Page 196 of A Flame of the Phoenix

If you break the ruin, you will damn your world.

It was Aurialis.

Reylan’s face came to her in opaque flashes. It had never twisted with so much pain and pleading.

“It’s not my world without him,” Faythe whispered.

Her soul plummeted back into her body, returning the sensation of the magick that burned through her more powerfully than she’d ever known before. Faythe anchored herself through the feeling of her hands on her mate, and she wouldneverlet him go. With a battle cry from the Gods, Faythe pushed her magickharder. Deep into the crevices, splitting apart the ruin with piercing wails.

Time fractured, and the world erupted.

Faythe was flying, thrown by an impact that separated her mind from the explosion of pain in her body. The bright flare of light stole her away from the consequence of her actions.

She was standing in a dark hall, in front of a massive statue towering high. A cloaked figure with no face, only a depthless hood. It held a scythe, a chip missing from the under curve of the blade.

Around the huge statue, the still black birds began to find movement, twitching until the first broke off to fly. Then another. And another. Terror seized her when hundreds of ravens beat around the space. The towering figure warped and shrank, the illusion weaving a dizzy spell as it became a tall mortal size and glided for her across a shallow, rippling pool of dark water.

“What are you?” Faythe breathed.

“I am the thing every being fears to meet, but their hand in mine is inevitable.”

Faythe was chilled to her core. “Death,” she uttered.

Oh Gods, had she failed?

“I like to ask, what is it you fear about coming with me?”

Faythe broke inside. “I can’t leave my friends. I can’t leave him. I’m not done yet.”

The primordial hummed. “My children have caused something of a mess in your realm. It is why I had to awaken the essences of the mortal Gods to unite against them. Power, strength, wisdom, resilience, courage, knowledge, light and dark as one.”

“Your children?”

“Life, death, and soul. I have many of them, across many ages and realms.”

Faythe raised a hand to her heart that didn’t beat in here. “Aurialis has been helping us.”

“Or is she another power that has managed to manipulate you with gentler means?”

Her instinct was to rebut that accusation. All this time, Aurialis had guided her. She’d been the Spirit on their side, and Faythe wouldn’t have gotten this far without her.

“No. You’re the one with your own agenda, wanting to unleash the shadow creatures that will feed your realm with the people from mine.”

“I will admit, that is a highly advantageous turn of events for me. You see, fate has many paths, and this one leads in my favor. My realm has been starved by meddling Gods in another realm not so different from yours. Reaping all the souls is highly tempting, but against every law of how balance should be achieved.”

Faythe couldn’t decide if this primordial was against what would unfold with the shadow creatures.

“How do I stop them?” Faythe pleaded.

“You already know there is one weapon that can kill the undead. You also know what was used to forge it.”

Faythe racked her brain desperately.

“The Ember Sword,” she concluded.

“Phoenixfyre destroys, while Shadowfyre controls.”

She didn’t know what that meant—Shadowfyre.She’d never heard of such a concept.

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