Page 311 of The Gods Order

Now, I just see a pathetic man.

“Of the two of us, who has the ability to wave their hand through the air and end this all? End you?”

“You do,” I say, and his smile returns. “That doesn’t make you strong or truly powerful. You turn to utter destruction because you’re too weak to create anything else.”

Rage flickers across his face and his power lashes from his palm in the blink of an eye. I don’t budge. I hold his sweltering glare. I want him to see my lack of fear.

His Obliteration crashes into the barrier surrounding my body. His snarl continues to twist as he shoves even more out. Only for it to be rejected again.

“Valthaneus!”

He bellows as his eyes bleed black.

“Your denial and arrogance will always astonish me,” I say as I step toward him. “It isn’t the God of Boundaries protecting me. It’s his daughter.”

His nostrils curl as if he believes he can smell a lie.

The look is very unflattering.

“You’ve been stripped of your Binding and a large portion of power from the Veilatara. Your right-hand man is dead. As is your lover. Our Defenders are laying waste to your army. The Gods Binding has granted us the full scope of our powers—something you have always feared happening if we weren’t under your thumb. Yet you still stand before me like you believe you’re going to leave this day victorious. It’s truly remarkable to witness. I wish I had more time to study this reaction.”

A humorless laugh leaves him as a sword appears in his hand. He twirls it, getting a feel for it. Or maybe he holds his delayed outburst will faze me.

I’m honestly not sure.

“You, my failure of a son, astonish me. Of all five children I created, you, the only one without a power to protect yourself, believe you are going to defeat me alone?”

“No.”

I shrug and spin the spear in my hand.

“I’m never alone, though.”

My father’s gaze shifts past me, and for the first time since I approached him, something other than arrogance crosses his expression.

Kyzen moves first.

The air changes and time bends. The space between one heartbeat and the next stretches impossibly long as his power wraps around our father.

His eyes widen as his movements slow.

Creed’s power follows. Death crawls from his fingertips, black tendrils that match his Obliteration so well, race across the ground before surging toward him.

Riven’s Chaos crashes over the distance between them, twisting the air around our father and disrupting every attempt he makes to regain control. He still manages to push his power out, and it collides with theirs, shaking the ground beneath my feet.

“Is that all my sons have?” His purely black gaze finds mine. “You truly think this is enough?”

I don’t answer.

Because I know what he doesn’t.

This was never about enough.

Another wave of power launches toward him.

Kyzen’s Time. Creed’s Death. Riven’s Duality.

His Obliteration tears through their combined force, ripping holes through every attack they send his way. But each time, he has to fight harder. Each time, he becomes more unsteady.