by Karen DuBose
I can hear the others coming through the woods. I look to see Kira is the first to break out of the trees. She doesn’t slow down until she is next to me. Her progress is stunning.
“Shifting didn’t hurt the baby did it?”
She shakes her head. “Nope, the baby is completely fine.
I nod once. I look up in time to see Kiernan wrap me and Runes in his arms. I can feel how scared he is. He didn’t think they would make it in time before the Elders showed up.
Oceana gets our attention by a clapping her hands. “We have little time we need to get started. Dariya, who do you want in the mirage?”
I didn’t hesitate to tell her who I wanted in the circle. The others take off deep in the woods. As soon as the mirage is set, we all take off into the woods as well. Now we sit and wait.
I have the magic users surrounding me. Chanting softly, I can feel their magic caress my skin. I take a deep breath to calm myself.
Kiernan comes closer to me. “You better make it out alive and come back to me. I love you and Runes. You two are my everything.”
I nod trying to hold back tears. “You better too.” It was all I got out when I hear Niko speak. It sent chills down my body.
I concentrated on the mirage and let myself speak. “The same thing I’m about to do to you.”
I hear the roars of the Elders. It’s now or nothing. I take off out of the woods in time to see Niko slash through mirage making it turn into a light swirling back to Oceana.
I watch as his eyes land on her. The sneer he gives her makes my blood go cold. I look and see they aren’t all in the circle. My heart sinks, I have no time to think I go after them. Runes is strapped to my back.
I raise my hands and try to push the last elder into the circle with my magic. To my horror, it doesn’t work. He looks at me like I’m prey and rushes at me.
Here goes nothing. Before I have a chance to crash into him Rome does it his dragon form. I watch the Elder fly through the air hitting another Elder. They both go crashing to the ground.
Niko sees this and takes after Rome. He is about to take Rome down when Jax shows up taking him down.
The magic that surrounds me is keeping the Elders away from me. I didn’t even see one come up behind me until I felt the magic change and she screams in frustration.
I watch in horror as Niko grabs Jax’s head and tries to rip it off. Kiernan jumps Niko from behind making him lose his grip on Jax. The rest of my pack comes into the clearing and encloses us.
That’s when all hell broke out. They all rush the Elders. I’m frozen in place watching with terror. Oceana says something to me, but I couldn’t hear her when I watch Mikel get his head yanked from his head right in front of me.
The bond was gone and I felt hollow where he used to be. This gets me out of my fear. These asshats are dying today. I walk to the center of the circle as the fight takes place. I can see a lot of them are injured, but they keep fighting. Giving me a chance to do what I was born to do, I knew the minute they all seen me go into the circle. The Elders drop the person they were about to kill. I can see and feel we lost Tobin as well.
I feel a presence behind me. I’m not foolish enough to turn and look. The Elders stare at me with fear. It doesn’t take long before they recover.
I hear Asher whisper in my ear, “You have their attention now. Do what you were born to do.”
Their greedy asses came after me. I stood there with no fear, anger, or anything else. “You have been rulers long enough! It’s time for you to pay the price for your evil ways!” I wait for the last second and move my circle toward them instead of waiting for them to come into it. I don’t know how I knew to do it, I just did it without thinking.
I felt it when all of them enter it. I call on my magic and brought Runes to the front of me. Her eyes snap open and I could see something register in them. She looks at the Elders and I swear I can see her magic swirl with mine inside me. It feels so familiar, I don’t hesitate they were less than three feet from me.
I release the magic and wrap it around them like a noose. I tighten on it and they fell to their knees with shocked looks. “You are banished from this world. You will take your evil with it. Be gone.”
With that, I felt more magic enter me. It felt foreign but I let it flow through me. The other’s magic that is encircling me vanishes. It’s just me and the Elders. I can feel their evilness trying to leak into me. I don’t give it a chance to. I yank with all my might and watch as they explode one by one.
Once the last one is gone, I collapse. I’m barely aware when Asher comes in to view. “Thank you.”
I couldn’t even ask why he would say that before darkness takes me.
Chapter Thirty-One
I slowly come to and I wish I didn’t. My body feels like I’m in lava. I try to find the darkness again, but it refuses to comfort me. I want to scream anything to get away from the burning inside me.
Then I remember what happened. I snap my eyes open. Closing them just as fast. The light feft like hot pokers going into my eyes.
“Kiernan! What is happening to me?”
I felt him caress my mind. “Oceana doesn’t know what is happening to you. She said you need to fight to survive. Please don’t leave me.”
I feel his anguish. I never want to feel that again. I bring the rest of my strength to the surface and push whatever it is making me feel this way. With a pop, I felt myself being lifted into the air. Like there is invisible rope pulling me up into the air.
I could faintly hear the others screaming my name. All I could do was try to survive the pain. The invisible ropes start to snap one by one, making me dangle in the air. Being almost upside down is threatening what’s in my stomach to come rushing out.
Forcing my eyes open, I notice the ropes that have let me go there is a light replacing them. What the hell is going on? Am I dying? If I am dying why is it taking forever? Why does it have to take its sweet ass time?
With the last of the invisible ropes gone. I’m placed back down gently. The pain is agonizingly slow to recede. I wish someone would tell me what the hell is going on.
“You are being reborn to be the ruler.”
“Who said that?”
I hear a chuckle. “Already forgot about me. How sad. I must not have made that big of an impression on you. It’s me Auvu.”
Everything comes back to me at once. Like I’m seeing a movie but with super speed. I roll over and lose the contents in my stomach.
“How are you in my head?”
I can hear her sigh in my head. That’s going to take some time to get used to.
“I’m am your guide. I will always be in your head. Well not always, but when I am needed or when I need to tell you something.”
Like I don’t have enough people in my head as it is. “Why was this so painful?”
“In order for us to guide you, we had to share our souls with you. I’m sure you remember the pain when you did it with Oceana.”
“You’re telling me my soul is attached to six beings now?”
“Six?”
“You, Oceana, Justice, Isidar, Vesper, and Spyros.”
I can feel her amusement. “Spyros only gave you his life force. He does not have a part of your soul. But to answer your question, pretty much. We are here to help you in any way we can. Guide you on the right path.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this would happen?”
“We do not interfere with what will happen. We only guide to make the right choices. Your fate took you down the road it wanted you to go down. Now that you have succeeded, fate is happy and will stay out of your life.”
“This is too much information right now. Can we. I don’t know talk when I can actually function on my own.”
Her giggle makes me smile. It’s contagious. “Yes dear. Let your family know you are ok. I have been blocking them so they don’t bombard your mind. That mate of yours is persistent.”
“That he is… that he is.”<
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The sound of Kiernan’s voice sounds like he is in the distance. The more I listen the louder it gets. To the point, he is screaming in my head. I quickly place my hands over my ears trying to get him to stop.
“Dariya you wake up this minute. You are not dying on me. Do you understand me?”
“Stop yelling! You’re going to blow my brain out of my head.”
I feel his relief and felt myself sag deeper into his arms. I try opening my eyes again. I squint my eyes open and I’m relieved there is no shooting pain. Turning my head, I can see the red rings under Kiernan’s eyes. He has been crying for a while.
“I know don’t ever do that to you again. This time I can say I don’t plan on killing the Elders anytime soon.”
He chuckles and sniffs at the same time. “You will be the death of me woman. You know that right?”
I nod and smile up at him. “I have to keep you on your toes somehow.”
He leans down and kisses me with anguish and love. I have put them all through hell and back. He pulls back and smooths my hair back from my face.
“We have a lot to plan. We have to set Mikel and Tobin’s souls free. Then we will worry about the rest later.”
Hearing their names breaks me. A sob wracks my body. They didn’t need to die. If I was only faster to killing the Elders, they would still be alive.
“Don’t do that. You are not to blame. They did what they needed to do to protect you. They did not die in vain. They both would do it over again if they had to.”
I couldn’t help but feel responsible for them. They were family, they needed me to do what I needed to do and I took too long. I will honor their lives the best way I can. By keeping their memory alive. Making sure people know who they were.
“Come on, someone wants her momma. She is restless and doesn’t want anyone but you right now.”
He helps me stand up and I feel weak. Weaker than I’ve ever felt. He decides to carry me and I’m thankful for that because I knew I would never have made it out of the room.
For the first time, I look around as we walk out of the room and into the stone hallway. I’ve never been here before. “Where are we?”
He looks away from me but doesn’t stop walking. “The castle where the Elders lived.”
Shock, anger, and something else comes to the surface. “I don’t want to be here.”
“Love, this is where they will do the ceremony to make you the next ruler. We just have to keep you safe for another two days. That is when he will perform the ceremony. Once that is done we can live wherever you want to.”
“I don’t like this. I can feel the evil coursing through this place. It’s making my skin crawl.”
“I know, love. We can all feel it. Oceana, Pim, Gracen, Naya, your mom, and Bexley are trying to rid of it before the ceremony.”
“Who is going to perform the ceremony?”
“The eldest dragon. Who happens to be Asher. He is the only one who can. He has agreed to it and welcomes you.”
“Um, is that a wise idea? We don’t even know him.”
He laughs. “Yes, but he is the only dragon left from the Elders. He is happy the others dead. He didn’t like what they were doing. He told Oceana that if he had the strength, he would have killed them himself.”
I look at him with a serious face. “They may be better off dead. But I will never do that again. I will not watch my family die for another enemy. The next one who tries will be put to death right then and there. I’m not a cold stone murderer, but I refuse to let my family down again.”
He stops and stares at me with his mouth open. He quickly closes it. “Love, no one said you were a murderer. I agree with you. Any who try will die on the spot. No questions asked. This is the only way to show our people we are not weak.”
Closing my eyes, I couldn’t look at this place. I can still feel there presence here, and it makes my skin crawl even more. I shiver in his arms and lean my head against his chest. His heartbeat calms me a little. I can’t wait to get out of here.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The next morning at breakfast we all sit around the table. I can feel all of their grief causing mine to plummet even more. Looking over at Kira, I grab her hand. I need to give them something, I can’t take it anymore.
I stand up from my chair. “We lost two great shifters. There will always be a hole where they were. They will always be loved and remembered. Mikel and Tobin would not want us to grieve them like this. If they were here, I know they would both tell us. Why are you all sitting around mopping for. Celebrate our lifecycle and know we are always there looking down at you. So with that said. We are going to celebrate them both. We are not going to let their memory fade. Tonight, when we wish them farewell. We are going to party like we never did before.”
There is shouting and whistling all around. I had to shout over them for them to hear me. “The Elders are dead! It may take time, but we will make this world peaceful and great again! For us and our future families! From this day forward, we will take down anyone who tries to dispute the peace!”
More yelling and shouting in agreement was heard all around. My pack lifts up their glasses and salute me. My heart is heavy with my last words. I hate the fact we just might have to kill more people, I’ve learned you can’t just lock up evil and hope for them to redeem themselves. A good chunk will not see the error of their ways and will refuse to even try to change.
Looking at Kiernan and Bruno, I nod my head to tell them I want to speak with them. I didn’t need to tell Kira, she has been glued to me since I woke up. She told me that she will never let me leave her sight again.
We walk into a hallway and I turn to them. “When the ceremony to make me, the next ruler is done. I want this place burned to the ground and buried. I want those prisoners in the dungeon released unless they really do deserve to be there. They can burn with this place for all I care. I want a fresh start and a new place built.”
Kira’s shocked eyes meet mine. “This isn’t like you. Why would you burn people alive?”
I keep her stare. “Because if they are the reason I still feel all this evil in this place, they don’t deserve to live. I really don’t care what you do to them. They will not be allowed to walk this world. I will not allow that to happen. For all we know, the Elders were collecting them to release havoc on this world. Do you want that to happen?”
She lowers her head and shakes her head no. “I didn’t think about that. You’re right they shouldn’t be released.”
Bruno hasn’t said much since we lost Mikel and Tobin. “We will make sure they don’t suffer when we take care of the rest. I know you Dariya, I know you wouldn’t want them to suffer. You have been through a lot and you’re tired. I will make sure everything is done the way you would really want it to.”
I let out a sob. Is this the way my life will always be? How could I even disregard those people like that? Kiernan’s arms are around me in a flash. “It’s ok, Love. Let’s go and take a walk.”
I don’t say or do anything. I let him lead me away. This place is getting to me. I would have never said those words. I would never kill someone like that. What the hell is wrong with me?
He walks me outside and as soon as he does, the evilness disappears. I could think straight again. I whip my head up to gaze into those amazing green eyes. “You knew. The evil was trying to take control over me. Why do we need to stay here? Why can’t we just come back when it’s time for the ceremony?”
He places his thumb on my cheek and wipes the tears away. “I have been thinking the same thing. So, I set up camp behind this place for everyone. Asher never said we had to stay inside.” His lips turn into a seductive smile making my knees weak. I stand on my tippy toes and place my lips on his. As soon as I do a vision hits me.
There are riots in the towns. People screaming out of fear. Others taking what they want.
I watch as my pack and guard walk into the towns. They show no fear only confidence. Bruno ta
kes a few steps away from the others. The people around him stop what they are doing. Even the ones who were taking whatever they wanted. I can see the fear in their eyes as they stand there.
“This will end now. We will not live like this. If this is the way you want to live, you are more than welcome to leave or be killed. This is a message from your ruler Dariya. If you continue to live with evil in your heart one of two things will happen. One you will be sent to a world where only you will know what true evil means or two you will die by my hands. Those are your only two options. Either way, you will not dispute the peace we are trying to bring this world. Is that understood?”
Few of the people who are causing all of this square their shoulders at Bruno. “You have no say over us. You want us, come and get us.”
Bruno and my pack take no time. They rush the men and woman who are bold enough to take them on. Within seconds they have them bound and laying face first on the ground, knocked out.
“Who else wants to defy your ruler?”
Not one person even looks at them. They are all looking at the ground.
“We will send people to help you clean this place up. We will not tolerate this anymore. I know you all want the same thing. Peace! Help us make it that way.”
He stands there a few seconds more before he hauls up one the men laying on the ground. He looks straight at me and nods before the vision washes away.
I know I’m smiling. When I open my eyes, I see Kiernan looking down at me. He looks tired and worn out. “I take it, it was a good vision?”
“Yes, yes it was. Finally, a good one. Let’s just hope it stays that way.”
“Let’s go get the others out of that place and say our final farewell to our brothers.”
I try not to let grief kick in. It’s not the way I would want them to be if I died. I would want to have a huge party in my honor. That’s what I plan on doing for them.
We walk back into the evil castle and I hear arguing. I rush to see what is going on. I turn the corner and all hell has broken loose. I watch in horror as my pack fights each other. This isn’t happening I refuse to let this happen.
