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I stayed slumped over the stolen corrupted shadows that now impaled me.

The pain was almost unbearable but not life threatening…

yet. I had no time to tell Emon my plan.

The roars coming from him were thunderous but I maintained my focus.

Ice cold focus. Despite the terror in Emon’s beautiful gold eyes, I had no intention of dying today.

I would see Emon again…and Riella.

I only hoped I had bought Penina enough time to get Riella to safety. Tears filled my eyes at the memory…

Decision made, I knelt before Riella. “There is no time to explain, little one. I’m sorry it always feels like this.” Then I dropped Shen’s dragon scale over her head.

It’s okay, Remnant.” Her voice trembled, but her chin tilted high. She was goddess damn brave.

I kissed her forehead. “Continue to be brave, my sweet little one. There is a shifter below, her name is Penina. Listen to her well. I will find you again when I’m done here.” I whispered fiercely.

Her tiny hand cupped my face. “You won’t have to be alone then either…mother.” The gold in her eyes swirled with the emerald green knowingly.

Holding back my sob, I leaned into her touch, memorizing every precious feel of her hand on my face, a claiming brand I wish I could have forever. “I’m sorry, my daughter.” Then without hesitating, I lifted her and launched her out the alcove.

My daughter gave no cry while she flew from the second story alcove into the waiting shifter’s arms. Penina caught her with ease and cradled her tightly against her chest, then nodded and turned to run far, far away from here.

If Emon was my soul then Riella was my heart. I wouldn’t live without either of them.

Turning I drew my sword…

“Forta.” Called a warm soothing voice.

I blinked back the memory and looked up with tears in my eyes to see bright blue ancient ones staring back at me. Clear of the Sanguine.

“Jarquinn.” Sorrow filled me. I could see the pain within him, the fight he was losing, the cost it took for him to speak to me, to hold it off for a moment longer.

I gasped when a fierce golden light blasted around us and the burgundy shadows hissed, releasing us both from their grip as if burned.

Jarquinn and I crumbled to the floor, my hand landing on my dropped sword. Gripping it, I crawled to the healer, dragging it across the floor against the surging power around us.

Jar’s pain stricken eyes looked up at me.

“I am at your service, master healer.” I whispered.

“It is time to be who you are meant to be, forta .” His voice was but a mere whisper yet the strength there could raise the sun.

Tears dropped from my eyes and stained the wooden floor next to his mangled body. “A lesson to be had and learned.” I whispered back.

“There is nothing more true than accepting who you are but also what you may become.” He smiled sadly.

I was neither the hero nor the villain, the monster nor the savior .

Like the darkness, I just was. A shadow lost and—a shadow found.

More golden light roared violently around us, Emon had lost control. But it didn’t matter, not now. I had a job to do and like the wraiths, there was only one way to banish the Sanguine from its host.

Rising with my sword held high, I looked into those sky blue eyes full of peace one final time before I struck, severing the master healer’s head painlessly from his body. With one stroke, I ended his painful torture and banished Deirdre’s presence from Finlandia…at least for now.

My corrupted shadows pulsed once before disappearing in a crimson cloud of smoke, summoned by their new mistress.

Slumping over, I gripped my torso both in pain and with a hollowed feeling, like something had just been clawed out of me, leaving nothing but a cavern of emptiness. My shadows were gone.

Lifting my head up with tears in my eyes, I turned to find Emon, but instead was met with the razor teeth of a bloodlusting leopard barreling into my side.

I screamed as Quinn’s beserk leopard sent me skidding across the floor, and I rolled with the momentum to find myself in a defensive crouch, holding my side where my open wounds bled.

Keeping my eyes on the avenging leopard, my heart ached to see the replica of Jarquinn’s eyes glaring at me full of the need for revenge. Finally set free of the wards from the healer’s death, he instinctively scented his fathers blood on my hands.

I palmed the knives at my hip.

“I am sorry Quinn.” I choked, spitting out blood that had pooled in my mouth and pressed harder to my wounds to stem the flow. “I don’t want to fight you, I don’t want to hurt you.”

The leopard snarled, so focused on me that he failed to notice Emon had finished his full shift behind us. As he lunged for me I could see behind him where pure white power had gathered in the massive panther’s wide open jaw.

“No!” I screamed when it erupted from Ethereal’s mouth.

I only had seconds to react. Biting back the pain I knew it would cause me, I crashed into Quinn’s leaping form, feeling his snarling teeth snap beside my head, I wrapped my arms around his body and twisted us to the side, away from the instant death that would have taken him and straight out into the streets below .

Losing my grip on Quinn mid air, I could hear the terrified screams of Finalndia’s fae as I crashed into a shaded canopy that covered half the street.

I lay there for a moment, staring at the uncontrollable streams of white hot power coming from the building above me before the cloth gave way and I hit the ground with a silent cry.

Curling in on myself, my consciousness dimmed momentarily from the blinding pain.

Shaking my head, I pushed up, blinking away the rising dust, seeing Quinn’s snarling leopard tangled in fabric of his own.

I stumbled to stand, every inch of my body protesting. I could feel my smaller injuries from the fall healing, but my powers were not fast enough to stem the injury I took from the Sanguine.

Uncontrolled, the golden fire exploded into the buildings surrounding us and it heaved before it started to crumble downwards.

“Get to safety!” I roared out to the fae of Finlandia, using shadows to bat down rock and debris assisting them to shelter.

Quinn’s leopard snarled, drawing my attention back down to him. “Goddess shit,” I spat, the bloodlusting cat was free.

A wave of pain blurred my vision of him and I dropped to one knee gasping, unable to hold myself fully up. Forcing my eyes open, I blinked and then stared at the back of a great blonde wolf, howling defensively into the smokey filled air.

“Asher?” My bloody hand reached outward to stroke the blonde fur while my other hand continued to grip my torso.

Gold eyes of the former king of shifters glanced back at me with a slight nod of his shaggy head.

I sighed with relief. “Thank the goddess.”

The wolf chuffed before the city shook with another wave of power and I stared in amazement as Ethereal's giant panther body bursted through the building walls that immediately turned to ash from the sizzling gold fire radiating off him.

Golden will be your one true beacon.

The prophetic words echoed in my head as I watched the cobble stone path split when the panther’s monstrous paws hit the ground and then it too burned to ash. When he swung his massive head towards me and I inhaled sharply.

Bloodlust stormed in his blinding gaze.

“No.” I whispered, before I bowed over my body from another wave of pain.

A low whine from the panther had me looking up to see him staring at the blood that had dripped onto the street. My blood .

“Ethereal. Emon. You can control this.” I whispered, reaching out to them pleadingly.

Instead, his raging feline eyes stared hard at my bloody hand.

Snatching it back, I recognized my mistake as a deep guttural roar tore from his chest. More golden power poured from him and up into the sky.

I shielded my eyes against the blinding light to watch in awe as his power tore a hole through the lavender sky and out into the universe.

Stars collided, planets erupted, galaxies shook under it.

Ethereal was pure, raw, unfiltered life and the power he held was like a supernova star, erupting and destroying everything in its path to make way for something new. A power to destroy worlds.

Slumping forward, I shook my head as spots danced in my vision. A strong hand hauled me upwards and I blinked stupidly at the fae who was shouting at me.

“Go after him!” Asher roared in my face.

I blinked at where the god-like panther had once stood. “He’s gone.” I slurred.

Dazed, I looked back at Asher who was shaking me violently, behind him Quinn’s leopard stumbled to regain himself after Ethereal’s light had blinded us all.

The former shifter king shook my body harder, cursing. “Snap out of it Dark! I can handle Quinn. You need to go after Daemon!”

I stared. His eyes were gold like Emon’s.

Emon was gone, Riella was gone. The shadows were gone.

My life was crumbling to pieces just like before.

The city was being destroyed…the past repeating itself.

Destruction and death was all my legacy would ever be.

“For fucking goddess sake!” Asher shook me harder.

“This cannot be my former enemy I met on the battlefield! If it is, I am ashamed I didn’t defeat you!

” He shoved me away from him and I stumbled to find my footing.

“Save my son or I’ll kill you myself, before you even have a chance to bleed out on this damned street, Remnant Ezra Solaire Dark. ”

His words were like a slap to the face and my soul. I snarled. “Fuck you, Asher Strider!”

Relief lit in his feral wolf eyes. “There she is. There’s the daughter in law I’m proud of. Daemon needs you, your soulmate needs you, and he’s heading straight for the gateway! ”

Realization dawned on me. “He’s going after the queen alone?”