by JL Madore
With that taken care of, I return my attention to the fight in progress. This time, when I drop from the sky, I see the stunning white wolf rushing the cluster of men.
I follow her path back to find Creed carrying the limp body of his sister. Her silver hair is twice as long as Creed’s but there’s no mistaking her.
We did it. We found Honor.
For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I’m on the right side of a battle. I knew working for Laryssa was crushing my soul but at this moment it’s so evident I wonder how I lasted as long as I did.
Arcing in the night sky, I head back to my mates.
It’s crazy, but I’m actually starting to think of them like that. Creed worked his way under my skin long ago but the other two are just as infectious.
Pulling back on my wings, I use reverse thrust to hover above Creed as he makes for the gate. Calli has the new arrivals blocked off well enough that he, Lukas, and Keyla can get her out of the compound and start heading for our trucks hidden down the road.
Hawk meets them at the gate and he must speak to his mates telepathically because they all start to pull out. I circle the compound to give cover to the two bears, the chocolate wolf, and the jaguar tearing people to shreds.
Not that they need my help.
These guys are wicked lethal.
The shrill shriek of Calli’s phoenix has my gaze pivoting just in time to brace for impact. The mid-air collision is hard and fast and takes me toppling through the open night sky. Pushing off, I curse and crack my attacker with the spine of my wing.
With a grunt, my brother is thrown back and I have the necessary space to land a half-mile up the road. Shifting as I approach the ground, I’m ready for the tackle as Vikarus does the same.
Fists flying the two of us go down.
“What’s your problem, asshole,” I shout, grappling for a solid hold as we roll in the dirt. “I’d think you’d be glad to see I’m not dead.”
“My brother is dead,” he spits, rolling over me.
I catch the backswing of his arm right before his fist connects with my jaw and nearly spins my head around on my neck.
“I don’t know what that silver-haired freak did to mess up your mind, but you’re not my brother.”
The venom in his words sends a shaft of icy poison straight to my heart. “Creed didn’t do anything, and you know it. He only got his powers back this week. I’ve been with him for years.”
“Liar!” Vik shouts. “My brother was a great soldier with unquestionable honor. He wouldn’t do the things they said you did.”
“What did I do?” I snap, evading a punch. “Aside from where my cock was at night, what did I do? I followed orders. I did the queen’s bidding. I never once failed to fulfill my duty… and what did that get me? She ordered me dead in her car and had me shot three times at close range.”
“Of course, she did. You ripped off her slecking hand.”
I swipe at the sweat on my brow and shake my head. “You’ve been given an edited version of what happened. I was shot and bleeding out when I grabbed her briefcase and made a run for it. I didn’t even know about her hand until they rescued me.”
Vik’s gaze narrows on me but he can smell that I’m telling him the truth.
“Yes, I fell for Creed, and that was unprofessional, but I carried out all my duties for Laryssa and I would’ve continued to do so if I hadn’t almost died as a reward for my loyalty.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t look like you almost died. You look like you’re fairing pretty slecking well with your boyfriend and his new crew.”
“Doc healed me with Calli’s tears and fed me. I’m strong because they rescued me.”
“They turned you.”
I curse and swipe my hair out of my eyes. “No, Vik. Have you listened to anything I’ve been telling you this week. We we’re on the wrong side. The magic of the fae universe resurrected the phoenix to stop Laryssa and Whitehouse from securing the rift and taking over the crown of the other realm. It acted again by soul-searing Keyla and Creed together and restoring his powers and a way for him to regain his quadrant. The very world we live to protect is telling us what needs to happen and you refuse to see it.”
“I’m trying to save our family name, our reputation, and our mother’s honor.”
“This is bigger than us, Vik! This is more important than what Shadowcaster and the brood think of us. This is about the future of the realm.”
Vik shakes his head. “My brother… my real brother would know that nothing is more important than our family honor.”
“I do know that, my brother. It’s just you think we regain our family honor by pleasing Laryssa and Shadowcaster. It’s not. We restore our honor by doing what’s right at any cost. It’s about living true to our core beliefs and fighting for what we believe in.”
Vik shakes his head. “You’re wrong.”
“I don’t think so.”
The two of us stand there a long time, stuck in a deadlock of wills. I hear the shouts and fighting back at the compound and everything in me wants to be back there helping my newfound family but keeping my blood family busy so he doesn’t interfere is important to their success.
“Trust me, Vik. Come with me and get to know them. Think about what I’m saying. You’ll see I’m right. Creed is meant to reclaim the quadrant. We can be on the right side of this. It’s not too late.”
Staring at me, he lets out a long-suffering sigh. “It’s too late, Rhy—for you, anyway.”
I brace for another fight, but he launches straight into the air and leaves me behind. The hollowness that follows nearly drops me to my knees.
Vikarus is my twin, my other half. How can he just leave me and pretend I’m not his brother?
Why does he have to be so stubborn?
Slecking hell.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Creed
The world erupts in a cacophony of weapons fire, growls, and the kind of screams that cut off with a finality that makes me shutter. Calli and the phoenix quint are brutally formidable, and I realize that when they ended our little first contact siege when the rift first opened they really did kick our asses because they honestly didn’t even break a sweat.
How is she? Keyla asks racing along beside me, her nose in the air as she scents for danger.
Hawk and Lukas are leading the way back to the trucks, Kotah and Jaxx have caught up to us, the bears are right behind us, Calli’s still holding off the reinforcements, and I have no idea where Rhy disappeared to.
I saw him and Vik toppling through the sky and then they were gone. Thankfully, even as angry as he probably is, I don’t think Vik will hurt him.
Creed? Are you all right?
I swallow and get my head back into the moment at hand. Yes, apologies. She’s still unconscious, but I sense the strength of her mental energy. I think they simply induced some kind of coma to keep her locked down.
I’m sure between Calli’s tears, Doc, and Jaxx, she’ll be up and around in no time.
That’s my mate. Forever a budding flower blooming optimism.
“Hello, Creed.” The greeting comes from behind a broad tree to my left and Laryssa steps into view.
She’s looking paler than usual and I chuckle at the silk-wrapped nub at the end of her arm. “I like the new accessorizing. You should consider going stump with both arms.”
“Don’t be rude. It’s beneath you.”
I chuckle. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me, Laryssa. You never did.”
“I know you think you’re getting out of here with your sister.”
“Because I am.”
“Did you forget I own you two?”
“Not anymore you don’t, bitch.” I turn to Lukas and Hawk and meet the men eye-to-eye. “Get her to the truck and get her free of this place. Whatever happens to me, it’ll be worth it if I know she’s safe.”
Lukas shakes his head. “Jaxx, you’re up. You’ve got Honor. I
’ve got the witch.”
The jaguar shifts in an instant and takes my sister over his shoulder. Hawk positions himself to take on any incoming hostiles. “We’ll secure her and double back to help.”
“No. Just go. Keyla, you go too.”
Yeah right. Not bloody likely. If this is the showdown, I’m not missing the fight.
There’s no sense arguing—no time either. Me handing off my sister isn’t well received and the blood witch launches into an attack.
I’ve been taken down by her before and know how powerful she is, so it surprises the hell out of me when the shooting streams of magic bounce off an invisible barrier and do us no harm.
“Nicely done, Lukas,” Rhylan says, shifting as he lands behind me.
Laryssa’s lip curls as she focuses on the dragon. “I was hoping you bled out.”
“Same,” he says. “Nice stump. I think you should go for a matching pair.”
I laugh. “I just said that.”
Laryssa screeches and the path breaks out in a riot of fighting. The blood witch tries to aid Laryssa in taking us down but Lukas is negating the witch’s power. It’s a stalemate until something inside me starts to burn.
Dropping to my knees, I fight the demon beast inside me. I lose so much of myself when I become that thing. My will is not my own and I can’t risk the witch turning me against my family.
I’d rather die first.
Creed? What’s wrong? What’s happening?
The witch… she’s calling the curse. I can’t control the beast. I fall to all fours, panting and fighting the pull of my dark soul. The breaking of bones and the tearing of tendons have me gritting my teeth. As always, I’m lost to the pain of the shift. Stop me, Little Wolf. Knock me out or put me down but don’t let me kill any of you.
Keyla
I hear the desperation in Creed’s plea and search for a way to end his suffering. How do I knock out a man twice my size with far more power than I even know about?
No. The answer doesn’t lay with me taking him out. It’s Laryssa and the witch that need to meet their end. I reach out to Rhylan and Doc and find the mental communication we share. The witch is calling Creed’s beast to take us out. We need to take her and Laryssa out first.
I’m no help, Rhylan says. I’ve been rigged with a safety protocol. As much as I want to, I can’t kill them.
Okay, then you take care of your brother and leave them to us.
My brother?
I glance toward the sky to where Vikarus is descending fast. He brought friends.
Rhylan follows my gaze and lets off a string of curses. He brought the enforcers of my brood. He must’ve gone to Shadowcaster and turned me in as a traitor. This just went from bad to worse.
Anyone got a backup army we could call? Doc asks.
Creed and Honor do. The Amberloq are their guardian warriors. Creed called on their power before and used it to break the bonds of the blood witch.
Do you think he could do it again? Rhy asks.
I honestly don’t know. Cover my butt. I’m going to try something. I shift back and drop to my knees in front of a writhing Creed. Gripping his head in my hands, I try to remember the sensation of what it felt like when Creed called to the ancient power of the Amberloq.
Sitting in the center of the dirt path, I close my eyes and focus on the arcane power of the Thornebane ancestors. It’s part of me now. Not fully, but since the searing, I’ve felt Creed’s heritage power build in my cells.
The effects of the witch’s curse are crippling. Connected as we are, I feel the excruciating agony as Creed breaks apart from the inside. His shift isn’t like mine. His is a violation and unwanted abomination that works to consume him more with each shift.
I lock my shoulders and send him what comfort I can. Creed, focus on me. Help me call your guardians for help.
The horrible images of the mental and physical abuse he’s suffered begin to slow as my prince fights to connect. My wolf lets off a long, baleful cry, sickened by the haunting devastation our love is infected with each time he fights the queen’s hold.
Connect with the Amberloq. Help me call on their powers to break you free from the witch’s hold.
The loop of horror-filled images slows even more. Creed’s father having his throat ripped out, his mother stripped and thrown down a stone staircase, Honor being assaulted after he tried to escape, Bloom, bleeding and dying on the ground before him.
Stay with me, my prince. Focus on the power you need to break free from this. I know you can do this. I know we can do this.
I startle as an influx of power bursts to life in the back of my mind. It’s bright and powerful and it builds with a ferocity and sureness that is both overwhelming and invigorating. My heart races triple-time as the power of many minds floods forward it is raw mental energy and exactly the power boost Creed needs.
Pressing my forehead to his, I hope he’s receiving this gift as much as I am. I think he is.
His tremors have stopped and his fight to not shift into the demon wolf is won.
Following the web of golden pathways, I probe his mind and find the black and scarlet rope binding his will from being his own.
I know this is the witch’s tether and I focus all my strength on snapping that rope… unraveling it… untying it. I don’t care how it ceases being attached as long as it does. I won’t have Creed suffering under their control anymore. Their influence ends now.
Pushing all the healing strength I possess into my mate, I banish every trace of those two bitches.
Creed is mine: body, mind, and soul. Mine.
Doc
I’m not sure what Keyla is doing, but it’s something big. The hair on my entire body is standing on end and the two of them are glowing with this wild, golden aura.
As scary as it is to see, it’s also beautiful.
I always knew Keyla was greatness waiting to be unleashed on the world and the universe seems to agree.
Brant and Kotah are with me, guarding the two of them and I wonder if Rhylan sees what’s happening.
I cast a glance skyward and struggle to draw breath. Rhy and Calli are battling the aerial attack while we take on the ground forces.
Lukas is a freaking phenome.
There’s another person who is spectacular waiting to be recognized. Every spell the blood witch throws out, Lukas counters. Every attack she makes, he sends it back at her three-fold.
The queen is looking mighty nervous.
What’s the matter, bitch, afraid you might have to fight a battle yourself?
Yeah, I get the feeling that she’s more of a slimy behind-the-scenes plotter, not an adversary of honor to be reckoned with. Well, the tides have turned, and I think she’s starting to realize it.
Creed pushes up onto his feet and helps Keyla stand beside him. They’re still glowing gold and honestly, there is energy ebbing off them.
I catch the look of fear on Laryssa’s face as Creed stands to his full height. “You’re done, Laryssa.”
She offers him a forced smile and shakes her head. “You can’t harm me. I made sure of that.”
“But I can,” Keyla raises her arm, and a steady stream of magic pulses out of the mating tattoo on her palm. Both Laryssa and the scarlet witch stiffen and ar thrown to the ground. “I wish upon you only that which you inflicted upon Creed. Feel the pain and torment you caused him and bear his suffering.”
The two women are writhing in the dirt, screaming as the onslaught of Keyla’s torture takes hold.
“Consider yourself overthrown, Laryssa,” Creed says, grinning. “If I thought you’d go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under and die there, I’d let you go. But you won’t, so you die here—this ends here.”
He bends to kiss Keyla, and then looks up at the sky. “Enough of this.”
With the swipe of one hand through the air, half a dozen dragons let off screams of agony and retreat.
Holy shit. Creed with his powers is badass.
>
Rhylan and Calli land a moment later and other than cuts and Calli having a bleeding nose, they look good.
Rhy joins Creed, Keyla, and me, and gestures to the two of them throwing off luminescence. “This is a new look. Very royal and glowy.”
Creed holds up his hands. “It’s Keyla’s doing. I’m not sure what she did, but all the intricate connections I used to have to the Amberloq have been restored. I’m powering up more by the minute.”
Rhylan hugs Creed and slaps his back. “Congratulations. I honestly couldn’t be happier for you.”
“She also took care of those two,” I say, pointing to Laryssa and— “Where the fuck is the witch?”
Keyla, Calli and I scan the area and frown.
Lukas wipes his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “Shit. She portaled out somehow. When the going gets tough the witch gets going.”
“Damn it.”
“They both deserve to die,” Rhylan says.
Lukas nods. “They will. For tonight, overthrowing Laryssa and ending her will have to do.”
Rhy nods. “If I could do it myself, I would. My father always said you need to end your enemies. You don’t leave a mangy dog feral in your backyard.”
“No, you don’t.” Lukas pulls his gun from his holster and tilts his head toward Calli and Keyla. “Why don’t you boys take your ladies to the trucks and check on your sister. I’ll take care of things here and be right behind you.”
“Yeah. We did what we came to do. Let’s get Honor home and Creed can reclaim his life and his throne.” I wrap my arm around Keyla’s shoulder and Brant does the same with Calli.
“Best idea I’ve heard in ages.” Keyla smiles up at me and then extends her tattooed hand out to Creed. The moment their palms meet, the tension of the night drains away. “We’ve got some exciting days ahead of us.”
Rhy bends at the waist and gestures with a sweeping hand toward the path. “Lead the way, King Creed.”
~~ THE END ~~
Thank you for reading Dark Soul the seventh book in the Guardian’s of the Fae Realms series and book two of Keyla’s harem – The Darkness Trilogy.