Page 137 of Ascendant King

“Ihavea crown.” On his brow, the dark crown glimmered, his tattoos rising from his brow, shimmering in the light like shadows. “Because I am King Bartlett.”

I took that as my cue, tearing some of the magic free and throwing it straight at Leon. He burst apart, falling to golden shards on the ground.

Keith rushed in, gaping, but I could see through his stomach, his intestines dripping out. “What?”

I drew free the black tattooed blade I’d thrust through Leon and used it to lop off Keith’s head. He disappeared in a rain of gold.

“You don’t want this. You want us back. And you can have us back, here, where everything is right, where mages are in charge, where mages have their rightful place as the most powerful beings on earth.” Alexander glowed as he spoke, his body shimmering.

“No. Nothing about this is right. And it’s not true.” Cade drew a breath, then lifted his hands, making a tearing motion.

Black lines of tattoo darted forward, wrapping around his parents, binding them. They fell to the ground, and their consorts leapt forward. But I was faster. I met them with a long chain of black ink that I swung in an arc, slamming their heads together.

They collapsed, shimmering translucently, as though even Leon’s magic couldn’t hold them together. The door to the ballroom cracked, and I saw the elder dryad framed in it, her massive tree trunk tearing apart the walls, her roots cracking the ballroom floor.

I heard the howls of my pack, the echoes enough to drive me forward. Tyson jumped at me, but I met him in one motion, dragging him to the ground with my hand at his throat.

“Don’t get up. You’re mine. Not Leon’s. He doesn’t own you. Because you aremypack. One of thefirstof my pack.”

Tyson went limp in my grip, his eyes widening, staring around us as though seeing it for the first time. “Alpha?”

Sonja shook her head back and forth, her gaze clearing, regaining the predatory light that made her so dangerous. She stared at me, frowning, before looking at Cade. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere not real,” Larissa croaked. Her consort knelt in front of her, beautiful and young and impossibly alive. Larissa stroked her face, running her thumbs across her cheeks before she squeezed, and Valentina shattered into a million pieces.

Tears stained Larissa’s wrinkled cheeks as she stood, striding toward our group. Her magic swirled around her, a vortex born from pain. “Where is my husband?”

I pointed toward the dryad tree at the doorway. “Is that home?”

Cade nodded, so I grabbed his hand and sprinted forward. He extended his palm, and his black magic tore through the wall around the tree, freeing it from its prison. Then we slid by it and were back.

Chapter

Forty-Five

On the other side, we arrived, cradled between two of the dryad’s roots. The battle was fierce. A few remaining loyalists defended Leon from the Los Santos mages and what was left of the supernatural council.

Pink magic danced through the air, followed by Rhys’s flowers. Nia darted forward, grabbing hold of a mage’s leg, pulling them off-balance so that their spell carved an arc through the trees, leaving them flat on their back. Within an instant, they were covered in flower tattoos, the magic smothering them. The flowers floated away on an invisible wind, and nothing was left behind.

Above it all, Leon sat in his throne, the wooden back of it glowing with flames. When we reappeared, he winced, hissing and turning toward us with a glare.

He opened his eyes, and they were entirely gold, a strange reminder of Jesaiah’s. “No.”

His voice echoed across the battlefield, stilling the world for a brief moment as his face twisted in pain. Behind us, I felt a tear in the universe, like a cold wind at my back. When I glanced over my shoulder, Larissa had arrived, followed by Tyson and Sonja.

He still looked strong, broad-shouldered and healthy. Sonja looked furious. Her expression was so dark that I almost stepped aside and let her take the first crack at Leon.

“How did you get here?” Leon stood, the flames engulfing his throne. “It was perfect there. What are you doing here?”

“Funny thing about your version of paradise.” I reached up, pulling the collar off my throat and throwing it to the side. “We don’t want it.”

I shifted in one swift movement, fur growing from my skin, my muscles shifting, bones breaking. I was powerful here, I reminded myself. I was the alpha of Los Santos.

Gentle fingers stroked over my back, and I felt a press of magic on my shoulder blades. Then, I sprinted forward, wolves gathering with me, Nia and Tyson, Theo and Coral.

What was left of the House Bartlett mages followed behind, throwing magic at Leon. His allies fell under the barrage, going down swiftly, magic slicing through their defenses like softened butter. He was the only one left. He was the one we had to defeat.

I reached him first, grabbing at his arm with my teeth, yanking on it. His hand came off in my mouth.