Page 58 of Winter Queen
“No time to explain. We need to act quickly, while the Morrigan is distracted. She isn’t expecting an attack on Angus. If we manage to strike them both at the same time, they’ll not be able to assist each other.”
“Princess, it will take hours to get our army to the nearest Gate, let alone to the Summer Realm. We need to plan, we need time. Preparing an attack like that takes days.”
I sigh. “Right now, in this very moment, three of my Guardians are fighting the Morrigan. They don’t have a chance against her, but it’s a distraction. They…”
What did I just say?
The truth.
She’s a Goddess. They’re three Guardians and one of them is wounded.
They’re as good as dead.
They were never supposed to fight her. It was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, with the hope that they might be able to free my dad.
They might be dead already.
Something shatters within me. My heart, maybe?
No, it’s my magic. She’s screaming, and I join her, screaming together as the heart cave around us crumbles, stalactites falling from the ceiling, stones crashing into the ground.
Blinding light is everywhere but I can’t close my eyes. I stare as the cave that I thought was protection for my magic slowly collapses.
No, it wasn’t protection. It was a prison.
The light increases, pouring into my magic. She’s growing, from the size of a large house cat to that of a lion. Her screams become deeper as her voice changes. Her claws extend, each as sharp as diamonds. Her eyes are glowing brightly, watching in glee as the stone that was once her cave crumbles into dust.
She’s free, and so am I.
I was never meant to be just a Demigoddess.
My magic takes a step towards me and I do the same, meeting her in the middle. I hug her tight.
We’re no longer separate, our powers are merging, becoming what we were destined for.
We are one.
We are a Goddess.
Epilogue
Storm, two hours earlier
There’s only about twenty demons guarding the Gate within the castle ruin and we dispatch them with ease. We’re a practised team: Arc freezes a bunch of demons with his mind, my brother drowns them, I round up the others with gusts of wind to get the same treatment. Brutal, but effective. We don’t have time to play nice today.
The Gate in front of us looks very different from the ones in the Winter Realm. Rather than the typical two standing stones covered by a large third stone slab, this one is a doorway that’s part of the castle structure. It’s a clever way to keep it from the attention of humans. Not that they can see the shimmer of magic covering the doorway like a spider’s web, but standing stones attract tourists. Just look at Stonehenge, that Gate hasn’t been used for a long time because it’s been taken over by humans.
Frost wipes his bloody hands on his shirt.
“I hate demon blood,” he complains. “It leaves stains.”
“Have ye suddenly turned into Crisp?” Arc teases and Frost gives him an indignant glare.
“Stop the banter, we’ve got work to do,” I admonish them and stride towards the Gate, leaving a pile of demon corpses behind. They follow and together, we step into the Morrigan’s domain.
I’ve been in the Demon Realm before, many times, but this part of it seems unfamiliar. We’re in a large cavern, illuminated by a glowing mould or moss covering the walls. There’s nobody here. Strange. I had expected guards.
Slowly, we make our way through the cave, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. The sound of our breathing echoes in the empty space, far too loud for my liking. The dark entrance to a tunnel looms up ahead and I point towards it, letting the others know our destination. The tunnel is completely dark, no glowing moss here to help us see what’s waiting for us.
