I didn’t ask permission because I knew they’d stop me, especially Angel. None of them had been born of the mists like me, so there was no way they could cross the threshold. I had to do this alone, without my mist, because down here, Midnight was the enemy.
Sidling away from the group, I found they were thankfully occupied with the intensely bright sunburst stone, trying to calculate if touching it would kill them all.
Calling my flames, I felt the singing in my blood as more heat filled the air. My wolf leant me her strength as well as I literally stepped through a barrier of boiling lava. It burned at first, and I screamed at the unexpected jolt of agonizing pain. In the same instant, my flames surged to the surface, cutting that pain off so I could finish crossing unscathed.
My flames counteracted the burn of this lava. Protecting me. Healing the few burns I had received.
On the other side, my creatures howled and brayed at me, the noise near deafening. Angel and the guys were calling to me as well, and while I couldn’t hear them through the lava barrier, I recognized their body language, and could lip read well enough to know they were not happy about my rash decision to go lava diving.
Eh, we could deal with that later.
Drawing on my bond to the creatures, I filtered through their energies, my heart hurting at how scared they were. These were intelligent, feeling beings, and they had been standing in line waiting to be slaughtered. Even worse, watching as their brethren were killed in front of them.
Death was not good enough for Ixana. She needed to suffer for an eternity.
Ten fucking eternities.
I was surprised to find a lot of the creatures here weren’t bonded to me, so as Angel had surmised, Ixana had been gathering them on her own as well. The ones she could get to anyway.
Before I could figure out how to bond the rest to me, I was jolted by another creature death, and since Ixana was still occupied with Shadow, I had no idea how the creatures were still dying.
It wasn’t until I pushed through the abervoqs to get to the edge that I saw about five of her furred people throwing my creatures off the cliff.
“NO!” I screamed, my energy rippling from me as I sent Ixana’s minions freefalling straight off the side and into the lava below. Now it was Ixana’s turn to scream and rage, and I heard her from in the depths of the lavafalls. Shadow’s rumble followed, and at least I knew he was alive.
Now to save everyone else.
Knowing that all of this was tied to the stone, I decided that was the key. I needed to break the connection it had to Ixana and the mists, removing her true advantage.
But how to do that and survive?
Len would probably know if grabbing the stone would destroy me, but since he wasn’t here, and I couldn’t hear them through the lava, I’d have to do what I did best: wing it.
What could possibly go wrong?
“Lift me, please,” I said to an abervoq, one of the largest of the creatures.
It understood me, reaching down to haul me up, holding my body above its head. I had to wiggle myself around, but after climbing up its arm and standing on that large, meaty paw, I was just about the right height to jump for the stone.
Crouching, preparing myself mentally for what pain might come from this, I shot one last look at my friends, finding all of them staring at me in horror.
No, wait… They weren’t looking at me. They were looking behind me…
I spun in time to find Ixana right there, smashing into my side, knocking me down off the creature. As we hit the ground, my flames and wolf surged up, shredding through my clothes as we tore into her without thought of consequence.
My attack took her by surprise; she was already visibly beaten, no doubt thanks to Shadow, who also appeared a moment later, yanking her off me.
“Whoa,” I groaned, jumping to my feet. “You are one heavy bitch.”
She snarled again, hands out as she looked between Shadow and me. He had already backed up closer to me, and I felt a moment of satisfaction that he still chose me. I mean, sure, his mate was a complete psychopath with delusions of grandeur, but… technically, I’d still won the beast.
Score.
“She plans on using the sunburst stone from Len’s family to turn herself into the next Nexus,” I murmured to him in a rush, feeling the vibrating surge of his power across my skin.
“I know,” he bit out.
“I invited Shadow to join me,” Ixana said. “I mean, he started as a means to an end. My family wanted to take over Trinity, so they ensured I’d be in the perfect position to do so. But when I learned I would be their puppet, I decided that no longer would I fall victim to cruel, powerful rulers. I would take the power into my own hands.”
There was a dark story there, one that had left scars littered on her psyche, but we didn’t have time for it today. Today we just had to stop her before this plan came to fruition.
Shadow growled. “Cristell never betrayed me. It was Ixana all along. She killed my sister, used the illusion of her to throw everyone off, and orchestrated it all herself.”
The cunt in question laughed. “I mean, everyone thought illusion was such a weak skill. ‘Oh, you can make pretty pictures with your mind. How nice, Ixxy.’” Her voice grew stronger. “Little did they know, illusion is the closest power to the mists. I did what no other royal has been able to, I tamed them. And I was content to rule as I was, slowly building power into this stone, all the while keeping Cristell as the public enemy. An easy task since she was an evil little bitch, who probably was planning on taking over, only I beat her to it.” Her eyes flashed with an insanity she’d done well to hide up until now. “When I felt Shadow’s energy return, I knew I could finalize my original plans. It was time to turn myself into the next Nexus, using a Nexus born shifter to gather the thousands of creatures beyond my reach.” Her gaze smashed into mine. “Thanks for all your help with that, Mera.”
Shadow’s chest was rumbling, his muscles tense and visible through the many tears in his shirt. They’d been fighting, but at least no physical injuries remained on his body.
“You were my true mate,” she said randomly, and at this point it was fairly obvious she was completely bonkers. “But I could never break through to you. Why?” For the first time, she was genuinely curious.
“You’re not worthy,” he said without inflection… or hesitation.
She reached for the stone’s energy. I felt it as she used whatever bonded her to the gem, and when it gathered in her hands, I knew that it was going to be too much for us to handle. “You are not worthy,” she snarled back.
In my panic, I reached for the deepest recesses of my energy, drawing up from the Nexus. Or at least that was what it felt like. The spell she’d created from the sunburst stone shot our way, and I released the power I’d gathered as well. Just as our two powers were about to slam into each other, a bright light burst up between us, intercepting them both.
No! Not a light… a phoenix.
Dannie’s phoenix.
“Mother!” Shadow dove toward her, but the goddess was here to save her son, and she wasn’t waiting for a rescue.
Visibly hurt from the energy that had hit her, she swiped out with her flaming tail feathers and smashed Ixana in the face, sending her spinning and cartwheeling into a wall off the side of the platform.
Before she could right herself, Dannie was soaring high, her flaming bird strong and regal, so incredibly beautiful as it went for the sunburst stone.
Ixana shot more energy, but it was too late to stop Dannie from swallowing the stone whole.
Shadow’s painful howl was lost in the beat of silence, like the world held its breath, and then a light so bright that it blinded me instantly filled the room. I blinked and tried to shield my eyes, but there was no hope of getting around the power of that stone. Especially combined with a magical Nexus phoenix.
Shadow’s hands were on me, holding me close as he crouched protectively across my body, neither of us sure about what was happening in the room. Eventually, the power fell, the light faded, and I was wrapped around my beast, holding on for dear fucking life.
He ran his hands over me, checking that everything was in its right spot, and I took that extra beat of comfort by hugging him, my nails digging into his back.
“Sunshine?” he rumbled.
“Dannie?” I choked out in answer, hoping he would have more information.
There was a heavy pause. “Gone.”
Apparently, we could only speak in single-word answers, but I heard the grim tone in that one word. She was gone as far as he could tell, with no idea if she was dead or alive.
When he finally let me stand on my own, the first thing I noticed was that the lava barrier had dried up, allowing the creatures to cross to freedom. First thing first, though. Shadow found Ixana huddled on the floor, her hands over her face.
When she finally lifted them away, I choked on my gasp. Her eyes were gone, completely burned to nothing more than black embers, as she shook her head frantically.
“I can’t see,” she choked out. “Why can’t I see? My stone. Where is my stone?”
The loss of power would be hitting her now, too much for her brain to handle after so many years tied to the stone.
Shadow reached for her. “You’re done, Ixana,” he said softly. “Where is the bloodstone?”
She was rattled enough not to fight, turning one of her coat buttons, clearly an illusion, into the ruby red stone. It fell into Shadow’s palm, and I waited with bated breath, wondering if it was another trick.
The beast’s head dropped back, a howl spilling from his lips as the power settled in his bones.
“Shadow,” I said hesitantly.
His head snapped toward me. “Mine,” he rumbled.
Was he talking about the stone or me? His friends converged on the scene before I could ask him to clarify. Reece went straight for Ixana, securing her with bindings that looked like they’d come right from the desert themselves, as a barbed cactus-type plant twisted around her.
“Shadow’s mother should not have been able to do that,” Len said, staring up at the spot where his stone had been. “That stone is too powerful.”
There was no sign of Dannie at all. No feel of her power. No sense of what had happened to her.
“Let’s get the creatures back and then we can search for her,” I suggested, knowing Shadow would not rest until he found his mom. Or learned of her fate.
I felt the same way. She’d saved us when I’d had not a clue what to do. We owed Dannie a lot. I would not let her down.
Shadow, seemingly adapted to the new influx of power from his stone, stepped forward, just as Reece asked him if he was okay.
“Yes,” the beast rumbled. “It’ll be easier when the bonding ceremony is complete, but for now, we’re meshing our energy without too much issue.”
“Can you help me return the creatures?” I asked. “Before the Nexus falls completely without Dannie’s energy.”
“How did she leave it in the first place?” Angel asked.
Shadow’s flaming irises met mine. “Sunshine called her. She’s connected to Mera.”
“She knew we were in trouble,” I said sadly. “But before we can deal with that, we have to save the world.”
Everyone nodded, falling into a circle around me as I drew the creatures toward me, before directing them to cross toward the exit. Shadow dropped his hand on my shoulder.
“I have a quicker way.”
His energy surged up, and I blinked at how strong it was. The stone was already making a huge difference to his base power. A portal formed, The Grey Lands visible on the other side. “Thanks, Shadow,” I said softly, sending my creatures through the six-feet-wide opening.
It was clearly going to take a few hours to get them all through, so I shooed the others away. “I’ll stay here and make sure they get back safely,” I said. “You all need to deal with the fallout upstairs.”
Angel gave me a hug as she left, as did the other guys. Reece bound Ixana to him, dragging her up the stairs, since she was clearly their new prisoner, and would be dealt with later.
Shadow, the last to leave, hesitated. His eyes burned as his new stronger power hit me like a lightning bolt. One huge hand wrapped around the back of my head, and he lifted me so our lips could meet.
Desperation had me pulling him closer, and the fear I’d been holding deep inside during the entire battle turned up the intensity of the kiss. “We need to talk, Sunshine,” he told me.
I nodded, my head spinning. “Yes, talk. Yes.”
His laugh was a low, deep rumble. “Flustered Sunshine is one of my favorites.”
He released me.
“Go,” I whispered, not really meaning it. “You’re the Supreme Being and you need to sort out the world of royals, guards, and freilds. Save your people.”
He kissed me again, one more hard, perfect press of our lips. “I’ll send any creatures I find down here,” he murmured against my mouth. “Keeping my promise to you.”
He brushed his fingers across my face, leaving behind a spark of power that had my knees buckling. I caught myself, possibly drooling a little as he left the room, his broad shoulders and perfect ass the last thing I saw before he disappeared up the stairs.
