My feet left the ground. I flew backward, my body slamming into the stone wall with enough force to crack ribs. Maybe all of them. Pain exploded through my chest. It was white-hot and all-consuming. It stole my breath, my vision, and every coherent thought. I tried to breathe but couldn't.
Stars burst across my vision. Or maybe those were the essences, still swirling overhead. I couldn't tell anymore.
Through the haze of agony, I tried to focus. The essences were still dancing around the chamber. The Scythe was fracturing. Orange light was bleeding from fissures that spiderwebbed across the petrified wood and diseased mother-of-pearl like infected wounds.
But it wasn't destroyed. Not yet. What the actual hell? We’d unleashed primordial fire.
That terrified me more than the broken ribs. Or the blood I could taste in my mouth. Or the way the world kept tilting sideways. Because if it survived this, we were all dead.
"We need to hit it again!" Aidon's voice cut through the chaos, and it was rough with pain as well. Blood streamed from a cut above his eye as he gathered power, pulling from theUnderworld itself. It should be impossible to wield in the mortal realm, but he was the son of Hades.
I staggered to my feet, every nerve screaming in protest. I called my witch fire, adding it to the power he unleashed. And we hit the Scythe again.
This time was different. Our combined magic resonated with the freed essences swirling above it. Suddenly, we weren't fighting alone. Hundreds of stolen lives were fighting with us. Their light wove into our attack, amplifying it, directing it, and making it unstoppable.
My legs wobbled, and I was afraid my magic would give out when the Scythe exploded. It burst into fragments that turned to ash before hitting the ground. The magical discharge raced outward in all directions. The shockwave of raw power had nothing to contain it.
Aidon's shadows wound around us both, creating a cocoon that absorbed the worst of the blast. My heart leaped into my throat, and my gaze flew to Nana and Stella. Both had cast protection bubbles. Aidon strained against the force. I felt the cost it was taking from him to hold this shield, and it made me worry for Nana and Stella. That fear shifted to Aidon as I felt the Underworld magic beginning to consume him from within.
I wrapped my arms around him, adding my power to his. Together, we rode out the maelstrom of released magic and freed souls. When the shockwave finally dissipated, the chamber was trashed.
The glass containers had been reduced to dust. The altar had crumbled. And the essences from the hundreds of stolen lives had dispersed into particles of light that drifted upward. They were free to return to whatever waited beyond death.
The relief lasted all of five seconds before new footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Multiple sets were descendingfast. My stomach dropped like a stone. They had called in reinforcements.
I watched Nana and Stella back away from the stairs. Nana still had her shotgun raised and ready, but whatever was coming down those steps had rattled them. It took about two seconds for me to see why. Dr. Duke Parker approached us, flanked by a dozen Thessmark. And behind them stood a woman with calculating green eyes. There was a hint of madness in Audrey Taverner’s gaze, as well.
The founder of this nightmare stood before us, smiling. "Magnificent," she breathed, stepping into the ruined chamber.
Her gaze swept across the destruction of what had once been her life's work, and her smile never wavered. "Absolutely magnificent. We’ve never seen that much raw power. You two really are something special."
My legs threatened to buckle. The power I'd channeled had burned through most of my reserves, leaving me running on fumes and stubborn will. Aidon was in a similar shape. He was leaning heavily against the wall with his shadows flickering weakly around his hands.
We'd destroyed the Scythe and accomplished the mission. But we'd used everything we had to do it. And now we faced a dozen fresh opponents with nothing left to give.
Audrey stepped forward, surveying the destruction with the detached interest of a scientist examining a failed experiment. "You've cost me decades of work. Do you have any idea how long it took to collect all that essence? How many children I had to harvest?"
Her eyes glittered with fervent belief, and she continued before I could come up with a witty retort. "But it's alright. You're here now. And you've brought me something so much better than a broken artifact."
She paused, letting the silence stretch. "You've brought me the children of a god."
Terror flooded through me. It was cold and sharp. It locked my lungs and made my heart stutter in my chest. Had we given her what she needed to get to the triplets?
"I know what you're thinking," Audrey continued, stepping over rubble like she was walking through a garden. "What are we missing? I have to admit, I was skeptical when I was told about three babies, born during a lunar convergence, to parents of immense power. Underworld royalty on one side, Pleiades witch on the other."
My hands clenched into fists, and teal fire sparked weakly across my knuckles. "You touch them, and I'll?—"
"You'll what?" Audrey laughed. The sound echoed off stone walls. "Burn me? You can barely stand. Channel power you don't have left? Please. Save what little energy remains. You're going to need it for what comes next."
Parker spoke for the first time. "The collection teams were deployed to your residence fifteen minutes ago. Your wards are impressive, but they won't hold against their assault. Especially not with half your defenders here instead of there." His voice was flat and emotionless.
My heart stopped. Layla, Murtagh, and Tseki, along with the other shifters, could defend against an invasion, but they couldn’t enhance the wards. Nina. Mom. Selene. The babies. They’d all be vulnerable.
"No," I whispered, trying again to stand. This time, my vision swam, and my legs trembled like a newborn colt's. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Parker pulled out a phone, tapping the screen with one perfectly manicured nail. "Let's ask them, shall we?"
The speaker crackled to life. I heard sounds that stopped my heart. There was screaming and magical detonations. Nina shouted something I couldn't make out next.
