AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A pit opened right in the center of the arena. My throat constricted, memories of exactly what that pit had done in the past clogging my airway. I readied my magic, prepared to fight the under-realm itself.
But Tartarus did not claim me.
A crack opened beneath the Moon Goddess’s blood-soaked body and swallowed her whole, silver armor and all.
Once she disappeared beneath the surface, the ground smoothed itself over, as if this had never happened. But it had happened. We had succeeded—we had won the trials, and now the Moon Goddess wasdead. We were free.
Two strong arms wrapped around me, embracing me from behind.
“I knew you could do it.”
“How?” I tried to laugh, but the sound was too brittle. “I didn’t.”
Cole spun me in his arms, the certainty in his eyes capturing me entirely. “Because my wife can do anything she sets her mind to.”
I grabbed the lapels of his shirt and tugged him down to kiss me. I’d feared I’d never taste my mate again, never feel him against my lips. So many times, we had failed. Had sacrificed for one another. But not today. Today, we had triumphed and had unlocked the rest of our future.
“Great work, love, but a little help wouldn’t be amiss.”
Reluctantly, I broke from Cole and went over to Phaidros. He had pulled himself to his knees, but his body was devastated by his mother’s magic. Her death hadn’t undone the damage.
I stared down at the demon. I’d felt pity for him, true. I understood his decisions had been complicated, driven by a need to wrest his freedom away from his evil mother. But that was no excuse.
“I don’t see why I should.”
The demon ground his pearly white teeth. “We had a deal to act as allies.”
“We agreed to be allies until the trials were complete,” I corrected. “I owe you nothing now.”
The demon’s gaze dropped. For once, he didn’t argue, didn’t try to twist the words. Maybe because there was no ambiguity there. No rule bound me to help him. He was too weak to make a portal. He would die here, likely within the hour from his injuries.
As much as I hated Phaidros, I was tired of the violence. It wasnecessary—death was essential, and I respected Cole’s magic as much as my own. But my magic didn’t crave death. It wanted to create life wherever it could be had.
I twisted my fingers in front of me, green sparks flying towards Phaidros and filling each puncture. The demon froze under the grips of my magic, as if unsure if I was truly going to heal him… or simply hasten his death.
I shut my eyes to concentrate, trusting Cole to keep watch. This wasn’t an easy healing to do. I sensed the different magics in him, the hole from where the Moon Goddess had withdrawn her soul. My gut twisted. I could feel the brokenness of his being, not just physically, but in his very essence. When the stars on his skin had been ripped away and pierced him clean through, it had been more than a matter of skewering. It had been about desecrating his very being. For a moment, I wondered if it wouldn’t be a mercy to end his suffering now and kill him. Not for spite, but just to end it.
But there was something new. Something in the demon I hadn’t sensed before. I concentrated on that spark of magic. It was as though a piece of him had been locked away, stifled. My magic drew closer, circling it, then approached. Ipulledthat piece forward, filling in the gaps that had been left. Her magic was gone… but Phaidros had his own, a kind that had not been seen before.
A sharp intake of breath from Cole. My eyes snapped open.
I had healed Phaidros. His skin was mended. The stars had returned, but they weren’t in the same shapes as before. Instead of the shackling, stagnant constellations, now they moved across his very skin. Judging by the night-dark wings on his back, I had done more than just heal his body. The stars on his skin moved over them as well. The wings flaredwide, feathers grazing the ground. He forced himself off his knees, rolling his shoulders back as he stood.
“Thank you. I owe you a debt.”
I shook my head. “No more debts, no more favors. Let’s just have peace, Phaidros. The realms have longed for it.”
His gaze drifted past me, to the ghost shifters who had been trapped by the Moon Goddess for ages. “Yes, they have.”
I turned back to the shifters. Their star-ringed collars had fallen away when the Moon Goddess died. But they didn’t move, didn’t disappear. Just… looked at me, expecting some answer.
I called on my magic again, wanting to heal them. Yes, there were hundreds, if not thousands, but surely I could ease their pain. Green sparks flew through the air. I reached out to every single one with my magic, trying to heal them the way I had Phaidros.
Nothing happened.
A hand clapped down on my shoulder. I looked up at Cole. He shook his head.
“I have to save them,” I protested.
