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Chapter XXXIII
Irounded on theMoon Goddess. She was lovely, but she was scrawny. I had shifter strength, even if I couldn’t access my wolf. I could beat her. She might not make it easy, but I could fight. I gripped the hilt of the sword at my side that I’d grabbed before we left. I wanted to bathe my sword in her blood and put an end to this war once and for all.
The space had cleared and elongated, leaving an arena for her and me to fight in. It was bigger than the gym rooftop I’d trained on with Cole. At the edges were her shifter ghosts, circling on all sides. At my back were Cole and Phaidros. I drew my mate’s dark scent deep into my lungs. It wrapped around my insides, coating me with love. Support. He believed I could do this.
I would not fail him. I would not fail our kingdom. And most of all, I wouldn’t failus.
“Ready when you are, Phoebs.”
Her entire face twitched at the nickname. I didn’t hide my grin.
The smile faded when she lifted her hands above her head as if in supplication.
A wash of white light fell over her, blinding us. When it faded, she was in a mass of silver armor, every inch of her body covered in the poisonous metal. A pure silver spear sat in her hand, pointed directlyat me.
How was I going to defeat her if I couldn’t touch her?
“Then we shall begin.”
She launched the spear at me with unnatural strength. I dodged, but the next second she summoned another and threw it again.
Now, I bared my teeth at her. “How is it fair you can use your magic and I can’t?”
Her initial answer was another spear. “My magic issuppressingyour magic. You could use all the magic you liked—if you were stronger.”
When she threw her next spear, I was ready. Instead of retreating, I charged, landing a high kick right to her helmet-covered head.
I collided with aclang!
The Moon Goddess didn’t so much as flinch from inside her silver armor. This time, her newest spear slammed into me. Her movements were clunky and untested, but it didn’t matter, because she packed loads of magic into every attack. What she lacked in skill, she made up for in raw power and an unending supply of silver. I tried to slash her with my blade, but the metal bounced off, not so much as scratching her armor.
This was not good.
Our dance began in earnest. I wove in and out, dodging her rainfall of silver spears while I tried to find some dent in her armor. There should’ve been something. But her armor wasn’t normal. It wasn’t made of overlapping plates of metal. Instead, it appeared solid, like it was molded to her body and constantly shifted shape to adjust as her body moved. Even her eyes were covered by bars of silver, allowing only the barest hint of her unsettling eyes to peek out.
Her attacks increased, joined by her astral magic, and it got harderto get close.
I was on the defensive. Exhaustion hit me, but worse than that was the chilling realization as she slowly amped up her attacks that this was just the beginning.She was playing with me.
“That is better, life-giver. Run while you can,” she called across the field when I slipped past another of her spears.
“Is this all you can do?” I retorted, trying to catch my breath as I sank against the column. Hundreds of ghostly eyes met mine, their mouths open but silent. The star collars choked them, rendering them voiceless. “Throw shit at a distance, like it means something? Hiding like a coward behind your silver armor, how can you call yourself a goddess? Why don’t you admit you’re just scared to face me?”
I slipped behind a marble column in the nick of time as three more spears stabbed where I’d just stood.
“Do you think this is all I can do?”
On silent command, the ghost shifters took a step forward.
“What is the meaning of this?” Cole shouted. “This is single combat. Restrain your slaves.”
“I have violated no rule.”
The shifters took another step forward. I kept my eyes trained on the largest one, brandishing my sword in front.
“Don’t you see?” she continued. “They are part of me. They no longer are their own creatures, simply loyal subjects that I control.”
The shifter at the center lunged in wolf form. I slashed into its ghostly shape. Unlike the last time, my sword made contact. The phantom disappeared, but as I swiped, its soul called out. The pained cry from my sword blow went straight through my skull.
