Page 2 of Desolation
He digs his talon into the bottom of my chin, trying to pull that pain out of me. He will never understand that my well of emotion has run dry. After seeing my mates and family slaughtered before my eyes—
I havenothingleft to give him, except his death.
Anger bleeds into his gaze at my unresponsiveness. "You know you brought this upon yourself when you turned down my proposal to be withthem,"he spits, continuing to dig his talon deeper into my flesh. Bringing his head closer and closer to me, his tongue darts down and licks at the blood pouring down my neck from the wound. His eyes roll back in pure ecstasy at the taste.
The high dies down within moments and his anger flares brighter than ever. Spittle flies from his mouth, landing on my face. "You were to bemybride. My queen!" His eyes trace the drops of his saliva on my cheek before he rubs them into my skin with his thumb, as if ingraining that piece of him into me. "The one I would rule the world with." He shakes his head in disgust. "I wish I could still offer you a place by my side but you have been tainted by those lowly peasants that you dared call your mates. You are not worthy of standing next to me."
As he insults my mates and our bond, I feel my power pulsating out of my soul in large waves, threatening to explode outwards and consume us both.
Whenever my power reacted like this in the past, my loves were always there to calm me down with their soft touches and gentle words, coaxing it back down to a manageable level.
I had been naïve to think that I had enough control to win this battle without further training.This is my fault.
Without them here, there is nothing that can hold my power back and that is exactly what I need. I will die here on this field with the other fallen but I will damn well take this tyrant with me.
I will fulfill that promise, my mates. It will be the last thing I do before I follow you into eternal slumber.
I lower my eyes, feigning submissiveness while searching for the hidden weapon on my person. He chuckles low in his chest like my subservience was expected and inevitable.
"You are nothing, Oslana. You are unworthy of those powers bestowed upon you. Look at you," he says, cocking his head in mock pity. My hand clasps around the hilt of the small dagger in my boot. "You can’t even say a word bac—"
His words cut off with a gargle as I shove the blade of my knife through the bottom of his chin. His mouth and eyes fall open. I can see the knife protruding through his mouth, piercing his tongue.
The sound of him choking on his blood is pitiful.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" I say, cocking my head as he had, menace lacing my every word, as I twist the dagger in further. The bones of his nose crunch, giving way to the metal of my blade.
His eyes roll back into his head and he falls, unconscious from the pain and blood loss. But I must act swiftly, for he has stolen the ability to heal from my Light Fae by using dark magic.
All I need is a few moments to center my powers to end this.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in until my lungs are stretched past full capacity. My power lashes out from every pore of my body, sending my hair flying in all directions, cleansing my body of the ash, blood and signs of battle. A pale teal orb of light surrounds my body and lifts me into the air as my magic starts overflowing.
I give one final prayer to Gaia, my Goddess, begging her to forgive me for my failure, for my foolish choices. A cool, featherlight touch runs down my unmarked cheek, betraying her presence. Soaking up the love that I feel in that caress, I allow one single tear to fall from my eye at the thought that I won’t be alone in my death. That someone who loves me still lives.
Out of my peripheral, I see Anshar push himself from the ground shakily. He grabs onto the hilt of my blade and extracts the dagger embedded in his chin and throws it onto the ground. He’s already beginning to heal.Damnit.
Having no time to spare, I focus back on my core. I feel the wildness of my power and grab a hold of it in my mind’s eye. Sweat runs down my face as a tsunami of heat envelops me.
I cry out and tug at the chains I had placed on my soul to contain my power within me, until they begin breaking away, piece by piece.
Anshar smiles at me with bloodied teeth, as if he’s won, and utters words so low that they do not reach me.Hecannot reach me in time and the smile dies as he comes to that realization.
Small grey cracks begin to run through my skin as my raw magic seeps through them. The teal orb shifts to a blinding, white light as my power consumes me and finally grows beyond my control. The blast that will destroy everything within a five-mile radius builds like a tornado and even Anshar knows he cannot stop it.
A tearing sensation ripples through my soul.
This is how it will end.
Anshar yells into the raging wind, his hands burning under the heat of my magic. "This is only the end of this life,mate!" He glares into my eyes, not letting his burning gaze fall until his body turns to ash from the blast of my power tearing him apart.
As everything around me lays destroyed, my power wanes, the orb of light disappears and I fall.
My skin brushes softly with the ground as the remnants of my magic abandon me with my last exhale of breath.
Closing my eyes for the final time, I let the darkness take me away, finally.
I’m coming, my loves.
