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My heart races as I look at the triumphant grin on Zane’s face as he hands the sword off to Creed, but the look of elation doesn’t travel to him as well. He knows what he must do.

Creed takes a step forward at the same time as his father does, eliminating most of the distance between them in one swift second, and it’s instinctive for me to follow suit, but I startle when I feel an arm band around my waist, halting me from going any further.

Glaring over my shoulder, I’m surprised to find it’s my father. “Don’t you dare,” I hiss, prepared to beat the hell out of him if necessary, but he relents, his eyebrows furrowed as he relaxes his hold.

I take another step toward Creed, but he throws his left arm out, warning me not to go any further without taking his eyes off the sword. He twirls it in his hand, the onyx gem standing tall and proud in the handle.

“Allow me,” Brax grunts, moving to Creed’s other side. Everything happens so fast, the world seeming to slow around us as my gargoyle grabs the blade in his hand and snaps it in two.

The murmurs around the room grow louder, nobody is willing to take action in any way until Burton fucking says so, and it makes me want to get this over and done with even quicker. The strength of Brax alone doesn’t release the onyx stone as he intended, but Eldon is right beside him in a flash, pressing a heated hand to the metal, and a moment later, it pops free and Creed catches it before it hits the ground.

I can hear Burton still yelling in the background, his voice getting angrier with every syllable, but none of it registers as I watch Creed stare his father down. My heart aches, my limbs pleading to take a step toward my love and cradle him from the storm that’s coming. But this is it. This is exactly what his father said.

A look passes between two sets of onyx eyes as the golden warrior exhales slowly, his arms hanging loose at his sides. “I love you, Creed. Do it, son. Do it now.”

The onyx stone twirls through Creed’s fingers for a split second before he takes the command. He launches it at his father, the stone aimed at his head, and as the gem touches the warrior’s forehead, he collapses to his knees in pain.

My chest clenches, pain etching its way through my veins as members of the crowd scream, watching as a black cloud billows from the connection between stone and armor, swelling outward in an ominous, twisting explosion of darkness that surrounds the golden warrior, confining him within its inky shadow, until it suddenly collapses in on itself, leaving nothing in its wake.

Not even a sliver of golden armor.

Creed stares down at the empty spot, eyes wide as the world swirls in turmoil around him. The cries from the crowd grow louder and I tilt my face to look at them. Hysteria is real, and I can’t help but laugh. Burton truly believes he’s going to take these people to war. What a fucking fool.

“You won’t get away with this. Where is he? Tell me where he is right now. Bring him back,” he snaps, not actually giving anyone a chance to respond to the shit he’s spouting.

At least he can’t ask me to heal him if he’s not here. Not that I wouldn’t if that’s what Creed wanted and needed, but after the conversation he had with his father at our front door the other day, we know this is a blessing for him more than anything. It’s the only way he was ever going to truly have freedom from the shackles holding him in place, and my heart bleeds for the honorable-yet-pained decision he had to make.

Zane wraps his arm around his friend, pulling him back in line with the rest of us when a fresh shadow falls over the entryway into the Gauntlet.

I don’t recognize the man, or the men and women that follow after him, and it makes my stomach clench to see Grave step out onto the staircase with his arms open wide. The two embrace before the new arrival turns his attention to my father.

“Fall in line, Abel. Bring your children with you or face the consequences.” Leila gapes at Grave, horror coating her vision, but I turn my attention to my father. When my eyes lock with his, he remains clear-minded, and I hope like hell that it’s enough to keep him out of their grasp. “If you won’t take the warning from Erikel, then take it from The Monarchy,” he adds, his voice thundering around the space, and I spy a few students shudder in their seats.

Burton claps his hands together, grinning at me with joy in his eyes like he still believes he has the upper hand. “You’ve taken down my golden warrior, but I have the Amayans, and I believe you’ve already met my army of Drakes.”

My heart stills as their shadows come into view first, moments before claws appear and they begin to ascend the staircase together. One by one, the Drakes surround the podium where we stand, their teeth bared in our direction, and my stomach sinks.

Motherfuckers.

THIRTY-ONE

CREED

The feelings coursing through me are overwhelming my senses, leaving me at a complete loss as to what to do next. I just killed someone in front of the entire academy. No, not just someone, my own fucking father.

Agony, relief, and determination for it to not be in vain vibrate through me. I can’t dwell on it. I have to use it to push myself forward and bring all of this shit to an end.

My father died for a purpose, despite the treacherous years that have led to this moment. This was exactly what we’d discussed. I can only hope and pray that he finds solace wherever he is.

I can’t stay in my head, drowning in my thoughts when the Drakes surround us. Not with the way Burton is sneering, like everything is falling perfectly into place for him.

Over my dead body.

I brush off the growing ache in my chest and focus on the most important thing that matters right now: keeping Raven alive.

Wiggling my hand behind me, it takes two short breaths before I feel her delicate fingertips run over mine, giving me the strength I need, just as I hope to fuel her.

I keep my eyes fixed on the Drakes as I insert myself in Raven’s mind as politely as possible. She shivers at the initial contact, spiking my own adrenaline, but I can’t get lost in our connection like I did last time. Instead, I focus on what I want to say to her.