Page 309 of The Gods Order

Her recognition.

Understanding floods her face.

“You feel that, Sabelline?” My voice barely rises above a whisper. “That isn’t me empowering you.”

A tear slips down her cheek.

I smile.

“That’s your own power betraying you.”

She trembles.

Nods.

She finally—finally—understands exactly what she forced my Harmony to do for her.

“This is what happens,” I whisper, “when you Harmonize Chaos.”

The sphere of power collapses inward.

The cocoon shatters into thousands of brilliant fragments that streak across the battlefield like falling stars. Its explosion is forceful and bright enough that I have to shield my face.

When the light disappears…

So does the life in her eyes.

Her body crumbles to the side, red lips paralyzed in surprise, and mine…mine stretch into a relieved smile.

A hand appears in front of me, and I glance up at Derivius. Without hesitation, I grab it. He yanks me up and wraps me in his arms.

“It’s over,” he murmurs.

I close my eyes for the briefest heartbeat before pulling back with a crooked grin.

“Not yet.”

I glance toward the battlefield where my brothers are closing in.

“One down. One to go.”

Amick

The screams, the clash of steel, the roar of powers colliding; it all still exists around me.

Yet it seems distant. Like the realm itself knows where I am walking and what waits for me at the end of it. I’ve imagined this moment more times than I can count. A thousand different versions.

In some, I was angry. In others, I was afraid.

There were even moments when I wondered if I’d feel nothing at all.

I was wrong. I feel everything.

The emotions don’t cause me any hesitation, though. A calm sort of acceptance has overwhelmed me, and I use it as my motivation to keep going.

The beings foolish enough to step in my path fall quickly.

A blade. A step. A decision.