by Sara Snow
The claw on my index finger elongated more than the others, and I yanked my dagger from his throat, then sliced the flesh open before falling off him.
I crawled backward on my hands to get away from him, my tears washing away his blood as he choked. I watched him die slowly, just as he'd left my mother to die.
A Bleeder ran through the hole in the wall, and I flicked a wrist, commanding one of my daggers to behead it.
I'd always wanted to save lives, to be a pack doctor and help heal others. But that girl was broken. And at this moment, she was long gone. A monster had taken her place.
My cry was a howl and scream blended into one, and the sound ricocheted off the walls as I poured out my sadness. Because even though the man who had killed my mother was dead on the ground, his death wasn’t enough to fill the gaping hole in my heart . . . or satisfy the animal he’d created.
Elinor
I looked down at the house, a jolt of panic surging through me when I heard Skye’s cry high above all the chaos. It took a moment for me to realize that it wasn’t a cry of pain I’d heard, but one of anguish.
A lightning bolt zipped past my face and sent me plummeting.
I caught myself and flew upward again. With my control over the air, I was able to push the fog away and saw the vampires and the Resurrected piling out of the forest, seemingly without end.
Will had jumped three stories down to fight within the forest, and I aided him with my powers from above. Chiron had fallen out of a window at some point, and Sybil jumped out after him.
I felt the sizzle of energy in the air as thunder clouds gathered overhead. With a naturally occurring storm, the lightning bolts I created would be even stronger.
Three resurrected werewolves circled Chiron. I flicked my index and middle finger upward as if calling something forth, and the earth rose up, engulfing the werewolves and pulling them beneath the earth.
Chiron looked up, his hair blowing wildly around him, and he nodded his thanks.
A Bleeder jumped onto him, but the blur I knew to be Will tackled it.
Another bolt of lightning came flying at me, but I caught it with my left hand. My eyes rolled back as I absorbed it and released it from my right hand with double its force. The witch who’d initially thrown it at me dodged it but came face-to-face with Sybil’s blade.
Thunder clapped above us, and I consumed the first true bolt of lightning that fell. I plummeted somewhat from the shock as the electricity surged through me but caught myself. Just as the Sisters had taught me, I released my power in stages to stop myself from being overpowered by it. Then, combining the electricity with what I could create, I held my hands out. Taking aim at several resurrected witches, I let loose . . . and fried them to a crisp. My fingertips tingled and my arms shook as their screams rolled up to me. Will beheaded them all, moving quickly from one to the other before they could react.
The resurrected fae were equally dangerous because they could manipulate the forest. I sent bolts of lightning flying, stopping several fae in their tracks. But there was someone I was looking for: Cain.
Since no one seemed to be affected by his ability to create fear, I guessed he wasn’t a part of this attack. I hoped it was a sign that he was dead, though I doubted it. And I knew it would only be a matter of time before he showed himself again.
Sybil screamed my name as a Bleeder pinned her to the ground. I fell from the sky, embedding my claws in the Bleeder’s shoulders. Then I lifted him into the air and threw him. My father, who was now in his final form, caught him and killed him, locking his jaws around the creature’s thin neck and removing its head.
The sky wept as the battle stretched on with no end in sight. The vampires kept coming as they had during our last fight. Then I saw something that gave me pause.
I wiped away the rain from my face and spotted a female hybrid who had fangs like a vampire and eyes like a demon. Beneath her top, I could see a pulsing red light.
I acted immediately when blood flowed from her black, demon-like eyes like tears. I’d seen this before. She was going to kill herself, self-destruct.
And she’d take us all with her.
“Take cover!” I yelled, then commanded the earth to consume her. It only got as far as her thighs before she exploded.
Heat scorched my skin, and I was thrown back as the trees and everything directly around her disintegrated. A cooling sensation cloaked my body, and I collided with a tree.
I fell to the ground, still shielding my face as the explosion burned the world around me.
“Will! Skye!” I yelled as burning Bleeders and Skins shrieked in agony, and thunder rumbled overhead.
No one answered. A tree fell onto me, and a branch that was ablaze hit me in the face, but I didn't feel it.
I broke through the branches and stood up, covering my eyes with my hand. I raised my hands over my head and blew away the smoke and fog, allowing me to get a better view of the carnage. The explosion had leveled the forest, and the only trees still standing were on fire.
Looking down at myself, I saw a thin blue light directly above my skin. It wasn't my magic, but I was thankful for it. The forest was silent except for the crackling of trees burning and vampires dying.
I turned around and saw Circe's hands fall to her side with exhaustion, and the blue shield around the house faded. It faded from around me, too, as well as from my father's wolf and Chiron. Circe had protected both men.
It had stopped raining, but there had been enough precipitation to put out most of the fires, thankfully. But there were still Bleeders, the Resurrected, and Skins alive.
A Bleeder with a scorched left arm rushed at me, and a blue blade pierced its skull and threw the creature to the ground. To my left, Skye stood up and held her hand out. The dagger removed itself from the Bleeder’s head and flew back to her hand.
“What the hell was that?” Chiron’s swung his sword, removing excess gore from the blade.
"The hybrids can explode," I told him as I joined him and the others in front of the house.
"They're not all dead, though." Skye cocked her head at something behind me, and I turned around to see several vampires and Resurrected getting to their feet. They were severely burned, but they still got up.
"Wait, where are Ichiro and his men? And Tor?" I asked.
We all started looking around as my father and Connor took care of the Bleeders running our way.
“Wilhelmina!” Sybil ran to our right, where Wilhemina was trapped beneath a burning tree, a bite mark on her neck.
"Tor!" Chiron's voice exploded around us, and he ran in the same direction as Sybil.
Tor was on his side, unconscious, with half his body burned. From where I was, I could hear his heartbeat. Unfortunately, Wilhemina was already dead.
“I-I thought I’d gotten everyone.” Circe’s purple eyes grew teary.
Skye picked up her daggers and ran off to rejoin the fight, but she didn't get too far before fire rained down from the sky. I was on my way to help Tor but jumped back as the air around us grew hot.
Something, or someone, was flying above the forest. It flew around the house, burning everything that moved. It was hard to see whatever was raining down flames through the thick black smoke until finally, I glimpsed glowing wings through the fog.
“Theanos,” I said under my breath. “Theanos!”
Theanos pierced through the smoke and dropped in front of the house. He lit up the night, then his scaled skin faded, and his bright, colorful wings flapped once before folding behind him and disappearing. His throat was as red as a dragon's the moment it breathed fire, but soon that vanished as well.
His blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he flashed his signature dazzling smile when he walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug. “Looks like I missed a party.”
“You made it in time.” I released him.
Skye ran over and pulled him into a tight hug. “How did you find us?”
“I
went to the pack and Cyrus told me the route you guys took. I used the same tracker spell I employed when you were abducted from the pack.”
Then I heard Tor call for me, so I ran to him and fell to my knees by his side. I placed my hand on his burned stomach, where the flesh had practically melted. He was slipping away quickly, but my power was already awake and ready to be used.
I forced the glowing light in my palm into his body. He shook so violently, Chiron had to pin him to the ground . . . but his wounds began to heal.
“Elinor!” Circe called, as she ran across the forest with Shelby in her arms.
Circe put Shelby down beside Ichiro, whose fingers were digging into the earth as he laid stiffly on the ground. I ran to them, but when I got there, I knew only one of them was alive. Circe was doing her best to hold back tears as she leaned over Shelby and closed her dull eyes. I went to Ichiro’s side, holding back my own tears.
“S-Save her,” Ichiro said through clenched teeth, as I held my hands out to hover over his burned body. "Save her!"
I closed my eyes and ignored the pain in his voice. Shelby was gone. There was nothing I could do.
My heart skipped a beat, and I grabbed my chest at the odd feeling. There was a cramping pain in my stomach, but still, I focused on pouring my power into Ichiro. My father and Connor, in their human forms, joined us and helped me by pinning Ichiro down.
When I stood up, the world blurred for a second; I stumbled, but familiar hands caught me. I looked up at Will and patted his hand for him to release me. “Where are the others?”
He took me over to one of the remaining two satyrs still alive and two of the kitsune, who were seconds away from death.
It took more effort than it ever had before for me to heal them all. The pain in my stomach grew worse with each life I saved, but I had to do it.
One satyr who’d survived wept over his leader. He rocked Shelby’s body back and forth while Sybil held Wilhemina’s lifeless body in her arms. I pounded my fist on my chest, wanting the pain there to ease before I continued healing everyone else.
Once it was all over, we moved back into the house. And even though we won the fight, no one was cheering.
Too many lives had been lost.
Circe opened a portal for the satyr and Ichiro to leave with their dead. I stood at the back of the room, holding my aching stomach.
“I’m sorry,” I told Ichiro as his portal opened.
“It’s not your fault,” he answered, then stepped through and vanished.
I released a breath, but as the adrenaline from the battle left me, I felt my eyes roll back. My fingers dug into my sides as pain surged through my lower abdomen.
Will caught me and yelled to the others. But everything around me had already turned black.
9
Elinor
"All the wounds she healed would have been fatal. She used a lot of her energy—too much of it—saving everyone else," Circe said. Her voice was low, as it usually was, but I thought I detected a note of regret in her tone, as well. "And it hasn’t been that long since her last fight, when she accepted your Goddess into her body. Her body was still healing from it. This latest battle, and all the healing that came with it, was just too much for her.”
“But will she be okay?” I heard Faelen ask, tears evident in her voice. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell her just yet.”
“We have to,” Skye said with a sniffle.
This wasn't the first time my powers had knocked me on my ass. So why was everyone crying?
My eyes opened, and all three women fell silent. I was thankful that wherever I was, it was dimly lit. I took a deep breath, and Skye appeared above me, holding a cup in her hand. Her eyes were red, and when I looked closer, I saw that Faelen’s eyes were just as swollen.
Circe's eyes, too, were rimmed red with unshed tears. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days.
"You people look like shit. Do I look as bad as all of you do?"
Faelen chuckled. “Yeah, she’s fine.”
Skye helped me to sit up, and I downed the cup of water she gave me. No one spoke, and I grew uneasy.
“How long have I been out?”
“A few hours,” Circe answered. “It’ll be dawn soon.”
I looked from one woman to the next. "So, what's wrong? I can tell there’s a problem." I nodded towards Faelen. "What didn't you want me to know?"
She looked surprised that I'd heard, but instead of answering, she looked at Circe, who exhaled and stood up.
“Ladies, can you give me a minute with Elinor, please?"
The longer this stretched on, the more uncomfortable I grew. Something was wrong, but the night had already been a disaster. What else could have happened while I'd been unconscious?
Faelen and Skye left reluctantly, and Circe sat down on the bed beside me. Across the room, cool air was blowing in through a broken window, and I could smell the scent of burning flesh.
“The men are gathering and burning the bodies,” Circe said, seeing me wiggle my nose. “I can seal the window to keep the smell out if you’d like.”
“It’s okay. What’s going on? Did something happen while I was out?”
"Well, after you fainted, I used a spell to check your body for internal injuries. I figured you had just used too much of your power.”
“But? I feel like there is a ‘but’ coming.”
Circe looked toward the plain wall across the room, the candle by my bed casting shadows on it from trees outside.
“Circe? Tell me what’s going on.”
“Skye told me you spent a year with Will inside an alternate reality that the Nephilim Sisters made so you could heal.” She looked at me from the corner of her eye. “Was she right?”
My eyes twitched as I squinted. I was trying to figure out where she was going with this, and I had a feeling it was nowhere good. "Yes, that’s true. Did something happen to Will?"
“You were pregnant, Elinor.”
I stopped blinking. I held my breath as her words echoed in my mind. No, she hadn't said what I’d heard. I was still unconscious, and this was a nightmare. After seconds passed and I said nothing, she turned to me and took my hands in hers.
“Were?” I repeated, and my voice cracked.
Circe said nothing, but she didn't have to. I could see it in her eyes. I placed my hand on my stomach and recalled the cramps I'd felt there.
“I-I was pregnant?”
"I tried to save the child, but the amount of power your body uses when you fight . . . Well, the child couldn't survive."
Outside the window, someone jumped onto the ledge, startling us both. Will climbed through the broken glass, his red eyes on my stomach. Once inside, he remained unmoving, but I could hear his heartbeat racing in my ear. There was a look of shock, pain, and confusion on his face, the same emotions I was feeling.
I was pregnant. I was pregnant with Will’s child.
Circe moved as if to get up, but Will shook his head. “Don’t move. Just g-give me a minute.”
He inhaled sharply, the sound a strangled one as if he was having trouble breathing. Black veins crawled up his neck to his cheeks, and he hissed and hunched forward to rest his hands on his knees.
He was losing control.
Then he vanished from in front of the window, and I jumped when he appeared across the room and smashed his fist against the wall, causing multiple cracks to spread across it and up to the ceiling.
I climbed out of bed, but Will turned around to glare at me. I knew the anger in his eyes wasn't aimed at me, however, so I took slow steps until I came close to him. He bent forward again, his hair falling forward to curtain both sides of his face.
His skin was a sickly gray, his brows furrowed tightly.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stopped before him. I’d been a mother and hadn’t even known. I’d heard many pregnant women say they’d just known a child was inside them without being told by a doctor, but I had sensed nothing. My kne
es grew weak, and Will caught me. We crumbled to the floor as I wept, and Circe quietly left the room.
“I’m sorry . . .” I clutched at my clothes, my claws ripping the fabric over my stomach. “I’m so sorry.”
Will gathered me into his arms as if I were a child, and I pressed my face into his chest. His body shook as he cried with me, and his pain only made mine worse.
"I'm sorry, Will." I shook my head from side to side as I pounded my fist on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so . . .”
He pulled back, and I looked up at him. The veins on his skin had already disappeared, but his eyes were still red. I reached up and wiped his tears away as the muscles in his jaw clenched.
“Don’t blame yourself for this." He rested his forehead against mine, and I closed my eyes, allowing fresh tears to spring free.
We sat in silence after my body grew numb, his hand on my stomach and mine over his. My mouth was dry and my limbs heavy, and all the while, I prayed for Circe to return and say it was all just a horrible joke.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
"A part of me knew it was possible . . .” Will's voice was hoarse and low, but I listened to it vibrating in his chest as I kept my face pressed there. "That's why I always rejected the humans and supernatural creatures my mother tried to force me to bed. I knew I had to keep this part of me away from her. I never wanted children because of her.”
“I should have known,” I said, my cheeks somewhat stiff from the tears that had dried there. “I should have been able to tell.”
“Thinking that will only cause you more pain. We don't know what kind of child you would have given birth to, and we don't know how the pregnancy would have gone. There is a lot we don't know." He exhaled noisily. "If you blame yourself for not knowing, I should blame myself for not being careful enough. After all, I suspected it was possible."
He tried to move, but my hold on him tightened. “It hurts.”
“I know,” he whispered. “Get some rest, okay? We'll be home soon.”
"Don't leave," I begged, and he held me tighter.