Page 241 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

“I’ve always been a half-demon,” Drake pointed out. “I just have less humanity in me now. Clearly more than you have currently.”

Crew’s face contorted even further in anger until he looked like someone else altogether.

“Well, good for you,” Crew said with a dead tone that made my skin crawl. “I’m glad life worked out for one of us.”

The pain, bitterness, and anger in him had to be festering for months for Crew to reach this level of hate and anger. It was fueling the possession inside of him, eating away at our friend and stripping his humanity away.

“Enough. Kill them,” the demon beside him hissed, moving closer and whispering into Crew’s ear until his eyes were glowing red. “You don’t need them. You’ve never needed anyone. Now you’re strong and unstoppable. Everyone will see it.”

Crew stood taller the longer they whispered. Whatever doubts we created were quickly washed away. His features contorted in a fit of rage as a battle cry tore from his lips. A shiver ran down my spine and I swallowed down the thought that Monty might have been right, that we were far too late to save him.

Our friend was officially gone.

Even when he spoke, it sounded strange. “You know, we’ve been waiting to take Dark Haven out of respect for Layne,” Crew called out. “But it seems that was a mistake.”

“To Dark Haven!” The battle cry arose from the crowd of demons, the energy building as they yelled out, firing each other up to the point the air buzzed with their agitation and power.

“Go, we’ll give you a thirty-second head start,” Crew yelled at us the moment I turned my attention back to him.

He held two long swords in his hands now. My only reassurance was that the glow in them was muted and fading.

They may outnumber us by the hundreds, but we were far better equipped.

“Go,” I said to the others, and we turned and ran.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have run, maybe it was viewed as cowardly, but I was a leader now and the portal and Dark Haven had to come first.

The thought of killing Crew was heartbreaking but I’d do it to protect my realm and my friend.

My guys didn’t question me, even Monty gliding alongside us until we’d reached the gates of Dark Haven.

“Monty, go warn the gargoyles.” For the first time since I’d known Monty, there was no protest at my orders or maybe things had just officially changed.

Hel was gone, I was the leader, and his orders came from me instead of the other way around.

It was the first moment I felt like I could earn my title. My only thoughts were focused on saving my realm and my former home. No more death needed to happen, but it would if they left me no other choice.

If I failed, it could be the end for us all. The gods were depending on me. Failure was not an option.

“We can’t let them get inside,” I said. “Do not hesitate to end them.”

“How do we stop them?” Hiro asked. His voice wasn’t frantic, but determined. He’d come into his own and was ready to fight. “If we think we can fight them off, why didn’t we fight them there?”

“I’m stronger here,” I reminded him. “We all are.” To drive the point home, I pulled on Helheim even more, letting it fill my entire being.

With a quick swipe of my hand, the blue fires of Helheim lapped at the outer walls of Dark Haven, creating a barrier around the building but causing it no harm.

I’d never infused my magic with more intention than I did now. I was depending on Helheim to keep us safe as the blue inferno blazed between us.

Unlike Hel who fought the realm, I embraced it like a partnership. That would be the difference that mattered.

The demons who would harm this building were no longer a part of Helheim, and I needed it to recognize the difference.

Maybe my expectations were far too high, but I refused to think otherwise. Helheim was made by the gods and run by them, it was sentient in its own ways and our connection was growing stronger each time I used it.

A thump from above had rocks falling into the fires below. A smile spread across my face at the sight that greeted me.

A full army of gargoyles stood ready to fight. They’d apparently pieced themselves together and were rejoining the fight.

---