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“What do you think I am fucking trying to do?” I snarl when it feels like the air is being sucked out of my lungs. Eziah gasps once again behind me, and I turn just in time to see him collapse on the floor just as I feel the first flicker of the bond. Like an open flame caught in the first touches of a storm. It flickers and I feel Kora disappear, and my panic surges along with my magic as I hit the wall.
“Open!” I scream before trying to feel for Lucas. Yet, all I feel from my son is unconsciousness.
“Open!” I scream, a surge of power unlike any I've ever felt before courses through me. Panic, fear, and an unyielding desperation form a concoction so potent it feels like it could rip apart the very fabric of the universe. The darkness within me, the shadows I've always harbored but never fully unleashed, begin to claw at its restraints.
“Kaif? What are you doing?” Dominic asks as the room shakes.
“Breaking it, breaking the veil,” I tell him, seeing the cracks of the protection Hades has on this place splinter.
“You could kill us,” Dominic warns, but I don't care.
My voice is a roar, echoing within the confines of the cage that held me for so long. “Open!” I demand, hands outstretched, fingers splayed. The shadows intertwine with my soul, pulsing in tandem with my frenzied heartbeat as I pull on magic I haven't used since the day the daggers were created, the same magic that cursed me.
Something not of this universe, something Hades made sure to lock, chipping away at it with each mortal life I was forced to endure. I close my eyes and focus on the power of the Octavian bloodline. Their ancient magic, the echoes of their spirits, call out to me.
The shadows surge, answering the call of my anguished soul. Dark tendrils spiral and merge with the residual energy of the Octavian witches, creating a swirling vortex of immense power. With a violent crack, the veil that separates this realm from the Octavian kitchen shatters, the portal appearing before me. The raw, primal force is overwhelming, like a tidal wave crashing over me. The bond between Marabella and me tugs, pulling me in her direction.
I don't wait. I sprint, using the residual energy from the shattered portal to fuel my pace. The world around me blurs as I crash through the front door and race through the streets. My heart pounds in my chest, my senses heightened, every fiber of my being focused on reaching her.
The scene that unfolds at the carnival is one of chaos and devastation. Buildings lie in ruin, their structures cracked and crumbling. Lights flashing erratically, casting eerie glows that mix with the shadows that seem to be everywhere. The once jubilant setting is now akin to a war zone. Dead bodies lay everywhere, so much bloodshed, rides are upturned and some burning.
The pit in my stomach grows as I race out and spot Rose, her form wracked with sobs as she clutches Corina. I approach them, my voice urgent, raw with emotion.
“Where’s Marabella?”
But before Rose can answer, a gut-wrenching wail draws my attention. I freeze, my blood turning to ice. At the end of the street, under a flickering streetlight, Jonah is on his knees, clutching Marabella’s lifeless form.
“No…” The word is barely a whisper, but the sheer weight of my denial is palpable. My strides become frantic as I rush toward them, my world narrowing down to the scene before me. They are all I can see.
I drop to my knees in disbelief, my gaze fixed on Marabella's still form. The silence is deafening, and all I can hear is the sound of my own labored breathing.
Jonah looks up, his eyes red-rimmed, his face streaked with tears. “You can fix her, you can bring her back, right?” he pleads.
Gently, I take Marabella from him, cradling her against my chest. The coldness of her skin is a stark contrast to the warmth I've always associated with her. Her face, once full of life and laughter, is still. The spark in her eyes extinguished and the bond silent. A void, nothing.
My eyes sting with tears as I tangle my hands in her hair, my heart aching with each stroke of her soft skin. Kyan's cries rip through my veins like lightning.
Despair takes root in me with every second that passes, and I force myself to breathe. Taking a deep breath, I focus all my energy on reviving her. I pour every ounce of my magic, every shred of my being, into willing her back to life. But nothing happens.
The surrounding darkness intensifies, fed by my grief and despair. Streetlights explode, plunging the entire city into darkness, a mirror to the void I feel inside. The taste of ash and despair fills my mouth as I pull her limp body into my lap. It's impossible, it's cruel — not her, not now.
“No… No!” My voice fractures as I shake her, desperation making my fingers tremble against her cold skin.
“Marabella, wake up! Please, wake up!”
I lay a palm against her chest, attempting to call forth the magic within me. But it's faint, like the dying embers of a once roaring fire, the power I'd unleashed to break the veil having drained me. It's not enough, not nearly enough.
Fury boils up, white-hot and fierce. I tilt my face to the darkening sky, rain lashing at my features. “You cowardly gods!” I shout, my voice echoing into the stormy abyss. “You take her from me? After everything! This is your twisted game?!”
ChapterEighty-Seven
Jonah sobs, rocking back and forth, hands clutching his hair, his pain only serves to intensify ours.
I can feel the weight of centuries, the weight of all the losses and heartbreak, bearing down on me. “Is this my destiny? My punishment? Curse me, take me! Not her!” Tears blur my vision. “Damn you! I've suffered enough! I'll give everything, all of me! Just bring her back!” I beg.
“We broke your fucking curse, what more do you want from us!” Lightning flashes across the sky and thunder rumbles, echoing my anguish.
With that, I channel every ounce of magic left in me. Letting it surge through my veins, pulling the very fibers of existence, desperate for a sign, a flicker of life from Marabella. My fingertips glow, the dim light spreading, casting eerie shadows over her lifeless form.
