by Donn, KL
Even acknowledging that Asher and Ares share this same hatred for such a man, I must be the one to deliver the killing blow. He must die by my hand. Because when I get close enough to him, I’m going to afford him the pleasure of suffering the exact same fate as all the girls in his possession did before they were sold or killed.
“How many were there?” I ask, staring at my bloody hands. Feeling again, the warm liquid as it flowed through my palms.
“Thousands,” the guard Carson, I believe, responds, and my gaze slowly rises to meet his.
Reaching out a hand, I ask him, “What was her name?” I’d always gotten the feeling that he was different than the others. He didn’t do everything in his power to hurt us when we were sent for. In fact, he often tried to shield us from the pain. He brought medicine and towels.
“Demi Shay. She was thirteen when they took her. I just want to know what happened to her body.” His emotions penetrate my core as he places a hand in mine.
Immediately, a flash of happiness flows through my system. “Her birthday. You bought her a bike with the tassels, so she felt like a princess.” When he tries to pull away, I hold tighter to him as I feel Asher’s arm wrap around my waist, holding me close.
“I can feel her,” I whisper as I’m transported to where her essence is being held captive.
Whips lashing across my skin.
Rocks digging into my feet as she tries to run.
Hair being ripped from my scalp as she’s caught and dragged back to the compound.
But not the one I was held in. Not where Ares infiltrated.
This is different. This is something so much worse. The feelings are raw, fresh. I’m experiencing her anguish as though it were happening now.
As if she were alive.
My grip on Carson’s hand tightens, and I draw on all of his strength to power my connection to the girl.
“Demi,” I murmur her name.
A stone wall appears before me, and her eyes dart around the room. “Who’s there?” Her voice is hoarse, weak. She’s barely able to move.
“Demi, please, stay with me.” I can feel her energy draining as she tries to figure out how I’m in her head. “I’m with Carson. He’s looking for you.”
“Carson?” She sobs, and my heart breaks.
“We’re coming, Demi. Tell me where you are,” I command as her eyes drift shut. “Show me what you’ve seen,” I plead.
Her sapped state doesn’t bode well for finding her alive, but she shows me signs. London. Paris. Berlin. Belarus.
Her exhaustion slumps me forward, and my hold on Carson slips before I can gain a clear picture. “Belarus? Are you there?”
“In the heart where the bells chime,” she whispers before our connection is severed.
“Arianna!” Ares snaps and swerves the vehicle to the side of the road, slamming on the brakes and spinning around to face me as I’m leaning into Asher’s chest.
“Belarus, in the heart where the bells chime,” I repeat.
“What does that mean?” Carson implores. I stare him in the eyes as I let go of his hand. “Is she alive?”
“Where the bells chime,” I say again. It’s important. It has to be. “She is weak, and I cannot give her as much of my strength as I’d like.”
“Fuck sakes, Arianna.” I seem to anger Ares a great deal. Reaching back, he grips my face in both of his hands and pulls me forward, placing a rough kiss on my lips. I close my eyes and savor the connection we share until he pulls away and lays his head against mine. “Stop trying to be the fucking hero. Let us. Lean on us, baby.”
“You have to save her, Ares. She isn’t going to last much longer. Please save her.” My tears flow freely because there is so much pain and suffering due to this deplorable man, and now, someone who is on the brink of death likely won’t last the week. And this man, this Judas, thinks he’s going to get away with everything.
“Apollo, call Wilde. See if he and his team can get there tonight.” Relief floods me as I hear them making plans to save the young woman.
“How?” Carson asks. His emotions are locked up tight inside.
“You allowed me to see inside. I followed your connection to her.” My explanation isn’t good enough for him, and I know he has more questions, but I’m too tired to answer further, so I close my eyes to rest before we get to the airport.
The bumpy roads lull me into a semi-conscious state, allowing the dark mage to invade my mind once again.
“I could lead them to her. Stop Judas from escaping too. All you have to do is come to me. Show me you’re mine, and I’ll save the world from this hell.” Her voice is sultry, mystical even.
“And what will you do with me?”
“Your power will help me leave Graeline. I could be free in the universe and never bother your family again.”
“You only want my powers?” I’d gladly give them up if it means lives are saved.
“Yes.”
“It’s yours.”
A blast trembles the ground we travel on, and as I open my eyes, a fireball explodes in the sky. “That was his plane. He is trapped until you get there. Take his life, princess, show him he cannot rule the world with his bullying.”
Invigorated as Ares speeds up until we’re racing onto the airstrip, I see Judas and a handful of his men surrounding him as we come to a stop. Their weapons are drawn as they notice us, and before the men around me can act, I’ve exited the car and locked them inside as I cautiously make my way towards Judas.
Bullets fly at me, I raise my hands, flicking them away as easily as a pesky fly. They bounce off my body like rubber and fall to the ground.
Weaving my hands through the air, I relieve the men of their weapons and quickly drop them to the ground as Judas stands in the middle, unable to move and afraid.
“Who are you?” he hisses.
“Judas Willows, I am Princess Arianna of Graeline, born of the dark mage’s magic. I am here to return to you what you sought to take from me. From my people. From thousands of women and children.”
“Arianna!” Ares and Asher’s voices penetrate the fog in my mind as I place a hand on Judas’ shoulder, searing him with the agony that sliced through every girl in his care.
Each lash.
Every hit.
All the times the girls were assaulted.
I force him to relive every humiliating moment until his body, his heart, can no longer stand the suffering he so enjoyed.
Shutting my eyes, I tilt my head back and say a prayer to the mother of magic as his life bleeds from his body through his eyes, mouth, nose, ears until he’s on his knees in a pool of his own secretions, and satisfaction rolls through me as his lifeless eyes stare up to the sky.
The deed is done. He’s paid the price. And now we’re free.
“Arianna!’
“Princess!”
“Don’t you fucking go anywhere!”
I can hear Asher and Ares yelling at me, but I can’t seem to move to acknowledge them. “What’s happening?” I cry.
My body is floating, and I can feel the magic being drained from my soul, but so is the life. My heartbeat begins to slow, and my mind feels sluggish.
“You promised me your power. Free and clear. The Catalina Valley is the only place you’ll find your life again, princess. Thank you for making this so easy.” Her laughter floats away as I listlessly fall to the ground, staring up at the sky, the same as the man whose life I just stole.
“Ari!” Ares face appears as he drops to the ground in front of me. “No, baby, don’t you dare do it. Open those fucking eyes!”
Asher’s warm touch soothes me as I try to speak. “C–cat–alina Val…” My words trail off as my mind closes down, and soon, I’m left in the dark.
“Arianna!” Their screams are all I hear as I’m taken away.
Ares
What the fuck just happened?
One minute, our princess locked us in the fucking car, the next, Judas’ men were shooti
ng at her, yet she avoided the bullets like she wore an invisible shield.
I watched in fascinated horror and admiration as she took the dead man’s life, and when her body began to glow, I could feel her power fading, her life draining as she slowly fell to the ground.
“Come on, Ari,” I mutter as Asher checks her pulse and pupils for brain activity.
“It’s barely there,” he says, and I swear I can feel my own heart ready to burst.
Frantic, I pick her up in my arms and rush back to the SUV, uncaring of the fallen men around us. They got what they deserved.
“We need to get her to a hospital!” Asher yells behind me, but if what’s happening to her has anything to do with the goddamn magic that we’ve been trying to protect her from, modern medicine will do her no good.
“No,” I snap as I lay her on the back seat and turn back around to my friend. “She needs to get home. Callista needs to be the one to look at her. If she says it has nothing to do with this dark mage, then we’ll take her. Until then, she goes home.”
“Shit. Fine. I’ll drive.” We both jump into the vehicle, and Asher pulls away like a bat out of hell, heading for the ferry back to Graeline.
“My sister…” Carson trails off, still unable to believe she might be alive. After all of these years, I can’t say I blame him. He was looking for a body. Now, he might be looking for a living girl.
How alive she is, remains the real question. Because honestly, how can anyone survive this life for as long as she has and not be unequivocally fucked up.
“Keep your fingers on her pulse. If that changes, we’re going to the hospital,” Asher commands from the front, his eyes darting from the woman in my arms back to the road every other second.
Laying my head back against the seat, I close my eyes and think of all the times in my life I’ve cared for someone.
My parents.
Asher.
My team.
Everett.
Nearly everyone has left me for someone or something else. I’ve always had to fight to get what I want, so when the attraction with Arianna blossomed so damn fast, I didn’t believe in it and kept pushing her away. Now, I might not have a chance to tell her that she cracked my jagged fucking heart and imbedded herself into my soul.
I count every pulsing beat of her heart as the wheels turn, and the distance grows smaller. Memories of all the times I was left behind flash through my mind, and I have to wonder if this isn’t another one of those.
The world views me as a callous bastard with no soul. Arianna and Asher see right through me, though. They don’t give two shits about my fears of the future or my jaded past. If Arianna dies, not only will I lose her, but Asher will have no reason to stick around either.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, he’s not just my best friend, or like my brother, he’s a piece of me I wouldn’t have without her.
“Breathe, Ares. Stay strong and show her the way back. She’ll come to you both. Her heart and soul yearn for you.” Callista’s soft voice penetrates my turbulent thoughts, and for once, I don’t find it creepy. It’s relieving that someone is still filled with hope.
“I thought Arianna was our connection. How can you talk to me?” Christ, this magical shit is too confusing for me.
“She isn’t lost to us. She’s here, but she’s not. We’ll get her back.” I can feel the witch fade away as a comfort rolls through my chest.
“She keeps doing that when I’m driving, and I’m bound to kill us all,” Asher growls from the front, and my eyes pop open to meet his stare. At his nod, I know he heard her too. He felt her soothing presence. I breathe a little easier as I continue to count Arianna’s pulse.
14
Callista
My whole life has been dedicated to protecting the royal family of Graeline. For centuries, my lineage has served as their guardians. I don’t understand how the mages came into existence, only our mission.
Born two years before the princess, I was always meant to be her defender, and for nearly two decades, I have been. I’ve shielded her from kidnappings, assaults. Herself. Never did I imagine I would have to protect her from the darkest of our magic. The evil that resides in the dark mage is far more potent than anything I’ll be able to handle on my own. I would need an entire mage army.
But Arianna, she holds the power. She could have defeated the woman handily if only she hadn’t been taken away from us too soon. If only the king hadn’t been so secretive of his young daughter. She could have been trained for years on her powers and how they work.
Instead, they surfaced out of rage and hatred. The deadliest combination.
If Ares and Apollo hadn’t crashed into her world when they did, maybe these events wouldn’t have been set into motion. Maybe she would still be here, stifled in this castle that she both loves and hates.
Or maybe she would already be dead.
What happens next, however, is completely up to me. Because now is the time where I become not only her ally and protector but her savior. This is what I was born to do, and my sacrifice will bring her the ultimate victory.
After all, only so much power can be held within any form.
Lighting the circle of candles around the room, I sit in the middle, crossing my legs and dipping my fingers into the rose-infused water.
Closing my eyes, my head drops on my shoulder, and I call to the natural beings of the world. “Earth, air, water, and fire, I call on you for the power to save my charge. I request your guidance to show her the light and bring the evilness to me so I can immerse the darkness into your dominion.”
Smoke flows through the room, bringing with it the most elemental authority as it weaves through my hair, piercing my heart, sucking the breath from my lungs while the intensity rolls through my veins.
They have given their permission.
And with it will come my sacrifice.
The princess of Graeline will live once more when her men show the powers that be, they deserve her. And the dark mage will be no more.
And so will I.
15
Asher
The worry in Ares’ eyes during the drive and then the ferry ride was the only thing that kept me calm. He’s always been the darkness in our duo, and observing his vulnerability proved that, for once, I need to take this leading role.
“What happened?” Queen Leah rushes so quickly down the front steps that she nearly trips before her husband catches her descent.
“Your daughter’s a hero,” I tell them with pride.
No matter how much I fucking hate what she did, I couldn’t be fucking prouder of her.
“Oh, baby girl.” her lilting cry echoes through the courtyard of the castle.
“Her room is ready,” Hawk barks, and for a split second, I can see his own concern for the young woman show through as she lays limp in Ares’ arms.
“The curse,” the king mutters quietly behind us. “They took her, and it came true.”
“She’s a hero, and it came true,” I explain. “She killed the man behind this all. Who captured so many girls and tortured them for years. Arianna ended a criminal enterprise the world didn’t even know existed, and because she did so, the curse consumed her.”
The queen’s frightened gasp as she cups her mouth is the only sound around us.
“What do we do now?” Stefan asks as he continues to stare at his only child.
“Now”—Callista descends the stairs leading up to Arianna’s tower—“I bring the dark mage to an end.” Her hand passes over Arianna’s body, and she glows. A light blue aura surrounds her body, and her eyes are black as she meets my stare.
“What are you doing, Callista?” I step forward, but she holds up a hand, halting my movement. I’m getting real fucking sick of these otherworldly women stopping me today.
“I will go to the dark mage and put an end to her tyranny, then I will bring Arianna’s soul back from the plains.”
“The Valley?” Leah croaks, terror st
riking her words.
“It’s the only way.” Callista nods her head and leans down to kiss Arianna’s forehead.
“Wait a fucking minute! That’s our job. You should be here in case she needs something that we don’t know how to give her,” Ares argues, and I agree.
“The Catalina Valley is no place for mortal men. A single prick from the rose wall could kill you.”
“No. You stay here. We’ll go. Carson, don’t let her leave,” I order, and the man nods his head, even though his eyes haven’t left the mage since she made her appearance.
“This is not smart,” Callista warns.
“Who the hell cares about smart. Ares, go put Ari in bed, then meet us in the king’s office. We need a plan.”
Already forming in my mind, I know traditional weapons won’t do us much good, but since Callista can enter our minds freely, she can still provide us with what we may need to engage with this dark mage and how to free Arianna from her internal hell.
“Do you know what you’re doing, Mr. McCall?” Hawk asks from behind me.
“I do.”
“This is a magical being. How can that be true?”
“I’ve been fighting one war or another my entire adult life. Someone is always out for more money, more power, more control. Sure, the magic puts a radical spin on it, but the dark mage’s endgame is the same.”
“And what’s that?”
“She wants to be the most powerful being.”
He watches me with a cold stare, likely calculating how long it will take me to die by this creature’s hatred for the world. But I’m more than fucking ready to take on the Titans if it means I can save Arianna from whatever damnation she’s been cast into.
I know Ares will feel the same way too.
“The mage’ll see you coming before you ever leave this castle. How exactly do you plan to infiltrate the Catalina Valley and survive?” Hawk’s apprehension is getting on my nerves.
Hearing footsteps, I wait for Ares and the royal couple to enter. “How is she?” I look to my friend. In the five minutes he’s been gone, it appears he’s aged about ten years.
