Page 8 of Reign of The Beast (Immortal Passions #2)

8

~Ryker~

I watched Jaxon tearing up the fields in the distance in full wolf state.

After he’d led me to Mia, he’d excused himself and taken off to give us some space, while he’d returned to his version of therapy and working through his pained emotions.

Turning away, I looked back at Mia sitting on a bench on the porch, hunched over, her head in her hands. She was struggling to absorb everything I’d told her about what had been going on for the last few months since she’d been gone.

I’d healed her as soon as my magic had been back up and running a few hours ago and conjured her wardrobe from her place to offer her some semblance of comfort and normalcy.

But while she was up and about and physically fine, she certainly wasn’t mentally.

Jaxon had been right to come and get me. She was in a bad way. In all the time I’d known her, I couldn’t recall ever seeing her so broken.

And, fuck, it was the worst time for it.

It was bad enough that she was experiencing some major issues with her magic, but to be like this too?

I had a lot of work to do.

I walked to her and knelt down in front of the bench.

I grasped her hand to get her attention and she looked down at me with eyes red raw from crying.

“Listen,” I told her softly. “You did what you thought was best for everyone around you by taking off and sequestering yourself away. If you’d stayed, with your magic so unstable and your fear of unleashing darkness, it just would’ve made the situation worse. Plus, Draco could’ve taken you too and none of this Covenant shit would be possible. We would’ve been left with no way to take him down. You are the key to everything, to ending this, to saving the supernatural world from complete annihilation.”

She pulled her hand from mine, shaking her head as she rose to her feet with a heavy sigh. “I can’t even control my magic right now. I’m not the key to anything. Not anymore.”

“You are the only one who can wield Immortal magic,” I reminded her.

She brushed past me, her gaze going to Jaxon in the distance. She tugged at her hair, in clear distress. “He’s lost everything, all because of me.”

“Because of Draco.”

“No,” she murmured.

“You threw yourself into a completely unknown situation and did the best you could. Draco was just better, more prepared, with an entire fucking army at his back. Jaxon told me about the wall you conjured. You had control then over your magic and you managed it for him.”

“But I couldn’t hold it.”

“Your fear got the best of you. It did with me too. ”

She spun at my admission, cocking an eyebrow. “ You were afraid?” A slight smile ghosted her lips. “Mr. Arrogant?”

“Yeah, the night of the Maven Coven battle. I couldn’t bring it like I needed to, I was struggling. But I worked through it.” I stepped forward and turned my palms up. In the next beat, I conjured my next-level magic, blinding green bolts sparking to life. “And now , this is where I’m at, stronger than ever.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, walking up to me and studying my magic closely.

She cupped her hands around the power flaring in my right palm, just shy of touching it.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she sucked in a choppy breath.

She was getting off on the power rush, a hell of an unspoken compliment from her, the most powerful magic-wielder on earth, bar the true Immortals.

“This is why you were meant for the Covenant. I was wrong about what I said before. It’s less about your connection to me than I’d assumed. It’s your abilities. No other non-Immortal magic-wielder can do what you have here. You’re the only one in the world who is this powerful, Ryker.” She pulled back and muttered, “My father was so consumed with his dislike for you that he blinded himself to your true potential, your true value.”

“Well, it’s no wonder. He was on the verge of losing his mind with Draco rising.”

“For good reason,” she said, coming to his defense. Her face clouded with grief. “He’s… gone now.”

“The likelihood that he’s dead is slim, Mia. They can’t kill each other, remember?”

“If Draco had the right weapon, he could’ve had one of his acolytes do it. ”

I stopped short. “What weapon? There’s no record anywhere in the Guardian Archives of anything like that existing. I searched for it while you were gone.”

When she hesitated and turned away, I grabbed her arm, easing her back around to face me. “There’s no more place for secrets. If there’s a weapon out there that can kill an Immortal, we all need to know. Until now I’d thought the only way was supercharging your magic with all three of us binding our power with yours.”

“To wield it, that still needs to happen. Draco would need to infuse his power into one of his acolytes in order to be able to use it against my father. Of course, the chosen acolyte would perish quickly after ingesting his power, as regular supernatural beings can’t withstand or hold pure Immortal power.”

I stepped up close, looming over her. Had she forgotten how well I knew her? It was really obvious she was stalling. “What is the weapon?” I demanded.

“A dagger,” she said. “It’s known as The Wrath of Hades. ”

“Where is it?”

“Hidden beneath layers upon layers of magic. Angel magic, Ryker. Not fallen angel, Immortal magic. This weapon was never meant to exist. Draco forged it in the fires of Hell when he was a True Celestial, before he fell. Once it was discovered, it was confiscated from him and taken to earth. A weapon like that couldn’t exist on the Celestial Plane. It was too dangerous, having the means to wipe out every being there. Extreme measures were taken to bury it and to ensure it would never be unearthed by any being.

“You aren’t just any being. You’re one of them.”

She scoffed. “You think I can find it? No. Even if my magic was stable and I was once again operating at full capacity, I couldn’t summon enough power to track it.”

“When we join and form the Covenant, you could manage it.”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

I frowned at her reluctance. “I don’t get it. There’s a weapon out there that can kill our enemy and not only did you fail to disclose it ages ago when we first got word he was coming, but now you’re not even willing to try to find a way to track it?”

She broke eye contact and looked down at her thigh-high boots. “I’m just off my game, I guess. Overwhelmed. My father’s responsibilities have abruptly fallen on my shoulders. I woke up to find we’re steeped in a brutal war. My mate is back in my life, but he’s lost everyone he loves. And on top of that, he’s apparently far more than a mere wolf. When Lucian had brought up his suspicions, I’d all but dismissed them. But now, after what Draco said yesterday, that’s impossible. He was right.”

“Immortal blood runs through his veins,” I finished for her.

Her eyes shot back to mine. “You knew?”

“I tested his blood a while back. There were tiny traces of Immortal magic. I realized then that Draco’s infection had been his attempt to unbind Jaxon from afar, hoping that he would break through Cornelius’ barrier himself, saving Draco from having to go to such great lengths to see to it. But I stopped it, wiped out Draco’s magic with Cornelius'.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? He has no clue. That much was clear with the way he was dismissing Draco’s claims.”

“It wasn’t the right time. He was on edge with not being able to find you. He’s still part wolf and with that comes an extremely volatile temperament. Telling him that his whole life had been a lie, that his mate’s father was responsible for keeping him in the dark would have complicated everything.. Learning he’s that monster’s descendant? It’s a fuck of a lot to take, Mia.”

“If anyone understands that, it’s me. But he has a right to know.”

“Soon. When we’re ready to join. Once you take in our power, you’ll have the means to stop him if he loses it when he’s unbound. Not everyone can handle great power. It can twist people up. Draco is the living example of that.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Draco told him, Ryker. Why hasn’t he said a word about it since?”

“He’s in shock. His pack was wiped out. Once his brain has been able to play catch up, I’m sure he’ll come to us demanding answers. We can’t risk allowing him to be unbound until one of us is strong enough to stop him if things go south. He’s Draco’s descendant, not Cornelius'. There’s a darkness in that bloodline.”

“He’s meant to be my mate though. Him going dark doesn’t fit with that.” A gasp escaped her. “Unless that’s why the fates tied us together, to push me to the darkness.”

“No.”

“It makes sense, Ry. I touched a dark power that day, remember?”

“Everybody has a darkness in them, sweetness. We just learn not to let it rule us. You freaked out because you’re too cautious, you never push yourself beyond your comfort zone. You can control it. You’re stronger than you think. You’re the barrier to the dark, not a part of it.”

I saw her taking my words in. “You really believe that, don’t you? After everything that’s happened between us?”

“No matter what, I’ll always believe in you. I know you. I know you better than anyone. I know your power and I know your heart.”

She reached up and stroked my face. “You’re the heart of us all, you know that?”

I grasped her hand on my face. “You sound like Lucian.”

“Good. Then he realizes how lucky he is to have you as his.”

We stared at one another in comfortable silence, both of us taken in by the sweet, honest moment between us. It had been a long time since we’d managed such a thing.

After a while, I pulled away and assumed a fighting stance, summoning my magic.

“Let’s get you back to your badass self, shall we?” I smirked at her. “Kick my ass, sweetness. If you can.”