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“Take my hand, and I will call back my warriors. I told you, no one else needs to die. Only you, child of Chantico,” I caught what looked like regret as he looked at the fighting happening in front of him.
“Tuli, don’t,” I begged her, trying to move. She looked at me, pain in her face, tears rolling down her face.
“I love you,” she said, trying to stand up but immediately doubling over again in pain. She looked up at Huitzilopochtli. “Please, Helios, let my pups be born.”
“Chantico’s line must end,” he replied without emotion.
“But they are innocent,” she cried and I watched, confused, as Huitzilopochtli's eyes softened for a moment before they hardened.
“Her descendants must pay the sins of the parent.” Huizilopochtli, or Helios as Celeste kept calling him, held out his hand to her. Celeste looked back at me, and I tried to move toward her. I could feel my spine almost fusing itself back together.
“I’m sorry, my love. I am not worth so many lives.” She took his hand and he pulled her to him. I growled in rage and hurt, feeling her decision as a sign that I had failed in her eyes.
“Warriors. Retreat,” Helios called out before he looked down at me and once again jumped away with the love of my life in his arms. I saw him land on top of the moon pyramid while my wolves ran toward me.
“GET HER! SAVE HER!” I roared at them, and they turned and began running towards the pyramid.
‘Celeste is unconscious. I’m trying to stop the contractions. The pups are not ready. You need to get here. The moon is almost out,’ Kara’s panicked voice came through the mind-link. Atlas roared and forced the shift, finishing the repair of our spine painfully. We ran towards the pyramid and felt a strange strength flowing into us.
Jump.I heard the word flitter through my mind, but I didn’t know where it was coming from.JUMP!The soft voice screamed at us again. Our muscles tensed, and Atlas pushed off the ground. We shifted halfway into the jump and landed at the top of the pyramid with a huff. Not looking a miracle gift in the mouth, I jumped over the altar where Celeste was lying on the table and crashed into Helios’ still-tender flesh as he unsheathed the crystal dagger I recognized from the sketch Celeste had drawn for Evergreen. We tumbled to the ground, and the dagger flew out of his hand and toward the edge of the platform.
We grappled on the ground, throwing punch after punch for what felt like hours until we heard Celeste’s voice behind us.
“Enough fighting!” Celeste shouted. Her voice carried an ethereal twinge and power to it that made us both stop.
I stared at my mate in awe. Celeste was floating a couple of feet in the air above the altar. She was covered in fire, her hair floating around her. Her hands dripped liquid fire onto the white cloth, singeing it.
Helios roared and charged at her, trying to tackle her, but was thrown backward as he crashed and was repelled by the fire surrounding her, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. I ran towards the edge platform and picked up the crystal dagger. I placed myself in front of Celeste defensively while Helios struggled to stand. I put my hands upward, and through her shield, her fire danced on my arm before it slid over my body until I was entirely covered in her fire. Seeing me holding the dagger, Helios roared and jumped off the pyramid, but I was right behind him. I landed in front of him, dagger at the ready.
“This ends now,” I growled, throwing a fireball at him. The wolves stopped running halfway up the pyramid, watching with awe as Celeste floated down toward us. Helios’ staff appeared in his hand again, instantly beginning to glow. Before either of us could do anything, a blinding light appeared between us moments after Celeste reached the ground.
“That is enough, brother,” a beautiful Aztec woman appeared between us. She was wearing a pure white gown with hair pooling around her feet. Her brown skin was glowing, an aura of immense power radiating from her.
“It will never be enough until you watch them all die,” Helios snarled, rage in his eyes as he glared at the Moon Goddess of all werewolves.
I was so distracted by her sudden appearance that I didn’t understand what Selene meant when she said, “Show him the truth,” until I saw Celeste put her hands on either side of Helios’ head, and I felt myself jerked backward with her into a vision.
We were on top of the platform again, and it took me a minute to realize Celeste had been here before. This was the scene she described to me when she visited Selene the first time. Selene and Helios fought while a woman was huddled on the floor behind him.
“What is this? Why am I here?” Helios roared, trying to swing at me, but we were not physically there, so he hit nothing. He turned back and looked at the fighting.
“Watch, Helios. You need to see the truth, just like I had to relive my parent’s death. The truth will release you from the path you’ve taken. You will never live, you will never have peace unless you alter your path,” Celeste told him, and I looked at her. What was this? Had she not said we needed to kill him?
‘He is a victim in this too. Selene has shown me there is another way.’Her beautiful voice filled my head.
Chapter fifty-four
Celeste
Celeste,youhavetowake up,Kara’s panicked voice woke me, and I groaned.
What happened?
You passed out. We need to do the thing.
The thing? What thing?I asked, trying to open my eyes. I could hear Markus grunting somewhere around me.
You know, the thing we practiced with Markus—the thing we can do. THE THING!she screamed.
