by Lila Jean
“What?” Killian and Draven spoke in unison, both of their heads snapping toward her in unison. “Why?”
“To meditate.” She chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. “I need to find a way to connect with Epara, to awaken the temple. I think its magic will make or break the battle with Odin’s champion, and I need to figure this out once and for all.”
Killian looked at Draven, and the two of them shared a long, serious moment where it seemed they were both debating tying her to something to keep her out of harm’s way. In the end, Killian conceded to his mate and sighed deeply. “You need to stay hidden.” He grabbed her shoulders, gently pleading with her. “You need to stay out of sight, understood?”
“I know, Killian.” She kissed his cheek. “Come with me if you’re nervous.”
“Well, duh.” Draven cracked his neck and set his hand on Tina’s back. “Like you’re ever going anywhere solo again.”
Tina rolled her eyes, no doubt thinking the dragon shifter was joking, but he wasn’t. None of them were. Killian shared a quick glance with each of the other princes, the brotherhood devoted to their mate, and the message was clear. In the moment they’d nearly lost her, they had agreed on one single thing, and that was Tina’s safety was paramount. When the final battle came, there would be a moment where they would have to decide if they would steal her away, even against her wishes. Damara would most likely live even if Tina’s body died, but they loved Tina just as much, if not far more, than the goddess within her.
Tina was powerful, beautiful, and deadly, but the risks and dangers of the god challenge were more than Killian could bear. To keep his mate alive and safe, he and the brotherhood would have a backup plan in place. When the battle came, she would not die, even if it meant they had to do something against her wishes.
38
Tina
Tina sat in the gardens, hidden by a broken tree limb, comfortably resting in the shade of her temple ruins as the dawn broke over the horizon. She sucked in a deep breath, eyes closed, knowing full well that her princes were all within whispering distance. Their enhanced senses let them patrol the bounds of the temple while still keeping an eye on her. She couldn’t blame them for their nerves, not really, since they loved her fiercely and she’d chosen four overprotective shifters and a demigod as her mates, but it was still nice to have a moment’s peace after the bloodshed in the tunnels below.
“Focus, Tina,” she whispered to herself, and she really did need to focus. In a matter of days, Odin and the other gods would come here for a fight to the death, one she was sure she could win if she and Damara made the final, crucial connection to each other so that Damara could hand over the final depths of her power to Tina. Deep down, Tina was certain activating the temple had something to do with it, and she simply had to piece it all together and make sense of the fragmented memories from Damara’s past.
She focused, tapping into the beautiful core of magical energy deep in her soul, asking Damara how to activate the temple.
Flickers of golden memory danced through her mind, all nothing more than an image or a sensation. A lotus flower. No, a golden lotus flower, a solid gold piece of art. Shimmering light. Reflections. Water. A slender hand reaching for the gold, the skin glowing white, flush with power and magic, more than any Tina had ever experienced in her life.
Her eyes snapped open, the surge of energy too much to bear, and as she stared out over the garden, she heard a single word in her ear, like a whisper from a ghost.
Cahaya.
Tina shuddered, the memory so powerful and yet simultaneously so disjointed it didn’t make sense. She wanted to stand, to walk around her ruins while she thought it through, but it would be too risky to go out in the open just yet. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to sit still, to focus on one problem at a time.
“Lie low until the god challenge,” she reminded herself. “Then you can deal with Noxxom and the kings, all of whom are watching the temple.” She groaned in annoyance. “Besides, once you awaken its magic, you won’t have to care if they know you’re here.”
Tina frowned, recalling the lotus flower and the word she had heard in her ear, wondering what it meant and where this lotus flower was. She scanned the walls of her temple, hoping against hope it hadn’t been destroyed in the battle with the kings.
Determined to get the answers she needed, Tina closed her eyes again and instead focused on a different question, namely how she could finally connect fully to Damara, to access all her memories and powers in order to protect them both.
Once again, the image of the lotus appeared, but before she could watch the whole thing again, she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Moving purely on instinct, Tina rolled out of the way and into the daylight as an axe embedded itself where she had been sitting. Her body brimming with energy and indignation at the cowardly surprise attack, she stood and glared at her surroundings, trying to figure out where it had come from, all the while grateful Damara had been paying attention even while Tina was meditating.
“Hello, sugar.” Ares lounged on the ruins of a nearby wall, a second axe in his hand as he winked at her in welcome. “Those princes of yours are pretty good, but no one can keep me out for long.”
“Attack a girl while she’s meditating?” Tina wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I thought you would be better than that, Ares.” She laughed. “Are you so afraid of losing a fight that you need to surprise me?”
“Hardly.” The god lazily twirled the axe, his eyes glowing brilliantly white as he took full control of his host. “It’s time to finish what we started, darling.” He looked Tina up and down, his gaze lingering on her legs. “Though I like the host you’ve chosen, maybe I’ll play with her later, I want to talk to you, Damara.” He embedded the axe in the rocky path, splitting the stone in two with the sheer force of his blow. “Come out and face me.”
“There’s still time on the truce, asshole.” Tina bristled, unwilling to back down. “And who says I’m facing you? Venus could be the—”
“Oh, it’s me.” Ares laughed. “I made sure of it, and I can’t wait another two days.” He winked. “I’m just too excited, dear.” He walked toward her, and as her princes had taught her, Tina circled him instead of letting him push her backward or control her movement. Every step was calculated, and she kept her peripheral vision trained on his shoulder in an attempt to predict his next movement.
“Tina!” Killian shouted, and from the horrified tint of his voice, he wanted to run out and throw himself between her and Ares.
She wanted to look over, to assure him and the others that she could handle this but looking away for even a moment could give Ares a chance to take her out. Besides, this wasn’t the formal god challenge. If her men wanted to help, then by all means, she would accept it.
“You’re breaking Odin’s rules,” Tina warned, narrowing her eyes even while she bluffed with educated guesses, since she still didn’t fully understand god law. “He’ll punish you.”
“Probably.” With his free hand, Ares grabbed the second axe from where it was embedded in the ground and yanked it out, lazily eyeing its sharp edge. “I’ll take my punishment. It won’t be severe enough to deter me from ripping you off this planet.”
“Why, though?” Tina circled him, her hand inching toward the dagger hidden in her skirts. “What did Damara do to deserve this?”
“You know,” Ares said, his voice low and dark, his intense white eyes ensnaring her as he tensed. He was all rage and intensity, and Tina figured she knew full well what he was after.
“She rejected you.” Tina smirked. “And you’re too much of a coward to handle it.”
Ares’ cocky smile fell, and he glared at her a moment before lunging without so much as a breath of warning. He moved like lightning, fast and deadly, both axes raised and aimed for her neck.
Nope. Tina drew her dagger, infusing it with as much magic as she could, and sliced for his throat. In her haste, she missed, and the blade dug deep int
o his cheek. A long gash appeared, bleeding profusely, the edges tinged with ash. He yelled in agony, stumbling, hand hovering over the wound as he seemed to debate whether or not to touch it. For a moment, he simply waited, glaring at her, but he tenderly tapped the bloody gash after a few moments.
It took a second, but Tina finally realized what he was doing. He was waiting for the wound to heal, since rapid healing was one of his many powers, and yet it wasn’t. Whatever magic she had in her blade, it could stop even gods from healing.
Venus’ voice popped in her head, loud and clear, as something finally clicked into place for Tina. On Earth, with the right weapon, a goddess can die her last death.
When Tina infused her magic into her dagger, she created a weapon that could hurt even the gods. Maybe even kill both the host and the god himself. Tina grinned, flush with newfound confidence, ready for him to attack again as the stakes raised.
Furious, he lunged, and this time Draven and Killian appeared silently from behind her and joined her side. The three of them dodged and parried, blocking every blow the god dealt. Now and again, Draven would grab her shoulder and twist, pulling her farther out of range of the axes as Ares swung them, Draven helping her move in ways Tina wouldn’t have known to move on her own. With every elegant motion, she learned a bit more about hand to hand combat, Draven teaching her in the moment, guiding her body out of harm’s way with ease.
One by one, her remaining princes joined the fight. The complicated dance became even more intricate, even more measured, but Tina and her five princes moved as one, in a fluid and effortless waltz around the god of war. A bolt of lightning struck his chest, followed seconds later by a swipe from her blade, with a plume of fire singing his hair a second later. One after another, they flowed in and out, constantly switching with each other, never letting Ares focus on any one of them for more than a fleeting moment.
However, the tide in the battle was slowly turning on them.
Ares struck several blows, each deadlier than the last. He sliced Anthony’s arm, the cut deep and crimson. He knocked his elbow into Draven’s temple, splitting the skin and sending the dragon momentarily to his knees. He viciously kicked Flynn in the stomach, shooting the demigod backward into Killian, and more than once nearly sliced Tina’s head clean off.
She had scratches and scrapes all along her shoulders and jaw, the number of near misses rising by the minute, and she desperately searched for an opening to go for the kill, but it never came. Ares was too good, too fast, too skilled. It was almost like he was playing with his food, enjoying every drop of blood he spilled, relishing in every wince and painful groan caused by his blades.
Now and again, the magic in Tina’s dagger would fade, coming and going with irregularity as she fought to focus not only on it, but also on the fight. She dug the blade deep into Ares’ shoulder, again missing his heart as he moved like lightning, but this time it was nothing more than a normal blade. As she withdrew it, he healed instantly and knocked the blade from her grip. The move was so strong, so sudden, that the blade flew clear across the garden and landed in the water in front of her temple with a loud splash.
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath as she dodged another blow. “He’s so freaking fast.”
Draven growled, smoke billowing through his nose, and he summoned his mystical fire into his hands. It crackled, and he landed a punch squarely on Ares’ mouth, the fires singeing a section of Ares’ hair. With a sickening twist in her stomach, Tina realized that Draven’s fire couldn’t burn him.
“Shit,” she muttered.
“Fire, hmm?” Ares rolled away, chuckling to himself as he licked away a bit of blood from the side of his mouth. “I knew you would make it interesting, Damara.” He dropped his axes, instead withdrawing two whips from the back of his belt. “I figured you would be dead by now, but I’m impressed, little human.” He cracked his neck. “Let’s make it even more exciting though, shall we?”
“Oh shit,” Tina muttered. “Are those the—”
Without another word, Ares cracked the whips against the Earth, and fire erupted across the black leather. It coursed up to the hilt, the flames licking his hands, though he didn’t seem the least bit fazed. He sneered, his eyes locked on Tina. “I’m going to kill you today, and I’m going to rip the hearts out of each of your little men, too.” He chuckled, the sound dark and deadly. “After you broke my heart, it seems like a fitting end to your new lovers, don’t you think?”
“You. Will. Not. Touch. Them.” Tina gritted her teeth, fury and hatred burning in her hotter than anything she had ever experienced. Her veins glowed. Her body glowed, and once more, her body hummed with stunning sensation as she reached into some of the deepest wells of Damara’s magic, though she could tell there was still so much more, and it was all so close.
Fueled with the same deadly magic that had taken lives in the tunnels below only hours prior, Tina lifted her hand toward the god standing before her. With the gesture, the overwhelming thunder of his heartbeat sped up, and a look of excitement crossed his face as the sound of his heart hit her ears like an erratic drum beat, wild and unnatural.
Once again, her body hummed with lust. It radiated from her like perfume, infecting everyone nearby, but she let it linger. While it might distract her men, she was more confident it would distract Ares, throw him off his game, and she could take him out with one well-placed blow.
A flash of golden memory snaked through her mind, another fragment from the goddess in her body, and this one was of Ares with his hands in her skirts, spreading her legs as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her deeply, nothing at all between her entrance and the bulge in his pants.
“Not now,” she snapped at her goddess. “That one doesn’t help, honey.” She returned her attention to the god before her. True to form, Ares stared at her, frozen in place with the whips ablaze on either side of him, his expression so intense that she could only assume he wanted to rip her clothes off right then and there.
She smirked with victory, but as he stared at her, his grip on the whips tightened. “You know I love it when you do that neat little trick, darling,” he said, sneering. “But you can’t distract a god by toying with human emotions.”
The whip sailed toward her faster than she could move, and she only just rolled out of the way, falling into the water as she dodged the blow. Sopping wet, she sputtered as the whip cracked into the ground where she had been standing, shattering the earth, sending dust and debris into the air as Draven and Killian rolled aside.
“Just die!” Ares shouted, aiming the whips at her. She ducked below the surface just in the nick of time, the flames engulfing the lily pads that covered the surface of the small pond in front of her temple.
A large rock splashed into the lake, and Tina twisted out of the way, holding her breath as she desperately tried to think up a new plan. She swirled in the water, mind racing, wondering how she could get a blade into Ares’ heart before he killed everyone she loved.
In the low light of the water, a shimmering glint caught her eye. She stared into the murky depths of the pond wondering if it was her dagger, desperate for a weapon, when the glint came again. It was gold, and something lay beneath a pile of murky vines and roots at the bottom of the pond. She swam toward it, yanking at the vines as her breath quickly ran out, and deep down wondered how her blade had landed all the way over here.
When she cleared away a larger section of the vines, however, she saw something far more valuable beneath the dirt and grime.
A golden lotus flower. The key to awakening her temple laid at the bottom of the lake for protection this whole time.
A few bubbles escaped her mouth in surprise as the flames raged above her, and she rammed her palm against the metal as spots danced along her vision from holding her breath so long.
Nothing happened.
She recalled the memory, trying to see if she had forgotten anything, wondering if she was wrong, if this really wasn’t the
lotus flower she needed, when she remembered the ghostly voice at the end of her memory.
“Cahaya,” she said, using the last of her breath in a last-ditch effort to infuse her power with the artifact and awaken the temple’s magic.
It worked.
The golden lotus flower turned solid white, humming with energy, shooting vibrations and ripples through the water as it came to life. Tina’s body stilled as the power shot into her, connecting her to the temple, and it was as if a massive dam had broken. Energy flooded her, filling every nook, every cranny in her soul, burning within her until her entire body glowed as white and hot as the sun.
And yet … and yet there was still more, deep below, in the last recesses of her soul, in the deepest parts of her that were still just beyond her reach. There lay Damara, there in the depths of Tina’s soul was the final connection to her goddess she had been craving, aching for, which she needed to save them both.
A boulder splashed into the water, crashing down toward her, and she lifted a hand instinctively, palm flat, pointed toward it, channeling her wrath and power into the rock. White light shone through cracks in its surface as it hovered in the water, suspended by her magic, and shattered into a million tiny pieces.
You wanted a war, Ares, she thought. You’ll have it.
Tina shot toward the shallows and stood, breaking through the fire, untouchable in her glory. With a wave of air, the fire burning along the water extinguished. Everything around her hummed with life and energy, emitting white light, glowing with all her power as she connected fully to her temple.
Ares stood opposite her, but instead of the cocky sneer she’d gotten accustomed to, he looked so deliciously afraid.
Around them, her temple glowed with her white light, and the broken boulders lifted into the air, fusing with the walls they had once belonged to. Bit by bit, her temple rebuilt itself, fusing broken glass and shattered walls until everything was perfect as ever.
