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CHAPTER 14

NOVA

F ighting with Titania was possibly the most unique and destructive experience I’d ever undergone. In a flash of lightning and a plume of floral scented magic, the two of us collided in an explosion that sent a sonic wave through the marble building around us.

The floor shook, cracking under the force of the magic rebounding between us, lightning slamming against a wall of pink and green. The fae in front of me was not the one I’d met originally. Titania had undergone a transformation, and she looked fierce—threatening and more than a bit primordial.

The pressure built between us and with a roar she broke away, flying backwards with her wings. I let my magic grow on my fingertips and the space around us grew thick with clouds, the taste of ozone dancing across my tongue. Winds whipped wildly, throwing her off course, making me nearly smile.

Until she used the momentum of my storm winds to slam into me so hard that my head cracked back onto the marble.

A blast of her magic surged through me, and I let out a laugh at the sensation. It had been some time since I’d fought this intensely. Bringing my knees up and kicking hard, I sent her flying back before finding my footing again, feeling blood dripping on the back of my neck. Dark roots began to surface from the floor, and I could feel lightning dancing above, waiting to strike her down.

“What do you hope to gain from this, Titania?” I called out curiously. “Do you hope to humble me? Then what? Everyone already knows what you’ve done. What you’re part of. Your allies have abandoned you.”

“Shut! Up!” she screamed, her voice creating a blast that made me wince, but I managed to stand my ground even as blood leaked out of my ears. That scream had been more than a simple vocalization of her anger.

In that moment I realized the power that Titania held over the people around her. Minor gods began throwing themselves at the barrier that blocked us from the crowd, trying to reach her. They were surrounded by a green haze, and it reminded me ever so briefly of Venus’s powers. Which gave me an idea.

I let my own magic slip toward the barriers, countering her measure. Confusion filled the faces of the minor gods and brought their actions to a stop. Titania’s magic tried to brush me off, but I held her gaze, refusing to let her have control of the minor gods she was trying to call to her aid. The push and pull of our magics led to Titania finally roaring out in frustration and trying to slam into me—which I dodged repeatedly.

“Don’t like it when you can’t cheat?” I demanded, amusement at her anger surfacing. “I have individuals I can call for help as well—but here I thought we were playing fair.”

“There is no playing fair with gods,” she spit out before flashing a dangerous smile. “But you’re right. You do have people—as well as one of my people.”

My amusement disappeared as Volkan appeared within our sphere, his face filled with confusion on how he’d gotten there. A green mist leaked out from his chest as his expression turned alarmed. His magic was contained within him, and his eyes flashed dark as his gaze moved to mine, his jaw so tight I was worried it would shatter.

“Nova, you need to pull back from the fight—or switch with someone. I have no idea how she still has pull on my power.”

I knew he was just trying to be protective, but I would absolutely not pull back from this fight even if it meant facing Volkan’s power head-on. It wasn’t an option. I would not let Titania win this.

“Because you’re mine.” Titania snapped, her power lashing out against him as she pulled on the final threads that still connected the two of them. Ones that I could feel because of our bond. Ones that made me feel a sense of rage I hadn’t known I was capable of.

Volkan grunted, restraining his own movement as he crouched down and kept his hand on the floor, refusing to move toward her—or move at all. I watched the pain in his face and the guilt, the shame in our bond, and everything about the moment set me on absolute fire. This was over. Now.

“Titania.” My voice was soft and deadly as I flashed across the space. The fae queen stumbled back, her wings growing larger in an attempt at intimidation. “Release him. Now.”

“Never. He’s mine.”

“Yours? Volkan belongs to no one. Titania, you are nothing but a child abuser—and one that deserves to die.”

In a fast, sharp movement, I reached out and gripped her wings in both hands, sending lightning through them. They burst into flames as wind smacked into her so hard her decimated wings ripped off. Calling another massive bolt of lightning down from the ceiling, I took out a dagger I had strapped on my thigh and shoved it into her throat. With a snap of my hands, I disconnected her head and kicked her body away.

In seconds, the primordial fae queen was gone.

A fate deserving of someone so fucking disgusting.

My bond with Volkan filled with relief, making it clear that whatever connection they had was gone now. Because Titania was gone. Forever. I would make sure of that. Holding her head between my hands, I closed my eyes and pulled on my will—my desire to make sure that she never came back again.

Fire lit up my fingers, and as I opened my eyes, a green cast surrounded her decapitated head before it turned it to ash, even the bone dissolving in the inferno. A sonic boom of power echoed through the chamber, and her physical body also deteriorated in the wave of magic. All that was left was a glowing orb of power floating between my fingers.

Inhaling, I closed my hands around it and imagined it sinking back to the Horde. To the fae realm to help Gray, Vegas, and Maize. When I opened my eyes, it was completely gone. I wavered slightly on my feet, but after a moment the dizziness passed, leaving me just feeling pure relief.

Now she couldn’t hurt Volkan.

“Well that was fascinating.”

I almost smiled as Isis’s voice rang through the space. But then I remembered I was still mad at her. I turned to find her, Venus, Danu, and Hecate all standing on the main floor as their consorts—with the exception of Venus’s—watched from above.

“That was crazy impressive,” Hecate said. “She was horrible.”

“Actually horrible,” Venus agreed before her eyes narrowed on a sector of individuals to the left. “Wish it had included a few others.”

“You killed her.” A startled man stepped forward, his skin a sickly shade of green. “You removed her completely. I can tell…I can tell she won’t come back.”

“Well that was the point, so good,” I stated bluntly.

“That is far too much power to have,” another voiced, the crowd breaking out in panicked, hushed conversation. I suppose this did look a little bad, didn’t it? Maybe I’d get a cool title now, like ‘god slayer’ or ‘fairy slayer.’ That would be super neat.

Volkan appeared behind me, placing a hand on my hip. I smiled up at him, loving the obvious relief in his expression. It encouraged me to settle the chaos around me so I could talk to him.

“Hey! Listen up! I hear you, and before you start worrying about me being some type of god slayer”—I let the nickname hang in the air as a few of my men chuckled, knowing where I was going with this—“I don’t plan on keeping all of this magic. If any of you had fucking listened before, you’d know that I’m trying to give it away.”

That silenced the room. Finally.

I moved to the center of the room, away from my allies and my men, so that I could face the gods gathered on the main floor and above.

“Let me make myself clear. I will kill anyone who is planning to harm this cause.” My voice was loud and booming, probably adding to their fears. “You do not get to exist as a god if you won’t step up to the plate—especially if you’ve been draining others.” I could feel the guilt in the air at my words.

“With that being said, if you do not want to help. Leave now. We have things to handle, and you are not welcome here.”

I expected people to leave, but no one did. Instead, they began to resettle in groups according to their god sector, waiting for further instruction.

Well, this was a start—hopefully we would get somewhere. In a way, the gods were a lot like the Titans—who, mind you, were watching all of this with veiled amusement. You sort of had to be hardasses with them. Their egos wouldn’t allow for anything else—and believe me, I didn’t mind in the least.

“Right, before we start?—”

“I fucking surrender!” Set’s voice echoed. My gaze moved to where he was between Cronus and Persus, on his knees. Silver cuffs of magic bound him and he looked to be in pain even though nothing was really touching him. I paused my train of thought as I eyed him curiously.

“I surrender!” he announced again. “I won’t try any shit. I’m not going to end up like that bitch.”

I nearly rolled my eyes at the way he referenced Titania. Don’t get me wrong, she was one—but I still didn’t love the name calling, purely on principle. Especially from that bastard.

Cronus offered me a look that asked ‘what do you want to do?’

“Do you have anywhere to keep him?” I asked Cronus. “He may prove useful.”

“Absolutely.” Cronus nodded sharply, looking far too excited as he escorted Set from the room. I sort of wished I knew what Cronus had in store for him…but I’d have time for that later.

“Alright.” I clapped my hands like a teacher at the front of the classroom, and my magic adjusted her microphone as if she were standing in front of a university seminar. “Within your sectors, pick the individuals to receive extra magic. They can share it within the group afterwards, but this way you can decide amongst yourselves how to distribute the power based on who will be better on the battlefield and then the extra can go to those who will serve as support.”

There was no need to explain why I wasn’t giving any of the older gods extra magic—better safe than sorry. Just because they stayed didn’t mean I considered them fully allies.

“As I said, I highly suggest preparing your sector for war. Considering you’ve stayed, I will be calling on you.”

With that, conversation broke out, and I inhaled sharply and turned toward my men, letting out a long sigh.

“That was fucking wild,” Rowan said simply.

“Yeah, I’m going to need a nap or something,” I admitted before offering River a playful look. “Especially if I can’t have more coffee.”

River chuckled but didn’t deny it, my men surrounding me in a bubble of warmth and comfort. Volkan’s hand on my back was extremely stabilizing, and I couldn’t wait for a moment alone to talk to him.

Suddenly, Nyx’s voice called out from the ground floor. “Nova, could we talk?”

I had a feeling this was going to be complicated.

* * *

“F rankly, I am completely unsurprised,” Nyx sighed, her expression a picture of indifference. “Offended you thought I could be part of their little crew. Titania, Ra, Ymir, and Inanna have always had serious problems with the idea of losing power in any way, shape, or form.”

“With that being said, it may be worth reaching out to Atum,” Marduk said, leaning forward on his elbows. “He’s been in a long sleep, relying on Ra to lead on his behalf. He may not even be aware of what’s going on.”

Despite their ancient age, many of these gods had modernized to the point that they would fit into any Earth realm city. Marduk was a perfect example. Originally from the Babylonian sector, he was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and leather shoes, his red cashmere sweater quite luxurious and expensive—much like the watch on his wrist. He appeared to be in his mid-forties but was obviously much older than that. He also had a pretty good sense of humor and an intense beard that was perfectly shaped in a square at the bottom.

“I can do that,” Brahma said. “I’ve been meaning to play him in another game of chess. I swear he went into this deep sleep for the sole purpose of avoiding a rematch.” That idea of that was more than a bit funny.

“You should find Shiva while you’re at it,” Izanami suggested. Brahma nodded in agreement but didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic at the concept. While Izanami’s ethereal appearance—a fluttering silk dress surrounding her lithe form—would suggest a relaxed or soft demeanor, she was anything but that. She wasn’t mean, exactly, but she was a bit of a hard ass and a straight shooter. I personally liked her a lot, and she’d promised to give me a tour of Japan if we ever traveled there—so I awarded her ally brownie points.

We had covered a lot of ground with these gods in a short amount of time. Oddly, or maybe not, they were far more down to earth than many of the others we’d met.

“And I can count on all of you to be committed to this cause?” I asked the group of gods gathered on the ground floor, which included a representative from every God realm subsect that existed. While they may not have been the ones receiving magic from me, I very much wanted to consider them allies if possible. The more people on our side, the better.

Lucky for me, their consent was unanimous. I also appreciated that they didn’t ask why I wasn’t giving them magic—I had a feeling that they all felt more than comfortable in handling themselves in the upcoming war.

“Perfect. Time to get this show on the road.” I turned toward the rest of the room and my men moved with me, surrounding me protectively. Our enemies may be gone for now, but it didn’t stop my men from worrying. I couldn’t wait until we could go back to Ram and Nour’s place in the Egyptian sector. This upcoming magic transfer was going to take a toll, most likely, and I wanted a movie night and cuddles if possible.

“A moment, αγαπο?λα μου,” Volkan requested. I turned toward him, my hand smoothing up his chest as he cupped my jaw.

“You did amazing.” He spoke softly, keeping the words between us. “And I cannot thank you enough. What you did there, the hold you broke…I thought I would have to live with that my entire life.”

Tilting my head, I answered honestly.“Didn’t like her claiming ownership over you. You shouldn’t have to deal with her using your past like a desperate thread to make power plays with. It’s fucked up.”

“You’re right,” he said, “but you’re also wrong. I do belong to someone.”

“Oh?” I asked, feeling a flush invade my cheeks.

Volkan pressed a soft kiss to my lips, and I knew what he was telling me—that he belonged to me. I would absolutely never say no to that. In fact, there were more important words that I wanted to say to him, but this wasn’t the time or place.

Soon. We would have time soon. I had to believe that.

The sound of Isis and Venus organizing the groups who’d gathered to receive power broke through our private moment and had me turning in my demi-Titan’s arms. My magic was ready, and I knew from past experience that this would require both nothing and everything from me. As the forty or so individuals chosen lined up, I did my best to explain what they should expect.

“When I release my magic, there will be these freaky roots that come out of my arms and go into yours. Weird, I know, but it will feed you magic. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you should step back now. With that being said, the rulers from the fae realm were tough enough to do it, so…you should be fine. ” I tried to sound motivational at the end, but I was damn near positive it didn’t hit. Oh well.

Surprisingly, no one backed down, and when I released my magic, I watched entire systems of roots slither across the floor after bursting out from my arms. It targeted the forty individuals perfectly, locking them into place and spearing deep into their skin. It was a brutal affair, and my eyes fell closed as the world went fuzzy around the edges, the seemingly endless well of magic transferring from me to them.

An insane amount of power flowed outward through the roots, yet every time the well inside me dropped even slightly, more flowed in. Endless reservoirs of magic seemingly existed inside of me. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time.

When the flow finally slowed, I opened my eyes to find that the roots had dissolved. I let out a sigh of relief, glad that was done, and in a turn of events that didn’t surprise me after all the magic I’d expended today, my knees broke and the world went dark.