by G. Bailey
“You will come with me willingly,” Eva says, adding pressure to the blade, “or I will slit this shadowborn’s throat and kill your lovers.”
My response is to yawn and stretch my arms, letting more magic shoot off me and into the forcefield. I can already feel how close I am to breaking through it. Just a few more minutes.
“And then what? What exactly do you want to gain from all this, Eva?”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Eva, in the short time that I’ve known her, it’s that she loves the sound of her voice
“Come with me and I’ll show you,” she answers, lifting her chin. “Or watch every person you care about fall and bleed out before you. Personally, I’d rather prefer if you chose the latter. Pitch, Zander, Gage, Jonah, Ambrose…Sage. They’re all just dying for you to resist me.”
“What have you done with Sage?!”
“She’s bluffing,” Jane hisses. “Narah escaped with Sage and David before she arrived.”
“I warned you to shut the fuck up!” Eva yanks Jane by the hair and snaps her head back. “You shadowborns never know when to hold your tongue.” Her eyes darken and gleam in the firelight as she digs her fingers into Jane’s cheeks, prying her jaw open. “Perhaps I should cut yours out as a lesson.”
Jane screams around the blade, her eyes filling with tears, but she’s no longer looking at me.
She’s looking over me.
I turn just in time to see Ronan smashing a rock against the side of my skull. The room sways around me and I fall to my knees, watching as a portal bleeds opens behind Eva. She pushes Jane away and seizes me by the throat in one impossibly swift movement.
“You really thought you could distract me, Corvina?” She leans into my face, a sickening snarl sliding over her lips. “It was I who was distracting you all along.” Dragging me by the hair into the penetrating light, she turns to Ronan, a look of adoration on her face. “Stay here, my love, and take care of the others. My sister and I have some catching up to do.”
Darkness envelops me, punctuated by soft whispers and moans heady with desire. Warm hands roam my being, and a groan leaves the back of my throat when they reach for my cock.
The quiet laughter that greets me does not belong to Corvina.
I shoot my eyes open, horror filling me when I see all of the naked women draped over my body. Their hands slide over my exposed chest.
“Let me go,” I warn, trying to shove them away. But my hands are tied to dark wooden bedposts and I can scarcely move. “I said release me!”
“Do as he says,” a voice commands. “It seems my son is in no mood to be worshipped.”
My eyes land on the darkest corner of the chamber. Hades stands by a latticed window, his body bathed in darkness except for his eyes. He steps out of the shadows and dismisses the harem and my restraints with a simple wave of his hand. The females scramble out and all the while I glare at Hades.
I should have known he’d be the one to summon me.
The rage from another female touching me is all-consuming. Never have I wanted or been with anyone other than Corvina, but now this fucker has taken that from me. They might have only been fawning over my body, but it’s enough to send white-hot fury surging through my veins. Hades takes one look at me and chuckles, gliding over to a bar sculpted from ebony stone.
“Do you at least drink, my son?” He pours two despite my lack of an answer, the liquid dark and strange.
“No.” I straighten and push off the bed, tugging at my unbuttoned shirt and pants. Doing the buttons again, I snarl at him, “Why have you brought me here?”
“You are my son.” Hades saunters over, his black robe billowing around him into tendrils of smoke. He sets the glass on the side of the bed, but I ignore it. “I thought you and I could speak in private.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” I sneer. “You have taken me from my mate when she needed me most. You of all people know what that feels like.”
Hades turns his back on me, the shadows draping around him. “To be without the one you love is a pain unlike any other.”
The sorrow in his voice takes me by surprise. Before Eris planted the Apple of Discord, Hades’ love for Persephone was said to be the strongest in all the realms. My anger abates ever so slightly as I look around the room. Every item of ornate furnishing is black like the soul of its master, but above the bed is a tapestry of Persephone before she became Selena. Her sheer pink gown flows down her body like a waterfall and her hair reaches her ankles as she lifts a black rose to the sun. A crown of wreathed flowers adorns her head. She looks like Selena with only slight differences. Unearthly beautiful.
“Was Selena my mother?”
Hades whips around and a dark glint flashes in his eyes. “Persephone,” he corrects, “was not your mother.”
“Then who was?”
He shrugs dismissively. “A mortal.”
“Is she alive?”
“No. It is rare for mortals to survive giving birth to a demigod.”
“Did you love her?”
“I have loved many. Your mother was not one of them. A mere concubine.”
His comment riles me, making the blood pound in my veins.
“If she was only a ‘mere concubine’, how did you end up with me?”
“By convenience.” The Dark God settles back in his chair, resting his arms languorously. “Your mother’s sister left you at my temple, wanting nothing to do with the babe that killed her sister. When the Light Fae King summoned me to do his bidding, I saw a chance to give you a life free from darkness.”
“Free from darkness?” I scoff at the irony. “You gave me to the Dark Fae Queen. That is hardly a life free from darkness.”
“Believe me when I say her world pales in comparison to mine.” Standing from his chair, he circles the desk and places a hand on my shoulder. “You are the Dark Prince that my wife, Persephone, wanted to inherit her throne. It’s time you take what is rightfully yours. Once the war is over, reclaim the Throne of Luna and rule the forest with me. Father and son.”
I frown at him, drawing my eyebrows together. “With you?” His real motive finally clicks in my head. “Ah. You want the Throne of Helios. Of course. But why?”
His arm falls off my shoulder. “The reason matters not. All that matters is that you and I rule the Enchanted Forest together. That is the only way you can become a god.”
I look away from him, contemplating his words. The most shocking thing of all is that a part of me wants to say yes. With my god powers, I could protect the forest with Corvina as my queen. We’d be unstoppable and never again would I feel helpless in ensuring her safety. But to get this I would need to hand Helios over to Hades. I would never forgive myself for the destruction I am sure he’ll cause there, even more than has already been done. I doubt his intentions are pure considering it was Danica who banished him all those centuries ago.
“I cannot accept,” I say, looking him dead in the eye. “The thrones belong to Corvina Charles, and my only wish is to protect her. I do not desire to take either throne from her. She has fought in blood and magic for her people, for the thrones, and she came from nothing. She was nothing but a lowly shadowborn for many years, and yet she fights for the world which abandoned her. Corvina has earnt the thrones. They are hers and my place is at her side.”
“That is your final answer?” His tone is calm, which surprises me.
“Yes. My heart belongs only to her.”
“And your loyalty?” He takes a sip of his drink, his eyes pressed on me. “Does a father not deserve the loyalty of his son?”
“You were never a father to me,” I point out. “Narah was scarcely a mother, but she was still there when I needed her.” A pause stretches between us and Hades clenches his jaw. I believe I’ve touched a nerve. “If you want to be part of my life now, you will let me return to my mate and win this war on my own terms. You will also stay out of it. This is not your fight.”
Hades remain
s silent for a long, tense moment. I keep my eyes pressed on him, refusing to back down or be swayed or manipulated. I might not be a god, but if Hades refuses to let me go, I will destroy this abyss he calls home.
“I will agree,” he answers at last, “but know this, Pitch, you are my firstborn son. Once you depart the living realm, you will rule here, as I have done, for the rest of eternity. Your fate was written in blood before you were even born, but perhaps your queen and her mates can rule with you. The underworld respects love and bonds made in life…”
I nod with a small smile, extending him my hand. “Until then, Father.”
Hades shakes my proffered hand, and a ribbon of dark magic wraps around us. “Until then, my son.”
The magic materialises into a portal that sends me back to the Forest. In a mere blink of an eye, I’m standing outside Jane’s cottage. A white light blasts my eyes and throws me off my feet. I release my wings and steady myself before I land on the ground. Ambrose lands beside me, his skin glowing with fury.
“Eva has taken her!”
I snap my gaze around the area, watching as Gage sends Ronan falling onto his back. Their magic collides, along with Jonah and Jane’s, who are both standing beside my mother. She’s using tremendous amounts of power to ward off something lurking in the shadows.
Another blast bounces off the cottage, but I use my wings to hold me steady and fly to her side.
“Mother!”
“I am not strong enough to banish the Titan,” she bellows, her magic weakening before my eyes. “I can bide you time to escape.”
The trees fall down behind the cottage as the Titan stomps its way towards us.
“We are not going without you,” I tell her.
Although it is weak, she smiles at me. “This is not where I’m to see my end. Go now. Use your magic to open a portal to my kingdom. I will meet you there.”
A loud cry shrieks behind us and I turn just in time to see Jonah plunging a dagger into Ronan’s leg. I fly over, using magic to drag the weeds out from Jane’s garden. Ronan wails as Jonah twists the blade around in his flesh. I land with a thump, wrapping the weeds around Ronan’s throat.
I want to watch him die.
I want my face to be one of the last he ever sees.
“This is for what you did to Corvina. Turns out you sided with the wrong queen,” I snarl, tightening the weeds until he no longer breathes and his head explodes. I would savor his death if not for the Titan charging into view. Narah is on the brink of collapsing as she struggles to hold the god back. With Ambrose, Gage, and Jonah at my side, we stand beside her, combining our magics to hopefully penetrate the Titan’s flesh. The stone slowly gives way, allowing Ambrose to shoot a lightning bolt right into its chest. With a pained bellow, the Titan shatters into pieces like a cracked shell and explodes into a whirlwind of ashes. The wisps flutter around us as Narah pulls me into a tight embrace.
“My son!”
Unexpected warmth spreads through me, filling me with relief. I can count on one hand the number of embraces my mother and I have shared, and this one means more than all of them combined.
“Where is Sage and her mate?” I ask, looking around for them. “Are they safe?”
Narah lets me go, her dark eyes filled with tears. “Yes, they are at my palace. I have since taken my army back and we are preparing to free Corvina and put an end to Eva’s madness. I have already sent a raven to inform Zander.” She glances to where the Titan burned into a pile of ashes. “The Titan will resurrect itself soon. We must go.”
I step back and watch her open a portal. With a backward glance at the Titan’s remains, I pause. The ashes gather and swirl around, forming the Titan we just defeated.
They can’t be stopped.
I must find Corvina before the titans destroy the world.
Eva shoves me onto the cold dirt as we appear somewhere cold. I roll to a stop, picking myself up quickly to face my sister before she stabs me in the back again.
Literally.
Dark wisps flutter around me as I stare at what is left of the Princess of Helios. Her once pale skin is smothered with black veins and I can almost taste the wrong and destructive magic flowing from her. Pure evil is not just in her soul anymore it seems. Her once beautiful hair is no longer soft. It looks like a wave of jagged levels and the static from her magic makes it almost move. Resting on her head is the princess crown she has always worn and I wonder how much she is itching to wear our father’s crown now that she thinks she has won.
“How rude I am to my sister!” Eva exclaims, spreading her hands out in a derisive bow. Not playing her games, I search the space we are in. Nothing but ash and dust line the ruins of the room, but the wind whips around us so fast it makes me wonder how high up we are. “I have not introduced you to my new friends.”
I scream as wind slams into me, shoving me hard onto the floor. Ash puffs up in a cloud above me and turns everything dark. My heart beats so loudly in my chest I just barely hear the large footsteps of the Titans as they surround us. Their shoulders rest above the ruined walls of the room and their empty faces stare down at me.
“You need new friends, you crazy bitch,” I bellow, but my insane sister just laughs in response.
She skips around me in a circle, humming a song I don’t know but sounds like a lullaby you would sing to a child. By Selena, she has lost her goddamn mind. My body starts to float into the air and I close my eyes, using my own magic to fight the hold on me. But nothing happens. I feel empty inside where my magic should be. Not even the sword feels as though it’s part of my being anymore. It’s like Eva has paralysed me with that creepy lullaby.
Just as I start to move my hand and get control of my magic again, I open my eyes, and shock makes me forget everything as I stare at the remains of the light kingdom. It’s nothing more than fire, ash, and rubble now. The once sweet smell of the kingdom is replaced with an awful burning scent that chokes me with every breath. Now I know it’s the smell of Vasili burning to the ground. Eva flies in front of me, still humming away as she gets super close and looks into my eyes.
“Why destroy the kingdom you wanted to rule?”
My whisper floats between us as she grabs my chin, her nails making me wince as they cut me. “The light and dark kingdom honoured the gods,” Eva says, digging her nails harder. “This is but a shrine to them and their old ways. The new kingdom I will build will honour only me.”
“No one will ever honour or love you, Eva. You’ve become unloveable,” I spit at her, tears falling from my cheek and onto her hand. “I could have loved you once. You’re my sister but you’ve destroyed everything that could have been. You are nothing more than a monster now.”
For a second, her cold and impassive demeanour cracks. I see it so clearly in her eyes like a wave crashing into the ocean, but it vanishes just as quickly, leaving only the sea behind; a sea of darkness in which Eva will never be able to rise ashore from.
My sister has to die.
Eva laughs again, her cackle making the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge. Before she can do anything, a booming noise blasts in the distance. I turn to see a wave of dark fae floating in the air, and on the ground is an army of fae and shadowborn mixed in together. Sensing my mates and mother in the crowd, tears of relief and fear fill me.
They have come for me.
“Titans, do go and kill the remains of the old world,” Eva orders, sweeping a hand dismissively to the wreckage below.
“No!” I scream and my voice is cut off as Eva punches me hard across the face. The blows never stop, and the pain is indescribable as I cower into myself, wishing I could break free of the magic holding me down. As Eva screams and continues to laugh, hitting me again and again, I stare at the sky and my father’s words come back to me, almost like he is speaking in my mind.
“Look up, Corvina. The stars are welcoming you home.”
The goddess herself is never going to let me down, and the stars will never t
urn dark for me. My father might not be here anymore, but my mates and my mother are, and they are fighting for me.
I need to fight for them.
I’m Corvina Charles, Princess of the Light and Dark Fae, and I am also shadowborn.
No darkness can hold me down. No light can either.
I scream from the top of my lungs as power slams out of me in waves, knocking Eva across the room. I fall to the floor with her, breaking the magical hold she had on me. It’s time the world says goodbye to Eva once and for all.
With the raven’s message repeating in my mind, I soar through the clouds towards the dragon kingdom. I need to get the Draconians on our side now more than ever. There’s no other option if I want to save Corvina and help her win this war.
Her fate now rests in hands.
If I succeed here, there’s also no chance that my parents can deny my victory. I am doing the work of the crown, after all. But more than that, I am protecting my mate. Corvina means more to me than their approval.
I can’t fuck this up.
I hold my breath as I fly into Draconia, keeping a wary eye on the dragon warriors watching me from the ground. To my relief, I’m able to enter without combusting into flames. A strange sense of belonging sinks into me as I glide over the caverns. This is the first time I’ve ever been here, and instead of fear and trepidation, I feel like I’m home.
I swallow the lump of emotion rising within me and swoop down into a dark cave. Streams of sunlight pour around me, catching the sapphire crystals embedded in the stone walls. Emerging from the other side, I immediately see that everything in this kingdom is built around plunging waterfalls, winding caverns, and breathtaking lakes.
The palace is the first thing that grips my attention. A statue of a ginormous dragon with its claws wrapped around an egg protectively towers over the palace. Pouring out from underneath is a waterfall that plunges into a lake, wrapping the base of the building in mist. It’s almost like the palace is sitting on a cloud.
