Unity

by Jessica Wayne

The hand on her shoulder squeezed lightly, and Anastasia opened her eyes. A dozen Fighters, half a dozen Brutes, Tony, Elizabeth, Selena, Argento, and Vincent surrounded her, all of them with mixed expressions of fear, anger, horror, and grief on their faces as they stared down at Shane’s mangled body.

  Kaley lay down beside her, resting her large head on Shane’s abdomen.

  Tears fell down Anastasia’s cheeks in streams she was helpless to stop. Chest heaving with sobs, Anastasia held Shane close to her and, turning her head up to the sky, she screamed.

  She unleashed the grief and rage she’d been holding in since the night in Gwen’s house back in Seattle. All the helplessness for what followed came out in a powerful wave of magic that knocked those around her to the ground.

  They stumbled back to their feet, and Anastasia gripped Shane more tightly, not wanting to let go of the man who’d become her closest friend. She’d lost so much already… it seemed everyone she got close to ended up six feet beneath the dry dirt.

  “I’m so sorry, Shane,” she cried. “I’m so sorry this happened. You deserved better.”

  “Yes, he did.” Tony knelt beside her. “But this isn’t your fault. Thames will pay for what he’s done, Anastasia. Focus on what’s in front of you now.”

  Anastasia looked up, staring into the terrified eyes of those around her. They’d backed away, clearly not wanting to fall victim to her power again.

  Nodding, Anastasia gently laid Shane back on the ground and allowed Tony to help her to her feet. A wave of nausea washed over her, and Anastasia stumbled, bending at the waist just as the entire contents of her stomach came up. As she heaved, Fighters carried Shane away to prepare him for burial.

  Tony rubbed gentle circles on her back, and Elizabeth held her hair out of her face as she fought for control over her surging stomach, two things running through her mind:

  Shane was dead.

  Dakota was gone.

  A light breeze carried through the air, lifting stray strands of Anastasia’s braided hair off her neck as she stared down at Shane’s covered body.

  They’d had to wrap him twice in order to keep the blood from staining through the snow-white cloth.

  No matter how hard she tried to forget, Anastasia couldn’t see anything but the gaping hole in his chest where his heart should have been.

  Thames possessed Dakota and used him to rip the heart out of Shane’s chest, making it impossible for her to heal him.

  Sniffling, she held in tears that wanted to fall. No more crying right now. I just need to get through this funeral, and then I can let myself fall apart.

  “You ready?” Tony asked, stepping up beside her.

  “No. But there’s no choice, is there?”

  Turning away, Anastasia faced the villagers who had gathered, most of them red-eyed and tear-stained as well.

  “I’ve known Shane for the last seven years,” she started, letting her gaze travel over the faces of her people. Zarina sat in front, the braids of her hair pulled back from a devastated face. “He was a spectacular Fighter, and an even more amazing friend.” Her voice caught, and she shut her eyes tightly as a single tear slipped through her barrier. Opening her eyes, she continued, “He was one of my closest friends, and I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to move on without him.” She looked back at his body lying beside a hole in the ground. “How I’m supposed to continue this fight without him.”

  She turned back to the crowd. “Shane was so much more than I can even put into words, and I swear to each and every one of you”—she swallowed the thickness in her throat—“I will get revenge for his death. Thames will pay for what he’s done to us all.” Her last words came out on a snarl, and she stepped to the side to allow Selena to move forward.

  “Today, we bury a friend and Fighter. Let us remember Shane for the light in his smile, not the darkness of his death,” she said, her voice steady. “He is survived by so many who loved him; his life will not be forgotten. As we move forward, let us focus on what must be done to ensure horror like this does not happen again.” Selena turned toward Shane. “Goodbye, Fighter. May you move forward into the peacefulness of what waits for us after death.”

  Turning back to Shane, it took everything in Anastasia not to crumble as Tony, Andrew, Gage, and Argento gently lifted his body, then lowered him down inside the grave.

  He would be buried beside Violetta, together in death as they were in life.

  Instruments began playing, slow and steady, a song of life and hope. Both of which were polar opposites of how Anastasia felt inside. She was hollow and broken, only half-alive in her grief.

  Tony stepped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Leaning into him, she wrapped an arm around his back as two Fighters filled the hole that would encompass Shane for all of eternity, each shovel full of dirt a reminder of the obstacles they’d faced together over the years, and the hole she’d never patch in her heart.

  Vincent appeared beside her, and Anastasia swallowed hard. “It will be okay,” he said softly. “Everything is going to be fine.”

  His words brought fresh tears to her eyes, and she furiously wiped them away.

  When the last of the dirt covered the hole, the Fighters circled it, bowing their heads and sending their comrade off with a silent prayer.

  “Goodbye, Shane,” she whispered, before turning and walking away.

  3

  Luxe

  Dakota

  Dakota opened his eyes and rolled over, the contents of his stomach coming up immediately as images from the night before assaulted him.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead as he dry-heaved, his body not realizing there was nothing left to throw up. “No!” he screamed. He leaned back against the wall, covering his eyes with hands still covered in Shane’s dried blood. Pulling them away from his face, he looked down at the specs of dark red in horror, tears forming in his eyes.

  He could remember the way Shane’s heart felt as it beat on his palm, could all but taste the copper-tinged air once Thames plunged his fist into Shane’s chest.

  There was no force in any world that could erase the memories from Dakota’s mind.

  Thames killed him. Shane is really gone. By now, surely Ana found the body. What was she going to think? How was she going to handle losing such a close friend?

  The last image of her in his head was her curled on his mother’s couch last night.

  She’d gone from sleeping soundly to grieving in a matter of hours, and he was nowhere around to help her get through such trauma.

  Then again, if it hadn’t been for him, Thames wouldn’t have been able to kill Shane. You fucking idiot. What did you think was going to happen when you absorbed the Luxe power? Dakota straightened as an idea came to him. What if that was the answer? Thames had no power without him…

  Which meant…

  Could Dakota use his power to destroy Thames?

  There hadn’t been a chance to before, but now he was here, with the power at his disposal and a clear head.

  Pushing to his feet, Dakota took a deep breath and clenched blood-crusted fists. He was going to rip the fucker’s heart out. Let him watch it beat in Dakota’s palm before he crushed it to ash just like Thames had done to Shane. If he even has a heart. If not, Dakota would improvise. Removing his head would be a nice replacement.

  Keeping his footsteps as silent as the marble floor would allow, Dakota crept down the hall toward the grouping of rooms he’d seen the day he’d accepted the power.

  Dakota ignored the portraits with scratched-off faces he passed along the way, focusing on ending the miserable bastard once and for all. Then he could go home.

  To Ana, to their child, and to a future he was willing to die to protect.

  The sound of laughter rang through the hall, and Dakota crept toward it, turning a corner and peeking into the room where he’d accepted his fucked-up heritage.

  Thames stood, wearing a clean, white tunic and black leather pants, watching as young
Vinny looked at a tiny soldier carved from wood. The child was so small compared to Thames, and Dakota winced. Killing someone in front of an innocent boy was not something he ever wanted to do, but this opportunity wouldn’t stick around for long.

  “You like that, boy?” Thames asked, kneeling beside Vinny.

  The child nodded, looking up at Thames with wonder in his ice blue eyes. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. There will be more where that came from, my prince. Just you wait and see.” Thames stood, and Dakota stepped inside, hands balled into fists.

  Thames’ eyes narrowed on him, and he smirked. “I wondered how long you’d sleep.”

  “I find I’m pretty exhausted these days,” Dakota responded dryly, taking a step toward him. Get between Thames and Vinny. That way the child won’t get caught in the crosshairs.

  “How unfortunate for you. You should probably shower, you look disgusting.”

  Dakota looked down at his blood-splattered shirt. “Oh, you mean with all of my friend’s blood on me?”

  “Still bitter about that? I told you, there was no other option.”

  Dakota let out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. “No other option than ripping out the heart of one of my closest friends.”

  “It was either him or your Sorceress.”

  Dakota ground his teeth together. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Had he gone and alerted her, I would have been forced to kill her.”

  “Because you aren’t going to kill her anyway.” Dakota took the last step needed to be able to protect Vinny if things went south. He could grab him and run, hopefully find a way out of this fucking place.

  “Not yet. Maybe not ever,” Thames shrugged casually. “Just depends on whether she gets in my way or not.”

  “I’m going to fucking kill you,” Dakota growled.

  “Language, Dakota. Do you not see a child is present?” He gestured to Vinny, but Dakota didn’t look away.

  “One day he’ll understand what he saw. And why I had to do it.” Holding up a palm, Dakota conjured an ice blue flame. It was strange how the magic was already second instinct to him. He supposed he had Thames to thank for that. His puppeteer had given him plenty examples to follow.

  Thames raised an eyebrow, but his body stayed still.

  “You will die for what you’ve done.” Thrusting the flame at Thames, Dakota watched with fascination that quickly turned to horror when the fire was simply absorbed into Thames’ chest, causing no damage.

  Thames laughed. “Did you really think it would be that easy?” Tugging his white tunic down, he showed off a glowing emerald. “This is the life essence of everyone I’ve come up against. You have no power over me, brother. Their lives make me invincible.”

  Dakota clenched his fists. “I may not be able to use magic, but I can still kill you with my bare hands.”

  Thames was larger than Dakota, significantly so, but he didn’t care. The bastard had slaughtered his friend, threatened his wife, and violated his mind. He will pay.

  Dakota charged, and Thames slammed him to the ground with a large fist. Kicking, Dakota landed a foot in Thames’ gut, pulling a grunt from him.

  Before Dakota could get to his feet, Thames recovered, wrapping a large fist around Dakota’s arm and ripping it from the socket.

  Dakota howled as sharp pain shot through his body, his left arm hanging limply to his side.

  “You idiot! Do you see what you’ve made me do?”

  Dakota smiled despite the agony. “Made it easier for Ana to kick your sorry ass straight to hell, where you belong.” After all, if he were broken, Thames couldn’t put up as much of a fight against her.

  Thames shook his head in disgust. “All you’ve done is caused yourself more pain than was necessary.” Leaning down, he lifted Dakota from the ground by his neck and carried him out into the hall.

  Slamming Dakota into the wall, Thames leaned in closer. “I own you, Brother. Your life, your power, your future, it’s all mine. The sooner you realize you have no choice, the easier things will be for you.”

  He dragged Dakota across the room toward the cage. The iron door creaked open, and Thames tossed Dakota inside just before slamming the gate and locking him in.

  Thames studied him, upper lip curled up in disgust. “You’re pathetic.”

  “At least I’m not a psychopath.”

  Thames raised an eyebrow. “You’re not? Tell me some part of you didn’t relish in the fact you no longer have to worry your Sorceress will leave you for a real Fighter? For someone who was there for her the years you weren’t.”

  “Not even a little.” Not once had Dakota worried about Ana’s faithfulness. The fact that Thames was trying so hard to plant the idea in his head did nothing but piss him off.

  “Then you are a fool.” Thames turned and left.

  Dakota studied the bars, and with a deep breath, leaned his injured shoulder against one of them. “You can do this,” he muttered to himself. “Three…two…one!” Slamming his shoulder against the bars, Dakota heard the audible pop before the shooting pain radiated through his arm.

  He fell backward onto the ground and held his arm against his chest as the pain dulled to an ache. Tears slipped down his cheeks, evidence of the physical and emotional pain slowly eating him alive.

  Shane’s death was on him, and unless he found a way to get out of this fucking place—soon—so would Ana’s.

  Losing her was a pain he wouldn’t survive.

  Dakota closed his eyes and screamed.

  4

  Terrenia

  Anastasia

  Anastasia stood atop the watch tower, looking out amongst the treetops. How many times had she stood like this? She’d awaited countless battles, watched as Fighters left for their patrols, been held by Dakota while they watched the sun set.

  Tears burned in her eyes as the lump in her throat grew. It’s not the end. No matter how many times she tried to remind herself of this, she couldn’t move past the feeling that things were never going to go back to the way they were.

  They can’t. Shane is gone.

  I’m going to be a mother.

  Everything is changing.

  Anastasia ran her hand across her still flat abdomen. With her power, she could feel the small being inside of her, already so full of life.

  What if Dakota never got to meet his son or daughter? What if their child would never get the chance to know their father?

  The wood creaked behind her, and Anastasia wiped a tear from her cheek as she turned around, half expecting to see Dakota climbing up the ladder after her.

  Of course, it wasn’t Dakota, so when Tony emerged, Anastasia wasn’t even slightly surprised. He held two glasses in one hand and a bottle of whiskey beneath his arm.

  Crap, guess the nugget won’t stay a secret.

  “Thought I might find you up here,” he said softly. Setting the glasses and whiskey on the railing, Tony turned to her, soft grey eyes studying her as one might regard an injured bird. “How are you?”

  Anastasia shrugged. “Shane’s dead. Dakota’s gone. Thames has Vincent’s son. Not really sure there’s a word for how I’m feeling at the moment.”

  “None of this is your fault.”

  Anastasia shook her head, turning her attention back to the darkened sky. “This is all my fault. I can’t tell you how many times I felt something was coming. Hell, Tony, I even saw Thames two years ago.”

  “What?”

  She closed her eyes, guilt settling deep in her gut. “He appeared a couple of times, once in my cell when Vincent had me, and again the day I killed Vincent.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I’d like to say it was because I didn’t think it was relevant, that I thought I’d imagined the entire thing.” She shook her head again. “But, honestly, it was completely selfish. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want anything else to be coming. I wanted a break, a chance at a normal li
fe. Or as normal as it can be, anyway.”

  Tony touched her shoulder gently. “That’s not a crime.”

  “Isn’t it, though?” Turning to him, Anastasia angrily wiped her tears away. “Had I warned everyone, we might have been prepared for Rosabel, and maybe things would have turned out a hell of a lot differently.”

  “Possibly. Or it’s possible they would have turned out the same.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “Thames didn’t attack right away because he was waiting. Even if you had warned us, there is no way we could have known when to be prepared, and it sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten us ready for Rosabel. She was a completely different threat altogether.”

  Tony poured whiskey in two glasses and handed one to her. Anastasia stared down at the amber liquid, unsure how she was supposed to tell Tony, or if this was even the right time.

  “You okay?”

  Anastasia nodded and set the glass down. “I won’t be drinking whiskey for a while.”

  Tony lifted an eyebrow, but she could see the moment it dawned on him. A huge smile spread across his face, and he set his glass down to wrap his large arms around her. “How long have you known?”

  “Not long. A week or so.”

  “That’s so wonderful, Anastasia!”

  He released her, and Anastasia tried to force a smile, but instead, tears pushed through, and she covered her face with shaking hands.

  “Hey, hey.” Tony wrapped his arms around her again, and she leaned against him.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “How am I supposed to fight against Thames? I don’t even know where the bastard is! He has everything he wants, so chances of him coming out into the open again are limited. What if we never see him again?”

  Tony pushed Anastasia back so he could see her face. “There is something else we know he wants.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The Terrenian life core.”

  “We don’t even know where that is.”