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Lowering my head, I let the land fuel my magic. My hands lifted as “Popular Monster” by Falling in Reverse reverberated throughout the entire kingdom. Let them hear my wrath and feel my flames. As the song began, I turned to the dead and spoke in a dead language she couldn’t understand and turned them into dust particles. Miniature cyclones shot throughout the land, following every line of her magic to the source.
“There, now that your battery tickets have been punched, we can get to it, grandmother. Are you ready to hear me sing? You had Knox ask me to do so if you recall.”
My eyes opened up, showing her every fucking emotion I’d bottled up since the moment I’d returned. I sang along with the lyrics, letting it all come out as wrath, violence, and pain. Raising my hands, I sucked more mana as it collided with my magic and then prepared to be released when the song hit the second chorus.
The moment the song hit it, I shot the largest blast of energy I’d ever managed to aim at the statue I’d left standing in the center of the citadel, by some miracle. Hecate dodged the falling stones of her self-erected monument as they slammed down around her.
I sent more magic punching up through the air before it propelled the lifeless bodies up from the courtyard, then used wind to drive them high, into the air. The dragons shot toward them, catching them before throwing them here, then one-by-one, they consumed portions, allowing the others to rain down around her. A laugh bubbled in my chest as she dodged them, barely missing being hit.
Inside the library, I’d realized the large pentagram placement on the map. The moment I’d seen it, I’d realized it was hers. I’d then routed the path to each element, followed the river, pinning each one before the largest palaces, which all had rivers in front of them. I’d realized I could neutralize her for a while if I disturbed the largest structure, which was connected throughout each realm. The power from each one flowed throughout the pentagram-shaped grid and fed Hecate the realms’ power. Now, all of the realms would have their power back. They’d need it to help us drive the bitch back to her tomb, for good.
Hundreds of grids placed beneath the soil detonated, forcing even more lifeless bodies to shoot through the air. When they dropped, they were impaled on branches or hit the ground like decaying water balloons.
Hecate gradually spun in a circle, eyes flooded with horror, and then light began slamming down into any witch left standing still. The citadel was rubble behind her, which only had me smiling with satisfaction. I’d harnessed every single emotion she’d forced me to feel, saving everything to release against her. The entire time, I’d heard Knox whispering for me to turn my pain into power, as he’d done so many times throughout his lifetime.
Hecate hummed, which called to her familiars. A desperate move to save herself. Dire wolves began tearing at the shield, and the smile on my face dropped, turning icy. Bringing them through the barrier, I forced balls of violent, violet-colored light inside every one of them. The moment they turned toward me, I grinned as I made a popping sound, watching as they exploded to ash.
“That was for Lore. No one fucks with Daddy on my watch, mutts.” I turned back to Hecate. “Sorry, were those your dogs? It must have been something they ate.”
She inched backward as I used the wind to blow the ashes back to her.
“This isn’t happening!” she snarled, which caused a sick, twisted amount of enjoyment to rush through me.
My rattle grew within me, not needing Ember’s help to get my words to come out layered so they echoed around her. “Where the fuck is your God now?”
She turned in a circle, seeking to escape the dragons that were landing, corralling her and preventing her from escaping. Using an unhuman rush of speed, I slammed into her, smiling as she went ass-over-head, rolling over the debris littering the ground. Slowly, I walked around her as the others watched from behind the shield. Her wide, horrified eyes fed my excitement, wanting to rip her apart, bathing in the putrid blood.
“I warned you when I got here, that I’d fucked your world up. Should’ve listened and learned the first time. Next time? You should take a moment to consider how you fuck around. Then calculate what happened, because I will do whatever is needed to ensure you find out how bad you fucked up. You have no home because you messed with those inside of mine. Your network of magic, along with your grids are down, and won’t be easy to repair. I’ve sent a call out to every realm, asking them to divert the river away from your kingdom. My undead army is even as I speak, killing your dark witches. One by one, they’ll all fall down, Hecate.”
When I held my hand out, Killian placed the stake from a white oak tree in it. This was the reason she’d insisted on having trade open to Norvalla. It was the one thing that weakened her, forcing her true form to work ten times harder to heal when harmed. Luckily, she was still fucking stuck inside it, regardless of the time mess up I’d had.
“Don’t do this to me!”
“I warned you. I don’t make idle threats any longer. If I tell you I will do it, believe me.”
Stepping closer, I jerked on the medallion, snapping the chain free from her throat. “I need that!”
“I know you do,” I said as her skin began to age. “I won’t stop taking from you or hunting you until you die or are returned to your tomb. There’s no hole dark enough for you to hide in anymore. You wanted this battle. I brought you with a war unlike any other the Nine Realms has ever seen before. A united Nine Realms, which shall stand as one against you, Hecate. You grossly miscalculated when you hid behind the walls.” After digging the butt of the stake into the ground, I gripped her around the throat and shoved her back onto it. Killian and Zyion secured the rope around her chest and legs, and when they finished, we stepped back, watching her trying to escape.
“The rope is hemlock, grandmother. I brought it just for you. Know this, I am no savior, but I am a monster. Not like you—neverlike you. I’m the one they needed to fight to take you down. I won’t rest until your reign ends, and mine begins. Oh, and the best part? My chaos hasn’t even fully reached its full potential. And Knox? He’s not dead. He’s merely allowing his Queen of Chaos to sharpen her claws. So, shall we test them? Oh, wait. I also promised him a gift when I returned from killing you.” Turning my head left and right, I smiled brightly and then clapped my palms together. “Perfect! Lovely, I’ve decided on my gift for my king. Since I can’t allow him to outdo me, your head will do nicely. Plus, he made me a throne to match his, one created from your children’s skulls. So, hold still, I’d hate to fuck it up.” I sliced through her throat, smiling as her blood sprayed everywhere.
“Ashes to ashes,” Killian said beside me.
“Dust to dust,” Zyion growled.
“In no goddess, shall we trust.” I laughed, biting my lip as the coppery tang of her blood lined my teeth. Flicking my fingers, I brought the vibrant, blue flames up to my lips and blew on them until her head caught fire. Stepping back, I smiled as it charred the skin to black flakes, which drifted upward until the flames died out. What was left was nothing but the skull with a circle-less pentagram on the forehead. “You look much better without a head. It’s a vast improvement, Hecate. If Knox were here, he’d thank you for the skull. We must never forget our manners, right?” I asked the men standing beside me, who were watching the bitch burn. “Anyone bring marshmallows? I’ve been craving some lately.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Aria
Thebattlefieldwasbathedin blood that ran in rivers. My heartbeat drummed in my ears, the entire group celebrated by throwing body parts, which caused my stomach to churn. I stood in the midst of it all, dragons swooping down to feed on the dead, while the girls danced around barefooted. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of what Knox would be doing if he’d been here.
Would he dance with me? It would be rather morbid, but Hecate was afire, her witches were being hunted down and rounded up for extermination. I’d allowed the dead a chance to deal with those who’d harmed them in life. It wasn’t much, but even now, I could feel the souls singing with relief, knowing they’d survived long enough to help wash away the sickness within the land.
Hecate wouldn’t remain dead, but in order to put her down, she had to be drained. There was also the issue of Aurora, who’d begun feeding on the magic of those without darkness. It meant she’d need to be handled before she became like her mother. The girls would need to be checked for darkness as well.
“Why aren’t you celebrating?” Esme asked, clapping me on the back. Her violet eyes were aglow with adrenaline.
