Page 116 of The Bones of the Cursed

The Witch recites an incantation, her eyes unseeing as she calls on whatever evil powers she talks to. Iclas looks over his shoulder, smirking. His body is painted in blood, symbols drawn over him. It takes me a minute to realize he is completely naked.

Fuck.

It’s happening.

“You are too late.” His ancient voice all but echoes. “Soon your bond will be broken, I will absorb all her power, and then not even the Gods can stop me.”

I clench my teeth. “You can’t do this. You underestimate the strength of a mating bond just because your fated chose someone else over your sorry ass.”

His smile stretches across his face, emotion vacant from his eyes, the tattoo on his face gleaming in the orange glow of thesunset pouring in through the hole in the back wall. He chooses to ignore me, running a finger down the human’s chest. “It’s a shame Alanis must die. She seems like such fun.”

I growl, the matriarch and Viros slowly moving along the wall in opposite directions trying to get closer without notice. Before I can do anything, I am thrown into a hallucination so real that I can’t stop the vomit from racing up my throat. I keel over, emptying the contents of my stomach even as images play out before me.

Alanis’s soul enters the new body. Her screams echo through the room. It might not be her body, but it’s her voice. I watch, helpless as she writhes against the breaking of our bond. My body collapses from the pain. The bond swirls between us, fraying apart before finally severing.

Iclas roars as their bond connects, locking into place. I watch as he completes the bond and drinks a vial of Alanis’s blood before draining the human of hers. I watch in agony as Alanis’s soul leaves this earth for a final time. Iclas pulls back, blood dripping from his canines.

Darkness surrounds us, a fog blanketing the world. Demons and every evil creature claw their way up from the bowels of Hell, Ames trying to gain control. With his powers focused elsewhere, he doesn’t see Iclas strike.

The God of Hell falls.

If the most powerful God can’t take on Iclas, we don’t stand a chance. I watch in horror as every single one of my friends is murdered. The Gods and Goddesses fall as they try to defend this world against darkness.

It is no use.

There is no hope.

Not without Alanis.

“Stop,” my father commands as he strides into the room, wielding a blood-soaked sword. I feel a tremble, the matriarchthrowing out her powers. The second of distraction lifts Iclas’s vision from my head. Air scrapes back into my lungs as the room rebuilds around me. I find Alanis’s soul is still safe, our bond intact.

It was just a spell.

Viros throws magic at the witch. It bounces off her shield, but not before the matriarch notices a crack in the protection spell. When she throws her flames out, it pierces that thin barrier, the flames engulfing the Witch. Her screams echo on the stone walls.

“NO!” Iclas roars. He races to save the vile Witch, but her body is decimated. With a wave of his hand, his clothes appear on his body. Thank the Gods, I don’t really feel like killing him with his dick flapping in the wind.

A dark mist seeps from his fingers, wrapping around the matriarch’s throat.

Her veins turn black.

I slash at Iclas with my sword, my father protecting my back while Viros catches the matriarch as she collapses.

Iclas attempts to throw his death mist at me, but I give him no chance, slicing across his gut. As his blood spills, panic fills his eyes, and I relish every second of his fear. No longer immortal, just your average powerful Fae.

And then he vanishes.

“Fuck!” I scream.

“Son, get Alanis’s body. We are almost out of time.”

“We need to reconnect her to her soul.” Viros snaps. “The Fates gave us a time limit and it’s almost up.”

I race back to where we left the horses. The war between witches, creatures, Gods, and my family spills out onto the field in front of this Godsforsaken mountain. The only patch of grass is now stained in blood.

I grab Alanis’s body from the wagon, dodging spells andslashing at these damn Witches as I go. When I return to the room where Alanis’s soul remains, I’m met by Ryta and Caselia, who have prepared their spell to reconnect her.

“You came for me.”

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