She’d nearly killed Dakota.
The man she loved.
She’d been more than ready to end his life if it meant stopping Thames and the horrors he was putting Dakota through. What made it worse, somehow, was that Dakota wanted her to do it. He’d asked her to during that brief moment of clarity before Thames took over again.
Vincent knelt in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t open her eyes.
“What’s your plan, Sorceress?” Armes asked.
“I told you.”
“You’ve told me you plan on taking the power and using it to stop this Thames, but how?”
“I’m going to draw him out. The host he’s using is my husband.”
“You are prepared to kill him?”
“Killing him won’t stop Thames,” Vincent said. “He’ll only find another host.”
“No, there isn’t another host.”
“Yes, there is.” Vincent pointed at her abdomen, and the horrifying realization sunk in. Dakota was the perfect host because of his Luxe heritage. She carried another Luxe within her, one who could be used as a conduit for the Luxe power.
“The baby.”
“You kill Dakota without taking Thames out of play, he will simply bide his time until that one is old enough to come into power.”
“So, basically, if I kill my husband, I’m sentencing my child to death, but if I can’t get to Thames, and don’t kill Dakota, I’m sentencing the worlds to death.”
“What is your decision?” Armes asked pointedly.
Anastasia glared at him. “I will not allow anything to happen to my child or the worlds.” She pushed to her feet and leaned back against the wall. “You let me take the power core, and I will find a way to get to Luxe and destroy Thames once and for all.”
“And if you can’t?” Armes argued. “Then the life core is gone, and Terrenia will be destroyed along with you. At least if it stays here, we can live to fight another day.”
“You told her you’d give it to her if she stopped him in Seattle.”
Armes looked to Vincent. “I told her we’d talk about it. Which is exactly what we’re doing.”
“If I don’t stop Thames, there will be no other day. He’s going to get that life core one way or another, unless I can stop him first.”
Armes stared at her. “We need to convene.”
Leaving Anastasia and Vincent alone in the room she’d first met Armes in, the Centaurs disappeared down the hall.
“This had damn well better not have been a waste of time.” Vincent began to pace, and Anastasia slipped back down to the floor. “Are you okay?”
“I just need to rest.” She closed her heavy eyes and leaned her head back against the cool stone. One deep breath after another, Anastasia felt herself slip away, closer and closer to sleep.
Blood-splattered ground stretched as far as her eyes could see. Anastasia took a hesitant step down from the porch of her cabin.
The ground had withered away to ash, and as she walked, it billowed up around her. “Hello?” she called out, moving toward the center of the village.
There were no bodies, only blood and ash, and that somehow made things worse.
She stepped into the town’s center and cried out, covering her mouth. “No!” Screaming, she rushed toward the pile of corpses in the center of the village.
Men, women, children, and creatures she knew as friends were piled high, their mouths hanging open, blood dripping from the corners, while dead eyes stared back at her.
“No!” she screamed again.
“This is our fault.”
Anastasia spun to face Dakota. The dark coat he wore was open, revealing his bare chest covered in blood and dirt.
His face was somber as he stared at her, blue eyes the clearest they’d been since Thames first took control.
“What do you mean?” Walking toward him, Anastasia tripped and looked down to see Dakota’s body splayed open, a hole in his chest where his heart should be.
She fell to her knees beside him and looked up at the man before her. A man she now recognized was no longer alive.
“What happened?” she choked out, tears streaming down her face.
“We did this,” he said. “Because we couldn’t stand against each other.”
“I don’t understand.”
Dakota walked toward her and knelt on the other side of his body. “You have to kill me, Ana. That is the only way to stop him.”
“I tried,” she admitted, the words barely making it past the lump in her throat. “Back in Seattle, I tried.”
Dakota smiled softly. “My love, you don’t have the power you need yet. But when you do, you have to kill me. Then, you can kill him.”
“How am I supposed to live without you?”
Dakota leaned forward and ran his finger along her tear-stained cheek. “You are a survivor, Ana. You will be just fine.”
He began to blow away, the wind taking pieces of him with it.
“Dakota, wait!”
“I love you, Ana.”
As he disappeared before her, Ana turned to the pile of bodies behind her, and let out a horrified scream as they all went up in flames.
“Anastasia.”
She opened her eyes, shaking her head to clear the remnants of the nightmare.
“Are you all right?” Armes asked, kneeling before her.
It took her a moment to realize where she was, and to realize he’d called her by name rather than Sorceress. “Yes, how did you know my name?”
“I pay attention when others speak. Your uncle has said it quite a few times.”
She looked around. “Where is Vincent?”
“He said he needed to speak to a man named Tony, that if he didn’t reach out, the man would come here.”
Anastasia smiled. “He definitely would.”
Armes reached a hand toward her. “Allow me to help you.”
Taking it, Anastasia let him pull her up. Legs still a little weak, she steadied herself against the wall.
“You’re weak.”
“I used a lot of power in Seattle—more than I ever have. It takes time to recuperate.”
“Well, perhaps we can help.”
Eyes widening, she studied his face. “What does that mean?”
Armes flashed her a smile. “We are going to allow you to use the life core to fuel your fight. But only if you allow us to venture out and help.”
“You want to fight with me?”
“Sorceress, based on what I have seen in the little time you’ve been here, I would follow you to the ends of this world.”
A lump of emotion formed in her throat. How many times had Dakota said those very words to her? Or Tony? It was a loyalty she wasn’t sure she’d earned from anyone.
“I appreciate that.”
He bowed his head. “We’ve always served this world, and helping stop the creature set out to destroy it would be an honor.” Raising his head, he stared into her eyes. “I must warn you, though, should we fail, not only Terrenia will be lost forever.”
“What do you mean?”
“Terrenia was the first of these worlds. Its power core is connected to all the others. Should it burn out, the others will soon follow.”
“So, it will kill everyone, on every world.”
“Yes.”
“No pressure.”
“What does that mean?”
Anastasia sighed. “Just that there’s a lot depending on our success.”
“Let us hope you are up for the task.”
“I am. This bastard has stolen everything from me. I will stop him, one way or another.”
“Come, let us prepare the life core.”
She followed him down the hall and back toward the life core. Power pulsed in the air around the core, growing stronger the closer she moved toward it. Her body regenerated nearly instantly, bringing back her strength and clarity of mind.
Anastasia smiled as she f
ocused on the red light.
This was it.
Receiving this power would mean the end to Thames.
The end to this fucking war.
Once and for all.
28
Terrenia
Tony
Tony paced back and forth at the base of the waterfall, the crashing sound doing nothing to block out the panicked thoughts racing through his mind.
I should have gone with her. Vincent would be no help if it came down to a physical battle.
What if they turned on her? Or the life core killed her?
“Dammit.” Feeling helpless was not something he was good at, and he’d never been one to sit idly by. He was used to action! Used to doing something. He was a Fighter, and lounging around while his honorary daughter risked her life pissed him off.
“You look entertained,” Nix grunted out from where he sat next to the pond.
“We should be there helping her.”
“Should we?”
Tony stopped and spun to face the Guisnow. “Yes, we should. She could die.”
“Not anything less than she deserves at this point,” he mumbled.
Tony growled, then stalked across the grass and wrapped his hand around Nix’s throat. Lifting him to his feet, he stared into the man’s amethyst eyes. “You better watch your fucking mouth.”
“Why?”
The Guisnow’s breath smelled of Terrenian whiskey, his eyes glazed over with pain and the temporary patch he’d chosen to put over his grief.
Tony sighed. “She is not responsible for what happened to Nallia, Nix. You know that.”
Nix shoved against him and fell back onto the grass. Getting up, he staggered slightly before catching his balance. “Yes, she is! She should have warned us!”
“She didn’t know he would show up!”
Nix burst into tears, and Tony’s anger softened. When he’d lost his wife and young son, he remembered the anguish, the complete and total helplessness he felt. But he also remembered the anger, and how he’d blamed Gregory for a time since it had been his brother who’d led the assault.
Nix was in pain, but Tony would be damned if he’d blame the only one trying to stop the war.
“She should have told us about Dakota.”
“When could she have done that, Nix? When she was trying to save him from Thames? Or how about when she’d buried one of her best friends after he’d had his heart ripped out? Tell me, Nix, when did she have time to come and warn you about something that might happen, and would it have made a difference anyway? Do you honestly believe Nallia would have left her world defenseless?”
Nix’s jaw tightened, and he refused to look into Tony’s eyes.
“Nix, I know you are hurting. If anyone knows how you feel right now, it’s me.”
The Guisnow leveled an angry glare on him. “Oh? Last I checked, your wife was still alive.”
“I lost my first wife and my son in a Brute attack. They died in my arms.” The grief that still lingered ached in his chest as he stared back at Nix.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me. The point is I know what you’re feeling right now—the anger, the guilt—but those emotions do not belong on Anastasia’s shoulders, or yours. Thames was responsible, and if you don’t pick yourself up and live for your daughter, Nallia’s death will have been in vain.”
Nix didn’t argue, he simply stared down at the water as tears slipped down his cheeks.
“Dammit, Nix, you’re better than this.”
Turning, Tony left Nix sitting by the water and went to find something to do. Maybe if he busied himself, the worry would fade to background noise rather than a full-on assault.
Vincent appeared in front of him, and Tony stopped abruptly to avoid walking into—or rather through—him. He scanned the area for Anastasia, then focused on Vincent.
“What is it?”
“She’s fine. They’ve agreed to give her the life core.”
Tony ran a hand through his shoulder-length, greying hair. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to be relieved or terrified at that.”
“A mixture would be healthy.”
Tony glared at him. “Do you not think this will work? You are the one who supported this crazy idea.”
“I support any idea that keeps Thames from gaining more power and destroying Terrenia, but I would not have done so if I didn’t also think Anastasia is strong enough.”
“So, you care about her all of a sudden?”
“I’ve always cared about her.”
Tony ground his teeth together to keep from saying anything he might regret. Vincent was as much a victim as Dakota in the sense Thames used them both, but that didn’t make the transition from enemy to friend any easier.
“Make damn sure she survives this, Vincent.”
“I will do everything I can.” He glanced back at Nix, who sat by the water. “He needs to stop blaming her.”
“Already had that conversation. He’s grieving and looking for anyone he can shift the rage onto.”
“I can understand that, but Anastasia is not responsible. She carries enough weight on her shoulders.”
“I agree.”
Vincent turned to face him. “Isn’t that interesting, us agreeing on something.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Tony retorted dryly.
Vincent nodded. “I will keep you updated if anything changes.”
“Thanks.”
Vincent disappeared, and Tony walked over to the horses grazing on the green grass. Naked Faeres danced around the water, bathing and enjoying themselves in the sunlight. Plews and Marney were off drinking nectar—which hopefully wasn’t a euphemism for sex. Tony shivered at the thought.
Could do without that mental image.
Pulling Anastasia’s sword from its sheath, Tony lifted a rock and began sharpening the blade.
Couldn’t hurt to be ready for anything, and it gave his idle hands something to do.
29
Terrenia
Anastasia
“You should know,” Armes started, turning toward her, “the last Sorceress who absorbed the core didn’t survive.”
Although it was her biggest fear—failing because she wasn’t strong enough to contain the power—she tried to hide it on her face when she responded. “I will.”
“She was sure as well.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Who knows, really. When you do not age, and sleep for centuries at a time, it’s difficult to track how much time has passed.”
“Why did she need the power?”
“She didn’t need it,” he said simply. “She bedded a Centaur, convinced him to allow her to absorb the power, and it killed her.”
“What happened to the Centaur?”
“I killed him.”
Anastasia raised an eyebrow. “For falling in love?”
“For forgetting his duty. We are the only thing standing in the way of the total destruction of this world. We do not have time for love, things like that are not in our futures.”
“That’s a sad way to live.”
“It is,” he agreed.
They continued staring at the life core, watching it as it spun above the stone altar. It was so beautiful, the shades of red and gold as they moved around in an ever-turning circle.
“Do you ever wish it were different for you?”
Armes sighed. “I do, but it is not, so dwelling on such a fact would be foolish.”
“All I ever wanted was a happy ending. A family, a future without blood.”
“Perhaps you will have that one day.”
Her mind flashed back to the nightmare from earlier. “I’m not so sure that’s in the cards for me.”
“Aren’t you with child?”
“I am. But if I don’t survive this, that won’t matter.”
“I believe the worlds give us the tools we need to survive. You are this world’s tool, and it
is yours. You will survive because the world wills it so.”
She looked up at him and smiled softly. “That’s a kind thing to say.”
He shrugged. “It’s what I believe, otherwise I would not allow you to take the core.”
Vincent appeared beside her. “You okay?”
“Much better. How’s Tony?”
“Angry, but he’ll survive.”
“Are you ready, Sorceress?” Armes asked, holding out a hand for hers.
“I suppose so.” She took his hand, and together they walked to the life core. Vincent stayed back, but she shot him a confident smile over her shoulder.
This will work.
It will not kill me.
“I don’t suppose you know how to do this?”
“I do, actually.” He released her hand and stepped toward the life core. Lifting his hands, he held them on either side of the light and closed his eyes. “We have a host. Please accept the Sorceress and bless her with your power.”
Moving his hands, the light stayed within them, floating without actually making contact. He held the orb in front of her, and after one last look, he shoved the power into her chest.
The burn was the first thing that came to her mind. Invisible fire ripping through her, sending the blood in her veins to a full rolling boil. She screamed, falling to her knees and pressing her hands to the floor. The stone should’ve felt cool, but her hands stung as the rock beneath them turned red.
The overwhelming power burned straight through into her soul as flashes of lifetimes flew through her brain.
A woman—hair as red as the fire burning inside Anastasia—stood before the altar and called the power to her. It soared up into the air before slamming down into her body moments before she went up in flames and was completely devoured by it.
The memories moved back—became older—as the burn continued, searing her skin. The cavern changed around her, and four men appeared where the woman had burned. They studied the ash, shaking their heads in disgust before turning to a much younger Armes.
“This will be punished,” they said as one, and the Centaur king nodded.
Unity Page 15
