“Why are you changing?” I asked, my own voice edged with anticipation.
“I want my face to be the last thing he sees before he takes his last breath. Follow my lead,” War growled.
Two golden orbs flickered into existence in War’s hands. They hovered, then exploded into shape—two massive black bloodhounds, their backs armored with thorny, mossy growths. Gold, sword-like canines jutted from their snarling jaws, metal teeth gleaming, claws poised to carve through bone.
“Goblins are terrified of canines. That’s their weakness,” War taught me.
The dogs were the size of the unicorns in Charmden, tails bristling with four-foot thorns. Their howls ripped through the tunnel, making the ground tremble and dust rain from the ceiling.
“Azarion!” Hoax screamed, shock twisting his ugly face as War stepped out from the darkness, his chain wrapping around his wrist. The hounds stalked closer to the goblins, growling, drool splattering onto the stone floor as they waited for War’s command.
“I’ve been waiting a hundred years for this moment! Last battle, you hid and ran like a little bitch, but not this time. You belong to me tonight!” War snarled.
A goblin lunged at War. I flicked my wand, summoning a spiral of black flame that wrapped around my chakram. I hurled it, slicing the top of her head clean off, purple brain matter spilling out as she collapsed at War’s feet. He didn’t hesitate—just stomped her skull with his heavy boot, crushing it flat.
I walked behind War, wings unfurling, horns sprouting as my skin turned midnight black, gold markings igniting across my body. My fangs slid down—I was ready to get bloody. I gripped my wand, already tasting blood and death.
Hoax’s eyes raked over me, hunger and hate mixing in his gaze. “This is déjà vu, isn’t it? I’ll take it easy on her before I kill her—just like I did her sweet mother. We’ve got the same taste, Azarion. We both like our pussy sweet, delicate, and very tight,” Hoax taunted, voice dripping with malice. He sniffed his fingers and moaned while licking them. “My sweet pussy, Eboenia,” Hoax teased.
“I know Sin is my brother,” I called out. The smirk vanished from Hoax’s face.
“He’s not your brother!” Hoax spat, clenching his jaws. “Your mother only carried him in her womb. Dove—the woman who raised him from birth—is his real mother! Don’t you dare twistthe truth. The only goddamn reason I let Sin marry you was because it was his turn to breed offspring. I’ve always loathed you!”
“Of course you did, because you knew how disgusted I was by you!” I shot back, black energy swirling around my wand. “You had to take it from me, because nobody but Dove would want to spread their legs for a weak leader. That’s not even your staff that you so proudly wield! Charmden should’ve discarded you!”
He patted his chest. “Charmden loves me! I was the better leader!” Hoax yelled.
“Don’t waste your breath on a dead man,” War said to me, then sneered at Hoax. “I’ll tell you the truth though—I busted the biggest nut of my life as I slit Dove’s throat. Her nipples went hard as pebbles; that was the only time I let her get close to me, and she died for it. Two of your bitches died with me on their minds, old dummy. You’ll never conquer a pussy fairy because you’re a bitch—a coward who couldn’t defend his own women against ogres or sire an alpha male.”
Hoax’s face twisted with rage. He slammed his staff against the ground, the crack echoing like thunder. “Get them! Rip off their heads and bring them to me—I want them hanging above my throne!” he howled at his goblins.
War let out a sharp whistle and his dogs exploded into motion, tearing through the crowd of goblins like living nightmares. Screams and snarls echoed off the tunnel walls as thorny tails whipped and gold fangs snapped, blood splattering across stone.
Hoax tried to bolt, panic twisting his face, but War’s chain shot out like a serpent, wrapping tight around Hoax’s ankles andyanking him off his feet. Hoax hit the ground hard, staff still clutched in his fist. He aimed it at War and unleashed a blast of blue fire, the flames licking across War’s shoulder, charring his cloak.
A goblin lunged for me, claws reaching for my locs. I raised my wand, sending a spray of black thorns into her chest, pinning her to the wall. I swung my sword, blade flashing with sorcery, and sliced through another’s arm. It howled, stumbling back, but I pressed forward.
“Stay back, bitch!” I spat, swinging my sword in a wide arc. The goblin’s claws scraped my forearm, tearing flesh, but I didn’t flinch. I slammed the stiletto spike that jutted from my foot into her chest, sending her sprawling into the shadows. More goblins surged from the darkness, shrieking, their eyes filled with bloodlust.
War’s dogs tore through the horde, their thorny tails whipping, gold fangs crushing cartilage. The goblins scattered, but not far enough—one leapt at me, and I met her with a slash that split her skull. My blood mixed with theirs was running down my arms and legs.
A sudden, deep rumble shook the ground. War and Hoax’s magic clashed, blue fire and golden gears colliding in a shower of sparks. The walls trembled, cracks racing across the ceiling. War’s chain lashed out, catching a goblin mid-leap and slicing it in half. “Eboenia! Move!” he barked, but I was already running, ducking as the tunnel ceiling gave way.
Chunks of stone crashed down behind me, dust billowing in the mayhem. War rushed forward, leaping over the rubble and planting himself in the open, just beyond the collapsing tunnel.
He glanced back at me. “Stay close, Eboenia! Don’t get separated!”
“I’m right behind you!” I shouted, coughing through the dust.
Raising his hands to the sky, his tattoos glowing, he called down his power. The clouds above split open, and from the darkness, enormous black and gold birds with metal beaks and claws swooped down. Their wings spanned the length of city buses, feathers edged with razors. They dove into the goblin ranks, ripping bodies apart, sending goblin heads and limbs flying. War’s voice thundered as he directed them.
“You want a war? I’ll give you a fucking massacre!” War roared, his voice echoing with pure malice. “No magic is greater than mine. I died for this shit, and I’ll do it again if I have to—just to drag every last one of you screaming into the dirt. I’ll paint the city with your blood. Even if you surrender, you’ll still die. No creature will be spared!”
He glanced back at me. “Stay close, Lor Pussy Fairy! You wanted this, so don’t get weak on me. If you die on me, you’ll pay me in the afterlife,” War threatened, though his eyes softened for a moment.
“I’ll always be right behind you!” I shouted, coughing through the dust.
“Good girl,” he said.
