Page 24

No time to grieve. We have to find the gods’ portal and seal it . Luken’s thoughts were clear as he stepped away from Draven’s pooling blood.

The doors burst open. I whirled, lifting my sword. The tapestries around us flickered in and out of focus as a few dozen young girls, the oldest no more than eighteen, the youngest looking like she was twelve, came running in. They shouted and screamed, brandishing kitchen knives and rolling pins. Several of their screams turned to fear when they saw the bodies. They were all dressed in white robes.

Thessa stood at the front of them.

“Elara!” she cried, dropping her knife. She raced forward, a dark-haired girl right behind her. The girl didn’t release her own knife, glaring suspiciously at Luken.

Thessa drew me into a hug. “We were locked in the kitchens. They said we were going to be all given to the gods. But then the magic locking us in melted away, and—it must be because of you.” Thessa released me and drew back. She turned to the other girl. “Darcie, she came for us. Like I said, she would.”

Darcie. Surprise rippled through me as I stared at the girl. I’d assumed she was younger when I first saw her, but now I realized she had to be eighteen, too. She looked so different from the fourteen-year-old sister who had been taken away from me. I lowered my sword, realizing I was still holding it. I’d thought about this so many times, but I’d never planned for what I would say.

Nothing seemed good enough. Except… “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh.” Darcie cleared her throat, twitching.

“We need—” Luken started, stepping forward.

Darcie sprang at him, lifting her knife. He easily batted it away, eyes widening. She stomped on his foot, and Luken grunted, grabbing both her wrists.

“What are you doing?” I cried, rushing forward. I pulled Darcie out of Luken’s hold, keeping myself between them.

“What is that fucker doing here?” Darcie howled. “Thessa told me—”

“He’s helping,” I quickly said. I tugged my sister away from my husband, shaking my head. “We have a lot to talk about. Luken isn’t responsible for our family, Darcie. But we have to get you out of here quickly.”

Luken reached through the bond, stopping me before he spoke. “If we’re going to seal the portals and banish the gods from this world, now is our time. We won’t get another chance.”

Thessa’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“You can’t. They’re too strong,” one of the other girls whimpered.

“We’re stronger,” I said, tossing my braid over my shoulder. “Thessa, Darcie, get the girls out of here. Luken and I—”

“I know where the portal is,” Darcie interrupted.

Luken nodded as he traded his sword for a fresh one. “Take us there. Quickly. The illusions in the temple are failing. They know we’re here, and if we don’t seal the portal, we’ll all go to hell.”

Our bond throbbed. If it weren’t for that connection, I wouldn’t be able to tell how urgent the situation really was. Luken’s emotions were tied up around me, and I was afraid of what the gods would do to me to punish him.

“I’ll come with you,” Thessa said quickly.

Darcie turned to her. “No. You’re the only one who knows where the tunnels that leave the temples are. You have to get the other girls out.”

Thessa opened her mouth to argue, but Darcie wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to silence her with a kiss. I smiled. Maybe these last four years weren’t too bad for Darcie after all.

“I love you,” Darcie told her, then broke away. Thessa nodded and gestured for the girls to follow her as Darcie turned to me and sent another glare at Luken. “This way.”

She tucked her knife into her belt and picked up a sword. It was clearly awkward, and she didn’t know how to hold it. I started to say something, but Luken nudged me through the bond. If it was what Darcie needed to feel comfortable, then she should have it. If there was anyone who was going to oppose us left in the temples, they’d have come at us already.

I nodded once. The three of us took off. Luken shared his plan through the bond, but I could hardly pay attention. This was my little sister. I’d fought tooth and nail to get to her, to save her from this place. And now, when I arrived, I saw she was practically in charge of the escape attempt. I truly didn’t know my sister at all… but I was so happy that I would get the chance to get to know her.

If this worked.

The magnificence of the temples flickered and went dead, leaving us in an ugly, run-down wooden building. Darcie shuddered but didn’t stop. She led us through dusty hallways and finally to a large room where a portal lay on the floor. The space was authentic marble, with scenes of blood painted on every surface. The portal, set into the floor, was four times as large as Draven’s in the cave.

The round, flat space flickered with shades of green, yellow, and blue. Images bubbled in it, like storm clouds reflecting off the ocean.

Luken took up a spot next to it and reached for my hand. He didn’t want me here; would rather I leave and stay safe, but he knew he couldn’t do it without me. I grabbed his hand and held on tightly, staring at the portal’s surface. How many girls had been shoved through this thing, to who knew what waited for them on the other side?

I turned to Darcie. “You need to get out of here while you can. I don’t know how violent this will go.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

I smiled, tears pricking my eyes. “Go to Thessa.”

Darcie hesitated, then stepped toward the doorway again. “Don’t get killed when we’ve just found each other again.”

“Same for you,” I laughed, even though I wanted nothing more than to whisk her away and keep her safe.

She managed a smile before she turned on her heel and raced away. I prayed she and the other girls would make it out. Thessa had told me about priestesses—were they still here? Would they try to stop them?

Luken stared into the portal, his expression hard and determined. He’d shoved away any semblance of doubt in himself. I let my love for him sweep through the bond as I stepped up beside him.

My husband.

My mate.

My Luken.

Magic swelled between us, strong and bright and beautiful. Our hands twined together, and Luken started to chant.

I didn’t know the words. Not even the bond let me understand what they meant, but I understood the intent. A crisscrossing net of blue magic started to form over the portal, starting from the edges and weaving its way into the middle. A firm casing built itself on the net, stretching out fingers like ice casing a lake, but it burned hot, a red magic that hardened into stone as it spread around the portal.

A bolt of lightning jumped from the center of the portal. Electricity crackled through the air, making my hair stand on end. It cracked a chunk of marble out of the ceiling. I yanked Luken aside in time for the stone to avoid us. Luken stumbled, his concentration broken. The net disappeared over the portal, and more lightning crackled around the edges of the seal he had already put down.

Luken snarled as he held both hands out over the portal. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the strain in his body as he fought the gods’ magic, tearing apart the seal. Sweat dripped from his face, and his fangs lengthened, his magic greedily sapped by their power. I ground my teeth together, holding him tighter. I pushed more of my strength through to him. Our magic convulsed together, bursting forward and sealing chunks of the portal, only for the gods’ magic to tear it apart.

I looked past his shoulder into the roiling portal. A howling wind had joined the lightning. In the mass, I thought I saw a face. Two green eyes made of storm and fury latched onto me. Ice flooded my veins, and Luken faltered. He saw it, too. Massive fingers reached through the portal, grasping the edge of it. My heart hammered.

Images were forced into my mind. Promises of exactly what would happen to me and Luken when they came through. What they would do to Thessa, Darcie, even Bain for helping us. Images of what they had planned for our children…

Our children. A ball of light sat inside me, the same light I’d been filled with after Luken and I made love on the beach.

We weren’t alone; he and I. Love swept through me, and it was more powerful than fear. I was pregnant. I could see them already, the babies growing in front of me. And I would not let the gods get their hands on any of us. As my love swelled, Luken’s did as well. The magic grew stronger, bursting through us both, unable to be contained. A terrifying roar filled the room, but we held onto each other and our future.

Inch by inch, we forced the portal shut. The hand slipped, falling back. The storm clouds disappeared, and stone rippled over the portal and cracked down the middle, forever destroying the entrance to our world.

Shaking, Luken and I slowly sank to our knees. Luken turned, pulling me up tight against him. He shook with exhaustion, his breathing in great gasps. Wonder pulsed through the bond as we held each other. It had worked. We’d sealed them away, and now the gods couldn’t touch us again. No wonder they feared the prophecy so much!

Luken pressed his lips to my forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked, even though he’d be able to feel through the bond I was.

“Yeah. Are you?”

He smiled, but through the relief, I still felt an echo of sorrow.

I cupped his face with my hands. “He didn’t give you a choice.”

“I only pray that he’s at peace, wherever our souls go when we die,” Luken murmured. He pulled me closer and nuzzled his nose into my throat. “Twins.”

“Twins. Girls, if I’m right,” I murmured.

The worries that I wasn’t ready, that I was going to royally screw up, were still there. But they were distant. I wasn’t alone. Luken and I were together and we’d figure this out. We didn’t have to do it on our own, either.

Footsteps sounded. We turned to find Darcie and Thessa, both holding weapons and each other’s hands, entering the room. Both were pale but determined. Their gazes flitted around the room wildly.

Luken and I stood. I kissed him and reluctantly pulled away to approach my sister—or both of my sisters—and held my arms to them.

“It’s over. The portal is sealed. We can finally start to fix the damage the gods have done.”

Darcie trembled, then dropped her weapon. She burst into tears as she rushed to me, throwing her arms around my neck. Thessa clung to me as well. For as brave as they had been for the other girls, they were still terrified. I held them, trying to reassure them. Luken came closer and put his hand on my shoulder, though he carefully avoided touching either of the girls. It would take time for them to come to trust him.

I might be broken, but I would heal. I met Luken’s eyes, seeing all his love in those amber eyes. We both would. And we were going to make this a better world for everyone.