic, and my mind, in order to defeat me. She’d have to accept the fact that she wasn’t strong enough to kill me on her own terms, and concede to the idea that I really was better than her. I knew Gabby, and to place me on a pedestal above her was a fate she’d consider worse than death.
But I’d brought up Elijah, and now, she had ceased to care about her pride. My hands were no longer in my own control as I reached out and took Lodburzan. I put the blade against my throat, my form trembling as I prepared to sever my artery. With the use of my true name, Gabby had complete power over me, and I couldn’t fight back.
“How does it feel to be completely helpless?” Gabby asked, satisfaction bursting through her tone. “You’re mine.”
I thought it was over, then… until I heard a scathing voice in my mind whisper,She’s finally going to pay. I only wish it’d been worth it.
Shock made my spirit go still. That wasn’t my thought. It washers.
Gabby had power over me with my true name, but doing so left her own mind open, and attached to my own. One last chance for me to save myself. Gabby’s mind was open to me now, and it would remain so as long as she attempted to use my true name against me.
I had to at least try. Blood trickled down my skin as the edge of the sword dug in. Before my fingers moved to slash the blade across my neck, I followed the magical trail that held my mind to hers, and forced my way into Gabby’s consciousness.
I felt Gabby’s body go still underneath my mental hold. I claimed her consciousness as if it was my own. I raced through her thoughts, taking in her recollections of her life, her dreams, her plot to take over everything that lived and breathed.
