I’m still alive.
Adonis, Dax, and Killian burst onto the scene, their eyes filled with fear as they take in the sight of me standing alone within the circle, blood trickling down my arm like a crimson ribbon.
“DANI!” Adonis bellows.
Just as he moves to rush towards me, aiming to intervene and unravel everything I’ve fought for, Octavia materializesbefore him, a formidable barrier that halts my mates in their tracks.
A chilling laugh escapes her lips as if she relishes the chaos she’s conjuring.
With a theatrical air, Octavia lifts her hands skyward as if harnessing dark magic from the very earth beneath our feet. With a swift motion, she brings her arms down, triggering an explosion that shatters the shack. Walls crumble, and the roof collapses, sending wood and debris hurtling through the air. As splintered wood and scattered debris whirl around like chaotic confetti, I find myself cocooned within the embrace of my protective circle. My voice rises in a desperate cry, echoing the names of every precious soul I love. They lie encased in a blanket of rubble.
Towering amid this chaos is Octavia, her presence a daunting silhouette against the turmoil, as she stands unhesitating before me.
Adonis, Dax, and Killian emerge from the rubble. Killian and Dax work quickly to remove the debris from Amelia, Carter, and Jules.
Please be okay, please be okay, I silently chant to myself.
Everything happens so quickly.
As the charged energy crackles around her, I lock eyes with Adonis, my heart pounding in my chest. In a desperate plea, I whisper, “I love you,” my voice barely a sound against the rising tension but laden with all the emotion I can muster.
Adonis clenches his fists, his demonic mask appearing on his face. His voice echoes like the god he is as he says to Octavia, “I swear to the fucking new gods and the old and everything that is holy... if you touch my mate, you’re fucking dead!”
Octavia throws her head back, laughing. “Oh, now this is going to be fun!” She claps her hands together, and the largest shadowmire I have ever seen appears. It grabs Adonis by the throat.
“NO!” I scream.
Killian lunges forward with a ferocity that belies his human form; his inhuman strength propels him as he tackles the creature to the ground. The shadowmire, a twisted mass of darkness and rage, thrashes its razor-sharp claws in a desperate attempt to swipe at Killian. Just then, Dax springs into action, soaring gracefully through the air. With a thunderous thud, he lands, delivering a mighty blow that snaps the creature’s arm off clean. The eerie howls of the shadowmire pierce my ears. As it writhes on the ground, it doesn’t notice Killian’s grip around its throat. He breaks its neck with his bare hands.
Octavia frowns. “You killed my precious baby!”
“Get them out of here!” Dax shouts to Amelia.
I glance swiftly over my shoulder, noting that Jules and Carter appear unharmed, a flicker of relief washing over me. Amelia reaches out to seize their arms, but before she can whisk them away into safety, an inky darkness surges forth from Octavia’s outstretched hands, swallowing the light around me.
Screams from everyone around me fill my ears. My world goes into slow motion as I watch Octavia’s darkness spring toward me.
This is it. This is how I die. I fucking failed them all...
Chapter 40
Dani
The icy grip of death begins to wrap around me; I am hurled to the ground—not by some ethereal force but by the solid weight of a body crashing down on top of me.
Carter lays on top of me, a desperate attempt to shield me from the nightmare unfolding around us, his body a sacrificial barrier meant to save my life.
The horrific sound of his agony slices through the chaos as Octavia’s dark magic envelops him like a vengeful shadow. He screams—a guttural, wrenching cry of pain that echoes in my ears as his beautiful brown eyes wince and his forehead presses against mine.
He clutches me tightly, anchoring me to him even as the world spirals into devastation.
“CARTER!” Jules’ voice rips through the air, muffled and full of despair, as Amelia wraps her arms around her, trying to contain the tempest of emotions surging forth.
Everything unfolds in grotesque slow motion as if time itself has twisted to mock my suffering, and I feel like I am watching the world collapse around me.
Dax and Killian, fierce and relentless, unleash waves of flame upon Octavia, each fireball a desperate attempt to halt her rampage. She dodges with agility. She retaliates with bolts of lightning and tendrils of darkness that rip through the air with a hiss.
Carter’s breath grows ragged in my face, the sound tearing at my heart as despair seeps into every pore of my being. “Carter… Carter!” I plead, shaking him gently, but he rolls off of me, landing with a sickening thud against the cold floor. We both remain inside my circle.
