Page 21 of Harbinger

Morgan’s heart stuttered.Icarus?!

Whatever he thought he’d heard was gone. What was left in its stead was the power of the Goddess whose blood he bore and the love of the demigod who owned his heart and soul.

Fresh resolve surged through him. The Sword of Wind raged in his grip, inky currents twisting agitatedly as it fought the darkness confining it. The shackles started to dissipate as divine energy and Dryad power rattled his bones and poured out of his very flesh.

The Goddesses faltered.

“Im—impossible!” Megaera gasped.

Morgan broke free of his prison with a roar, bound the Goddesses with magic and black wind, and slowed their descent. The two deities screamed and raged as they began to rise. The gloom rapidly receded as he gained momentum.

Brightness filled his vision as they shot out of the mountain scant seconds after smashing into it. They emerged under a tempestuous sky, fragments of rock falling from their hair and bodies while snow and ice crystals formed sparkling trails behind them.

Victor slammed into Megaera with a sound of pure rage. She choked on a curse as he dragged her away from Morgan, his flames swarming her flesh.

The Dryads’ magic struck Alecto, drawing a pained grunt from her throat.

Morgan grasped the Sword of Wind in both hands and scowled as he aimed it at the corrupt mass within the Goddess. “I’m sorry! This is gonna hurt!”

Alecto’s eyes widened. A smirk twisted her mouth. “You’re right.”

Morgan jerked and froze. It took a heartbeat to realize what had just happened.

His stunned gaze dropped dazedly to where the Goddess had punctured his belly with her hand.

When—how?!

Megaera escaped Victor’s hold, closed the distance to Morgan in a flash, and snatched the Sword of Wind from his grip. His fingers clawed empty air, his hand blindly seeking the blade that was bonded to him. Coldness engulfed him, the evil energy contained within the inky seed Alecto had lodged inside him swarming his soul core.

Morgan threw his head back and screamed, the agony of the assault so fierce he felt he was being torn apart from the inside out. He glimpsed Victor and the Dryads beyond the two Goddesses smiling contemptuously at him as his consciousness started to falter. Their mouths were open on shouts he failed to hear, their expressions pure anguish and horror.

Morgan blinked, a stark truth dawning upon him.Oh. I’m dying. That’s why they look so upset.

Darkness encroached the edges of his vision. Cassius’s face blurred into view as his soul core started to creak under the immense strain it found itself under.

Once it shattered, he would be gone.

Bone-deep sadness filled him at that wretched thought.

“I’m sorry,” Morgan mumbled, barely aware of the tears falling silently down his cheeks. “May we meet again in our…next lives…my…beloved…”

A crack tore the sky open. Golden light filled the valley.

“LET HIM GO!”

10

Victor’s head snapped up,his throat raw from screaming Morgan’s name and his jaw throbbing from a wound that was too slow to heal. His eyes widened, the torment squeezing his heart at the reality of losing his brother giving way to shock once more.

The two Goddesses arrowing down from the closing rift wore golden armor and expressions of grim resolve. The one in the lead had dazzling white wings that matched the long, silver hair fluttering from under her winged helmet. She wielded twin, shining, gold blades. The second one bore black wings and dark hair and held a brass-studded scourge similar to Alecto and Megaera’s weapons.

“Release him, sister!” the silver-haired Goddess roared.

Shadows shrouded Alecto as she extracted her hand from Morgan’s body. She barely managed to block the blades arcing toward her. Her curse was lost in the boom that shook the valley as she was driven toward the ground by her attacker.

Morgan fell, body limp and face ashen.

Victor dove and caught him. Fear choked his lungs when he felt the coldness of his brother’s flesh. His harrowed gaze found the bubbling darkness within the demigod. He clenched his teeth and raised a hand to touch it, dark flames engulfing his fingers.

---