Page 94 of Pride: Kneel Before None

At the same time, a pulse rocked the building down to the very foundation on which it was built. The force of it sent me stumbling, barely managing to brace myself against a support column to stay on my feet. The impact jarred me, disconnecting my mind’s eye from Ace’s, and all visions went blank inside my head.

Ace’s body shook under the strain of summoning what lay dormant beneath us. He turned his head, voice straining as he shouted out to me, “Echo me!”

Pushing away from the column, I rushed up behind Ace. We had one shot at this, and I wouldn’t fuck it up.

My hands found his shoulders, anchoring myself to him. All the energy from the grotto stabilized inside me, amplifying our connection to a magnitude that felt unbearable to keep leashed.

I echoed him.

The metaphysical force erupted from me through any outlet it could. An otherworldly scream tore from my throat as Ace’s call to the crypt below exploded through the casino.

For a suspended moment, I felt like gravity itself was lost. A prism of colors blinded my vision. The roaring waves of energy inside my head were deafening.

Wind whipped around me, but I never faltered, and I never let go of Superbia’s Ace of Spades.

Echoes rippled through every cell of my body, creating a euphoria that left me gasping for air.

Then… silence—in all the ways that mattered.

I slumped forward, my body draping over Ace’s back.

My heart thundered in my chest with a mix of exhilaration and exhaustion.

Gentle hands came from behind me and eased me upright, allowing Ace to unfold from the crouched position he had taken during the onslaught.

Blinking back the moisture in my eyes, the blur of colors cleared, and I saw the full extent of what remained.

Tangled piles of bodies were strewn about. Some were bleeding out like fallen soldiers, but many still stirred enough to show signs of life.

Looking behind me, I noticed Grier looking equal parts impressed and horrified as he kept me steady on my feet.

“I’ve seen many things in my life, but I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said with a bit of awe. Then he added, “I think I’d prefer never to witness that many disturbed spirits rising up at once again if it can be helped.”

I continued observing the aftermath of what I’d helped inflict. When my eyes landed back on Ace, he was striding toward Crestpin.

In his haste to get out of the warpath, the old bastard ended up tripping on his robes several times. It was pathetic how quickly he went from thinking he held all the cards to realizing he never had the ones that mattered.

Once Ace had the elder Knight backed against an overturned table, the begging began. Something cold lingered in Ace’s stance despite the burning energy his runes still emanated.

When he spoke, his command filled the expansive space, ensuring all beings present heard what he had to say.

“As I said, those who kneel can take away your power the second they stand. So here’s your lesson, Crestpin: I don’t fucking kneel. Not to you, not to anyone. That’s where my power lies.” He leaned in a fraction closer, hissing venomously in the man’s horrified face. “Fucking reflect on that.”

Both of Ace’s swords skewered through the old piece of shit’s chest. The wet choking sound he made was immediate, death offering no mercy for him.

Hellfire flowed down Ace’s arms, pouring over the two pieces of steel. It gave them a brilliant glow of orange and red hues. The resulting intensity of the heat in the metal charred the immediate area around the entry points in Crestpin’s body.

One hard jerk pulled both swords free as Ace stepped back, the dying man’s body dropping to the floor with a sickening thud.

Ace stood there and watched, his swords down at his sides. Crestpin’s final words escaped as a gurgling gasp before his body jerked one last time and went eternally still.

“The House always fucking wins,” Ace sneered, pride radiating from the core of his words.

Turning his attention back to our surroundings, groans filled the air from the injured crowd of people slow to recover. Then his eyes found mine, and he crossed the space with purpose in each step.

Grier wisely chose that moment to back away as he saw the storm of a man approaching me.

Tossing his swords off to the side before he stepped up to me, Ace grabbed my face and pulled me in for a claiming kiss. It tasted like victory, blood, and something too vulnerable to belong to Ace Reynard.