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33
BREE
Bree changed back into her fae form as soon as she stepped inside the Faerie Ring. In an instant, Underworld had vanished, the cloudy night sky replaced with the dawn of a new day. She heaved out a breath of relief. Since it was daytime, they still stood a chance.
With a deep breath, she went back through to Underworld.
Through the bond, she felt Taveon locked in an argument with his father. The demon king was trying to convince him to go to the Realm of the Dead with him, to join his side against the fae. She could hear some of the Grand Master’s words echoing in Taveon’s mind.
“I’m trying to save my people,” the demon king said. “We won’t survive if we stay in the Realm of the Dead.”
“And what will you do if you come here?” Taveon asked, a flicker of regret flaming in his heart. He did not want to be the reason the demons died. They had come here to destroy, but he did not want to destroy them, not if he could help it.
A pause. “We’ll take it as our own. There will be no room for dark fae here. Or light fae. Both Underworld and Otherworld will be ours. Nothing will stand in our way when we stake our claim on the humans.”
That regret whispered away. Determination settled into place behind it.
“Go ahead and do it, Bree,” Taveon said.
Bree shook her head and focused on the task before her. She gazed around at the circle of black stones before kneeling in the grass. With a deep steadying breath, she turned her thoughts inward, onto that kaleidoscope of power that sang in her veins.
Taveon’s power.
If this didn’t work...
She curled her fingers in the grass, palm flat against the ground right in the center of the Faerie Ring. Closing her eyes, she breathed in deep, focusing on that power, that thread that tied her to Taveon, that thunderous demonic energy she felt with every breath she took. It buzzed in her veins; it rumbled in the depths of her mind. Bree focused on that power and she called it forward.
It listened. The magic surged, shoving aside the light and dark fae power she’d accumulated. It tore through her, reaching into her mind with grasping fingers. Gritting her teeth, she fought for control, and for a long excruciating moment, it felt like she would lose her grip on it all.
The magic undulated inside of her. Shuddering, she dug her nails into the dirt and forced it to listen to her commands. She would not let this power control her. She would not lose her hold on it. The power was hers. It did not have a mind of its own. She was Bree Paine, and she would wield it.
Her hands shook, but the power simmered down, its thunderous roar quietening before the jaws of her beast. With another deep breath, she nodded, and then she focused that power on the ground.
When she’d heard the Master speak of the demons’ plans, Bree had known exactly what to do. She had to siphon Taveon’s power out of him and push it into this Faerie Ring. But he could not do it himself. It had to be her. She was the only one with an anchor to both realms.
Bree would bring the fae worlds back together, and the demons would never survive. She just had to ensure that she pulled out every last drop of Taveon’s own demon magic, or he’d go down in flames with them, too.
Bree shook her head, refusing to let her thoughts drift that way again. She’d never be able to do this unless she focused.
Her body trembled as sheshovedthe first bit of power into the ground. The world responded with a rumble, the dirt beneath her shifting like waves against the shore. She held on tight and pushed a little more, feeling the power being sucked out of her, like the ring had transformed into a black hole.
Through the bond, she felt a lance of pain go through Taveon’s body. With tears in her eyes, she kept pushing, her heart torn in two. Taveon screamed, falling to his knees. His father stalked toward him, furrowing his brows.
Bree turned her mind away, hating that this hurt him, but she couldn’t stop now.
She kept pouring, pushing the power into the ring. The ground shook beneath her, as if the world wanted to refuse the destructive magic she was giving it. Overhead, the sky cracked, lightning splitting through the bulbous clouds.
Taveon shouted in the back of her mind, but with tears streaming down her face, she shoved every drop of power she could find out of her body, out ofTaveon’sbody, and into the ring.
When every shard of it was gone, when she could find no more power inside of her, she slumped to the ground. Her head pounded, and her body felt weak, and the ground beneath her rocked so violently that it would have knocked her off her feet.
A flash went through the realm, swallowing it up in a brilliant, blinding white. She closed her eyes as it ripped her apart.
* * *
Bree sucked in a gasp of air and peeled open her eyes, wincing as her head jolted with pain. She rolled to her side and stared across the sun-drenched field. Fae warriors were on their feet, wandering through piles of ash. Norah was running toward her, her blonde braid whipping in the wind.
When she reached Bree’s side, she fell to her knees and pulled her into her arms. “You did it, Bree. You actually did it.”
