A sense of accomplishment settled deep in my chest as my creatures found their freedom. More joined the ones who had been down here, stolen from the royals above, and sent into my protective embrace by Shadow and our friends.
He was absolutely honoring his promise to me.
As the adrenaline wore off, I expected to feel exhausted, but I didn’t. Whatever Ixana had been doing, draining the energy from the mists and land, had been hurting me. Hurting every being here.
But now I had a new lease on life. A new surge of energy.
Angel popped her head in a few times to check on me, and apparently, it was going well upstairs. It was going well down here as well, and when the last of the creatures had finally filed through Shadow’s doorway some hours later, I knew my work was only beginning.
Shadow Realm had been screwed over for thousands of years, and it would take more than a minute to fix that.
Knowing his doorway would remain open until Shadow was done, I decided to step through myself, following the last of the tiny grekins, their chattering comforting now, when it had at one time been terrifying.
Not that I didn’t miss “fuck ours,” but it was nice to feel the real essence of their character. My heart overflowing at the bond I felt to them all. Just call me “Crazy Creature Lady” because I was ready to have a dozen or more of them in my life. My new pack.
Family.
The chick with no family suddenly had thousands.
Shadow’s doorway had dropped the creatures near the Nexus, and as I stepped closer, I was relieved to feel the strong thrum of that power there. Not only that, but already I could see signs of life spreading across the land, and I felt like that would only be possible if…
“Dannie?” I called.
My creatures brayed at the sound of my voice, the thousands of them setting off into the land. This was their goodbye, and I loved that, but my focus was on the Nexus.
Is the phoenix there?
Running up the hill, I dodged creatures, keeping my eyes locked on the stone entrance. It seemed like the Nexus itself was growing in size, the mountaintop spreading to make room for it. Life was returning and Dannie was here, I knew it.
When I hit the entrance, I stepped through the energy, and it wrapped around me like an old friend. There was no immediate sign of the phoenix, so I began to search. “Dannie!” I shouted as I went. “Are you here?”
Please be here.
I wasn’t sure how to deal with her sacrifice for the second time. It was too much for my mind to wrap around, and it was much easier to pretend she was still alive, returning power to this land and the realm with the help of the sunburst stone.
Only there was no sign.
Just when I was about to give up, a figure stepped into view.
It was Dannie. Only a Dannie like I’d never seen before, with her cascading red and gold skin, eyes a burst of fire, and feathers covering parts of her body, like she’d crossed between a phoenix and a human.
If there was ever a rise from the ashes scenario, it was this one because the evolution of Dannie was nothing short of spectacular. Rushing forward, I threw myself at her, and she caught me with ease, the warmth of her chuckle both familiar and powerful enough to have my blood fizzing.
“Whoa,” I said. “You’re powerful, my friend.”
Her energy felt a little scary, far beyond her own son’s, or any being I’d ever met.
“Mera, born of my mists,” she trilled, her voice like a rainbow of sound and texture. “We saved our Nexus and this world.”
I nodded, pulling back to see her. “I know! I can’t believe it. The realm will be restored, and Shadow will take his place as the Supreme Being.”
Dannie’s face morphed as she looked pleased by that statement. “Yes. My son will rule the land, and I will rule the mists.” Some of her benevolent happiness faded and now she wore a dark mask, making her near unrecognizable. “But what is Mera’s place?”
Warning bells rung in my head, and like a blinding flash of light, or a smack in the face, I saw that this evolution of Dannie had done more than change her skin color. It had stolen some of her humanity.
“What do you mean? I’m not planning on taking any place here, Dan. It’s just me. Mera.”
Could I remind her of the pup she’d taken under her wing when I’d been a broken child?
She regarded me. “Yes. You are Mera, and I don’t want to destroy you, but I also fear that you might take my power. My position. There should be one guardian of the Nexus and I lost sight of that when I joined the royals.”
More alarm bells, and I attempted to back away, but she had me locked down. “Shadow won’t let you do whatever you have planned,” I warned her.
Her smile no longer held any kindness, no warmth in her eyes. Just a cold calculation. “You might be right. You’re the first chink in his armor in his lifetime, and maybe you will be a distraction that prevents him from being the best ruler he can be.”
It was like she had to reason it out in her head, whatever she was planning. “This is all my fault,” she muttered. “I altered this world by having a royal child, by throwing off the balance. Then to make it even worse, I brought you to life.”
She continued on and on, a fractured mind, a broken goddess. One who wasn’t solely evil, but I sensed she was about to do something that could destroy me forever. And no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t break free of her power.
Eventually, her face brightened, and any unease plaguing her vanished. “I think this can all work out,” she trilled. “You already have a destiny that your other side craves. If I make sure that you can never reach your full potential, you will live the life of the shifters, leaving the balance of the realm alone.”
I shook my head. “Dannie, no. What are you saying?” I fought harder, my limbs straining as fire built in my center.
When her hands come up to rest on my head, she smiled, and for the first time in minutes, it was almost kind. A sense of caring emanated from her. “My sweet little wolf. Do not worry. You will not miss what you don’t know, and Torin has the potential to be a wonderful mate for you.”
Torin? The asshole who’d fucked another woman in front of me? That Torin?
My head was racing as I tried to think through a possible scenario to get myself out of this situation. What could I say to convince her to let me go long enough so I could get to my friends?
“Dannie, you love me, remember?”
“Yes.” She nodded, her face brighter than ever. She was beautiful in her insanity, the power rebuilding her into this incredible being. “I do, and I will ensure your happiness, I promise. This will work. Memories are such a fickle thing, you know. One year of life, so easily erased. I can do that. For you and Shadow, and then I will right what I wronged.”
I opened my mouth to scream, reaching for Shadow, Angel, Midnight… anyone whom I had a connection to. Before a single squeak could emerge, Dannie flicked her fingers and everything went dark.
