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“A… destabilization… to the… balance,” Cassius rasped. “A… colossal one.”

Thunder rumbled above and I looked to see the clouds drawing together unnaturally.

In the next second, flash lightning ripped through the sky and it opened, torrential rain belting down on the ground and soaking us to the bone in seconds.

That awful sensation abated enough for Cassius and I to step forward and call our power instinctively, our palms at the ready.

And then at the opposite end of the clearing, black shimmering light erupted, cutting through the fabric of reality itself.

I jolted as a hand punched its way through.

Black lightning erupted from the severance, and then an entire being broke through, stepping onto the grass, the magical slice closing behind them.

The being stood like a storm forged in flesh, his skin pulsing with golden fissures from within like molten cracks. They formed jagged patterns across every inch of his sculpted frame. Each line throbbed with power.

His eyes were a glowing black, sharp and predatory, burning with an unnatural intensity.

He was wearing only an animal skin that hung like a towel low on his hips, his bare feet sinking into the now sodden ground.

I shuddered at the sheer power radiating off him, the dark and unsettling energy emanating forth with it.

I’d never felt anything like it.

The strange being’s gaze flicked to Cassius and he sniffed the air.

His eyes narrowed with barely checked ferocity. “You’re one of them.”

“Who are you?” I called over.

A rumble escaped him. “A paradox.” His attention shifted to me, his gaze softening noticeably, albeit his body still primed in a ready-for-anything state. “You may call me Ketheron.” His lip curled, his features twisting in the process. “Kindred.”

He took a step toward me.

A mere step was all he managed before Cassius fired his white power.

Ketheron snarled like a beast and dodged out of its path with the ease and speed of an Ancient vampire.

How the—

A blast of gold power surged and slammed into Cassius, sending him hurtling through the forest, slamming into and downing tree after tree in the process.

Oh my God.

That was all the reaction I got, all I was allowed to process, before Ketheron ran at me, growling and roaring like an animal, the forest floor reverberating beneath his feet, his gold magic surging toward me.

I raised my palms and called my magic forth defensively.

But then the wave hit, tearing right fucking through it.

Through True Celestial power!

How?

How was this happening?

His power hit me in the gut and I smashed into a tree with such force that it nearly ripped from its roots.

He was there in the next second, wrapping his hand around my throat, and jolting my whole body like I was nothing but a rag doll.

As I choked, I stared up hazily at those glowing black eyes.

“Kindred,”he rumbled once again, the urgency taking him over causing his grip around my throat to tighten so much that I couldn’t draw in a breath.

The last thing I saw was a flash of familiar silver light before everything slipped away.

To be continued in

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