Page 110 of Maleen

Wraiths.

I wrack my brain for any ideas, but only one comes to mind, and it may get me in trouble but it’s the only thing I can think of. “Aemon, take the white dragons and handle the wraiths coming toward our troops. He’ll wipe us out if we don’t.”

“And what are you going to do?” Killian asks. The warning in his tone makes me wince, but it won’t change my mind.

I adjust my body, moving my legs underneath me, and take a deep breath. “Don’t panic, I have a plan. Vasari, get ready.” Then I dive off her back, my gaze firmly on Craven.

Their voices echo in panic as they call my name.

“A little more warning next time, Lost One, would be great,” Vasari sasses as she watches me plummet towards the ground, catching on to what I’m doing.

Nero hisses, “Ravina! You don’t have wings for Fate-sakes!”

My magick prickles at the ready as I pull shadows from the ground and vanish within them before appearing right in front of Craven, whose eyes widen in surprise. I grab the Stone and weakness immediately overcomes me as my magick fades, but using the last bit of strength I have, I whip the Stone into the air. Feeling my powers come back to me, I blast it further into the air, just before Vasari’s talons, wrap around it.

I stomp my foot and the ground shakes around us. The earth quakes so hard that it blasts his small army away from us. “This ends now,” I tell him.

He throws his head back and laughs hysterically before air hits me right in the chest, sending me flying backwards. “Oh, you stupid female. This Kingdom is mine! It was promised!” His voice takes on an otherworldly tone, almost like he’s possessed. His eyes are wide and crazy, and I’m not sure if he’s even sane anymore. “That Stone is mine. Only I can use it, I am the master! The King! I am a god, and you will perish for taking it from me!” Black sludge begins to seep from his orifices—eyes, ears, down his chin.

He summons fire to his hands so quickly I barely have time to dodge. Vasari lands and his dragon doesn’t even flinch as she tears its throat out, with zero resistance from the brainwashed beast. No creature should have its will taken from it.

“No!” he thunders before muttering to himself. “I got the stone. Where’s the stone?” All elements explode from him, and I throw up a protective air bubble as dirt, fire and water swirl around me. “You took my mate!” He screams out over the noise of the battle. His voice is back to normal and I begin to get wary of what I might actually be dealing with here, but I can’t stop now.

I take a step towards him. “She was never yours. She was fated to my fathers and you destroyed that! And now I’m going to destroy you!” With one step in front of the other, I push forward through his magick. My bubble is shrinking under the pressure of the elemental storm that’s wrapped around us.

“Ravina! Abort!” Talyn screams.

“Get out of there now! He’s going to blow with the amount of magick he’s using! My shadows can’t penetrate the vortex!” Aemon says, his voice panicked.

“I can’t fucking get through! Voissor, what do you mean you can’t enter? Get me to my mate!” Killian’s voice echoes.

“Beastie, you listen to me right now. Come back to me. To us. He’s unstable,” Jesper pleads.

I block out their voices and keep pushing until I am face to face with him. His face is half melted, his body pierced by different elements, yet he stands there looking euphoric. He grins at me. “I’m going to end this realm and make it anew. Just as it was promised to me by those witches!” His voice morphs and becomes distorted. “It all ends, starting with you—”

My sword cuts into his chestplate—using the strength of the Vopn Fö and pulling on my mates’ magick for support, I force it through. He grabs the blade pushing it into him until we are face to face with each other. Rage contorts his already mangled face, then the blade begins smoking and he screams. The noise is so unsettling that hair rises all over my body. Definitely not human. He must be possessed by a demon—that thought drives me forward and I scream back, holding the blade there until the sluggish beat of his heart stops.

The cursed magick he was using explodes from within him. Pain rips through me as my body collides with something solid, and everything goes black.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

A WARM, SOFT HEAT ENVELOPES me and I moan in contentment. I’m so comfortable that I feel like I could stay here forever.

“Wake, Lost One,” a warm, ancient voice murmurs. “We have much to talk about and not much time.”

“Five more minutes, Aemon,” I mutter, batting my hand in a direction.

Nero sighs. “Rav. Wake up before you embarrass yourself even more.”

A reluctant sigh leaves me as I crack one eye open, and I realize I’m in a snowdrop field. I sit up and search for the person talking to me but no one is here. My brows furrow—then I nearly come face to face with someone I thought I would never see again.

Her green eyes are bright and full of mischief. “Mel!” I cry, shifting to my knees and wrapping her in the tightest embrace. “Wait, if I’m here, does this mean I’m dead? My mates! Oh no, no no no no.”

“Breathe,” she laughs. “You’re not dead. Barely clinging to life, and your males are losing their minds, but you’re fine. But we do need to talk. They thought you might be more receptive if it was me greeting you first instead of them. Their presence can be a bit overwhelming,” she rambles, looking nervous.

“I’m not dead? Is that why I could still hear Nero?” I glance around the familiar field again and it almost feels like my dreamscape with Aemon.

“Nero is fine, although anxious. You probably heard him on the outside. But Rav, the Fates have been watching you for a long time, and you need to make a choice. So you need to have an open mind. Okay?”