by Franca Storm
“I know,” Nathanial said. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure they would be enough.
CHAPTER 26
Cora strode towards the throne room of the White Realm. Without breaking her stride, she thrust her palms at the heavy doors and they ripped from their hinges and flew back several feet into the room. Her palms still raised, she stormed inside.
Her father was sitting on his throne calmly as though nothing at all had happened.
“I felt your magic from a great distance. Nathanial foolishly removed that block I had implanted then.”
“How dare you violate me like that?”
He rose to his feet and descended the throne steps. “It was for your own good, to protect you. And to prevent something like this from occurring.”
“Where. Is. My. Son?”
“Orion is merely a means to an end, Cora. His birth was the purpose behind the union between you and Ryan.”
“Because of you and your manipulations, I no longer know what’s real! You’ve twisted everything! You’ve ruined my life and caused me nothing but pain! Your actions have affected everyone!”
“You’d do well to treat your father with respect!”
Cora scoffed. “You stopped being my father a long time ago.”
He stepped into her personal space and glowered down at her. “I warned you not to go after Oriana. But you went against my orders. Now your son will pay for your disobedience.”
Incensed, Cora thrust her palms at him. He flew back several feet and skidded to a stop at the foot of the throne steps.
“Where is my son?”
“Right here, princess.”
Cora spun around to see Oriana holding Orion in her arms.
He wasn’t moving.
“What have you done to him?”
“It’s merely a sleeping spell.”
Cora stepped forward. Oriana stepped back.
“What do you want with him?”
“I want you gone so I can enact my agenda without your interference. You are the only thing standing in my way.”
“In the way of what?”
“Destroying the Dark Realm and Nathanial.”
“No,” Cora said. “Not happening.”
Oriana’s eyes narrowed with contempt at her. “You won’t have a choice when you’re dead.”
“You can’t kill me. You don’t have the power.”
“Your magic is already unstable right now. All you need is a little push and you’ll lose control completely, engulfing yourself with your own magic. And Orion is just the push you need now thanks to the success of my plan for Ryan, which has already unhinged you.”
What plan for Ryan? What the hell is she talking about? I don’t really give a fuck. Fuck him. All I want is my son back.
“What the hell are you talking about? What push?”
Oriana snickered. “Do I really need to spell it out? I’m going to kill your little wolf pup and you’re going to watch.”
#
As Nathanial, Marella, and Michael passed through the White Realm gates, Luca and Ryan hurried down the steps of the palace and approached them.
“Cora has spelled the palace to keep everyone out. I can’t breach it alone,” Luca informed them.
“Brute force didn’t help either,” Ryan added.
“How did this happen? How did she lose control like this?” Nathanial demanded.
Luca and Ryan exchanged a heated look. Nathanial understood immediately. “She knows about Jada. And Luca took her to his bed.” I can smell her all over him.
Luca and Ryan both nodded in unison.
Nathanial’s gaze bore into Luca’s as he communicated with him telepathically:
“You slept with your brother’s wife?”
“She came to me. I swear it. She wants to break the bond between her and Ryan. I tried to discourage her, but…I love her. I couldn’t turn down what was likely my only chance to be with her.”
“All right.”
“What? You’re not mad?”
“I don’t condone what you did, but I understand it.”
“The thing that pushed her over the edge is that bitch taking our son,” Ryan growled.
“We cannot let Cora lose control. If we can breach the barrier and get to her, we can tell her that Orion is impossible to kill. That should calm her down,” Marella said.
“She may have already slipped too far,” Michael pointed out. “If she’s touched the darkness within her even just slightly already, she may not be able to break its hold on her. It is intoxicating once you give in to it.”
“You managed it. You’re not the evil fucker that you were,” Ryan said.
“Only because Nathanial stripped me of my powers while I was imprisoned in the Dark Realm. It forced me to go cold turkey and start to kick the addiction. I haven’t tapped into that darkness since.”
“I can help her,” Luca announced.
“Fucking it out of her won’t work,” Ryan snapped.
Luca snarled. “You talk about your own wife like that?”
“After she spread her legs for you, yeah.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
Ryan scoffed. “Oh, come on. It was a revenge-fuck. She just wanted to hurt me for what I did with Jada. She still loves me. Don’t kid yourself that it was anything more than that to her. She’s hated you for so long, you really think she’s over that?”
“Yes, I do. She felt something when we made love. It wasn’t fucking as you so crassly put it.”
Ryan raised his fist.
But Nathanial stepped in between them before either one of them could make a move. “Stop.”
“Yeah, save the schoolboy jealousy for after we’ve stabilized the most dangerous sorceress in all the realms,” Michael said.
Marella stepped forward and took Ryan’s hands in hers. “Ryan, mistakes have been made on both sides with you and Cora. A lot of which is the result of external influences. You must hold onto your love for her. Do not let your anger rule your head and cause you to dismiss the deep bond of love that you and Cora share.”
Ryan blew out a heavy breath and nodded.
Marella stepped back and returned to Nathanial’s side. He winked at her. Great job, my Queen.
Nathanial watched Luca’s eyes narrow at Marella’s words of comfort to Ryan about his relationship with Cora. He needed to refocus him—all of them—immediately. They didn’t have time for sentiment or personal grudges.
“Good, now that we are all emotionally stable, we must make haste and tear down the barrier,” he said, taking Marella’s hand and leading the way to the palace doors.
CHAPTER 27
“You’re gonna let her attempt to harm my child—your grandchild?” Cora asked as Vazra climbed to his feet and moved to stand beside Oriana.
“I didn’t want it to come to this but you ignored my warnings. You wouldn’t stand down. Instead, you betrayed me and the realm in favor of an alliance with Nathanial.”
“Because he doesn’t mean any harm to any of us! Both of you do. You want to destroy his Kingdom, which will kill every single dark creature in the process. It’s genocide!”
Oriana scoffed. “You are so naïve. Too new to all of this. Those lives are a small price to pay to stop the unification of the realms. If that happens, Nathanial will have too much power at his disposal. He will be unstoppable.”
“I don’t see the problem. He’s a wise, noble King.”
“He is a threat!” Vazra bellowed.
“You’re worried about your own power diminishing,” Cora accused, stepping closer to them. She glared at Oriana. “And you? All you care about is revenge for him killing your mate. You’re so far gone that you’re willing to kill your son’s mate and to harm his only child. You disgust me!”
Oriana smiled maliciously and then she pressed her palm to Orion’s chest. “I will rip his heart from his chest!”
“No!” Cora screamed, bolting forward.
In her haste, she didn’t see
Vazra raise his palm. He fired a bolt of silver fire at her. It smacked into her chest and sent her crashing into the wall over on the other side of the room. She grunted as she hit the floor, only just managing to soften the impact a little with her hands.
Her chest stung where his magic had made contact. It hurt like a son of a bitch but she didn’t care about herself. Her only thought was of Orion.
She rolled to her side and hastily climbed to her feet. She raised her palm but stopped as she realized that Oriana’s magic hadn’t had any effect on Orion. She hadn’t managed to do anything to him. He was still sleeping soundly.
“What is this?” Oriana asked Vazra.
“I don’t know. It’s impossible.”
“The child is invulnerable?”
“Yes,” Nathanial’s voice boomed through the room.
Cora watched as Nathanial, Marella, Michael, Luca, and Ryan hurried into the room.
“Release him!” Nathanial commanded Oriana.
“Make me,” Oriana said with a smirk. “Come on, Nathanial. Take me down like you’ve been dreaming about for the last two centuries.”
Nathanial raised his palm.
Oriana thrust her magic at Marella.
But, as the Vampire King, Nathanial’s reflexes were faster than any being—dark or light. He blocked her assault with his body and took the hit himself. As it hit, he felt an agonizing burn rip through his very being.
“Sunlight?” he choked out as he fell to his knees.
Oriana laughed. “You fool.”
Marella dropped to her knees beside him and pressed her palms to his chest, frantically trying to heal him. Luca joined her and took her hand in his to give her a power boost.
Ryan roared and lunged at Oriana. Vazra thrust out his palm and fired a silver bolt of magic at him, propelling him across the room. As he fired again and again, causing Ryan to cry out in agony, Michael let his power fly. Shimmering, red lightning bolts rained down on Vazra, stopping his assault on Ryan.
Cora ran at Oriana. She couldn’t strike her because she was holding her son.
“I will find a way. No being is truly invulnerable. There’s always a loophole,” Oriana muttered as she studied Orion.
Cora’s heart jumped to her throat as she watched Oriana start to teleport with Orion in her arms. She increased her speed, running as fast as she could towards them.
“No!” she screamed. “No! Stop!”
But it was too late.
By the time she reached her, they’d already teleported.
Cora caught Ryan’s eye and saw the same broken expression on his face that was currently ripping through every part of her.
He struggled over to her and knelt with her.
“We’ll get him back. I promise. Whatever I have to do, Cora.”
She jerked away from him. “I don’t need your help. I don’t need anything from you anymore.”
She rose to her feet and stalked over to the battle raging between Michael and Vazra. Vazra was winning. His magic was much stronger than Michael’s. He was King. Michael was not. Vazra had him on his knees in a defensive position, struggling to hold a magical shield against his ruthless attack.
Cora clenched her fist, crushing Vazra’s ball of magic. Michael nodded his thanks but she ignored it. She focused her unforgiving glare on her father. She saw the shock all over his face at the ease with which she’d crushed his magic.
“Call her back here with my son.”
“No. You are on the wrong side here, Cora.”
“Last chance,” she said, shuffling her feet until they were shoulder-width apart.
“Cora, no!” Nathanial called to her weakly. He knew exactly what she was going to do. He was the one who had taught her how to battle with magic.
She ignored him and demanded, “Bring my son back.”
Her outward calm wasn’t really calm at all. It was a result of her being beyond enraged now. Things were clear now. Simple. Black.
And so, when her father shook his head at her and smiled victoriously at believing he’d got his way, she let the darkness within take her completely.
She thrust both her palms at him, putting all of her magical weight behind it. Everything that she had.
Her magic exploded forth and Vazra screamed as it tore through his body.
The tremendous force of her power shook the entire room—the entire palace. Tiles were pulled from the walls. Chandelier after chandelier fell from the ceiling, smashing to bits as they hit the marble floor. The stained glass windows shattered to pieces.
Cora heard cries in the distance. She ignored them, pushing them away as she concentrated all of her efforts on the task at hand: destroying her father. She watched as he tried to raise his palms to defend himself but her magic was too strong. Too powerful. She was too powerful. No one could hurt her now.
“You dare to threaten me? You thought you could bring me to my knees? You? You are nothing! I hold all the power now!”
“Please, Cora. Stop!” he gasped.
Her gaze hardened and she moved closer. “Goodbye, father,” she spat.
She fisted both her hands and clenched them tightly.
Vazra screamed as silver flames engulfed him, ripping him to shreds, burning through his very essence. His entire body shuddered violently.
And then he was gone in a bright flash of white light.
Dead.
Cora hissed as she felt a burn in the pit of her stomach. It spread quickly and then she felt it everywhere. She looked down at herself and saw that she was literally on fire. White fire engulfed her.
It was her own power.
She knew exactly what it meant.
Death. Her death.
“Cora! Focus on your anchor!” Nathanial called to her.
“Gone. Everything’s gone,” she rasped, struggling against the waves of agony travelling through every part of her.
Her son was gone. Her bond with Ryan was shattered. And she didn’t know what was real anymore. There was too much manipulation. Everywhere she turned, there was only pain. She’d tried to hold on for everyone’s sake because they’d needed her to take down Oriana.
But now?
Now she couldn’t bear it any longer.
There was nothing left.
Just ashes.
And so, she lowered herself to her knees and threw her head back. She closed her eyes and stopped struggling against the white fire.
She welcomed it and let it take her.
* * * * *
“No!” Ryan screamed, skidding to his knees beside her.
The rest of them weren’t far behind him. He eyed Nathanial. Marella and Luca had cast out Oriana’s sunlight-infused magic from him and he’d healed quickly. He was at full strength again. “Heal her. You’re the strongest.”
Nathanial, Luca, and Michael exchanged a somber look.
“What?” Ryan demanded. “Nathanial, heal her. Please.”
Nathanial shook his head sadly. “She’s dead, Ryan.”
Ryan shook his head vehemently. He gathered Cora in his arms and rocked her against him. “No. No, she can’t die. She can’t. She can’t die.”
“Her heart’s not beating,” Michael said quietly.
Ryan laid her down and started CPR. “I can restart it. It’s okay. She’s strong. It’ll be okay. She’ll be okay.”
He caught sight of Marella looking at Nathanial with tears in her eyes. She laid her hand gently on his shoulder and told him, “Her magical essence has gone. There’s nothing there. I’m so sorry, Ryan.”
Ryan broke down, unable to hold back his pained sobs as he brushed her hair out of her face and gazed into her now empty blue eyes. “It’s all my fault. What I said to her. Cora, I’m sorry. I love you. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me. I need you.”
“I can turn her,” Luca spoke finally. Up until now he hadn’t said a word. Ryan figured he was in shock.
“What?” Ryan asked, lifting his head to see him now kneeling at Co
ra’s other side.
“I can turn her,” Luca repeated.
“No,” Marella said. “She will be a creature of the dark if you do that.”
“She’ll stay dead if I don’t.”
“Luca, to turn someone, they must still be alive,” Michael reminded him.
“A sorceress with her power always leaves behind some magical essence—some shred of life—for a brief period. It should be enough for the turning to work.”
“You want to vamp her?” Ryan asked, incredulous.
“Let her go, Luca,” Nathanial said. “It is what she wanted. You saw for yourself. She let the fire take her.”
“She wasn’t herself. She was devastated by losing her son.” He glared at Ryan accusingly as he added, “And other things.”
Ryan brought his hands to his face. Luca was right. He’d driven her to it. He’d hurt her. She’d been in too much pain and she’d lost control because he’d thrown the Jada thing in her face. Losing their son had pushed her over the edge.
“She won’t be the same if she becomes a vampire,” Ryan said worriedly.
“She also won’t be dead,” Luca shot back. “If I’m going to do this it has to be now. Her essence will dissipate quickly and then it will be impossible to turn her.”
“She’ll be sired to you if you turn her.”
“It’s either me or Michael. My father won’t do it. He’s against it.”
Nathanial let out a growl of displeasure and turned away. Despite his objections, Ryan could see that he understood it wasn’t his call to make. It was Ryan’s.
He hesitated.
“What will it be, Ryan?” Luca pressed.
Begin book five, Fated Blood.
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