Page 34 of Shattered Galaxies (Tears of the Siren #6)
Lorcan
I’d suffered horrors beyond comprehension while being broken down into mere drops of my former self. I’d been snapped until my soul was shattered and adrift within the void of galaxies that existed around us.
Yet, through all of that, I had never experienced anything like true war.
Sprinting at full speed, we soared parallel to the explosion of battle that broke out—my gaze glued to the chaos that reigned supreme within the valley. Thousands of gods and mortals alike, shaking the realm with every clash of their bodies and weapons. At the center of it all? Nova.
Lightning broke from the sky in startling effect as ozone filled the air, her dome of power vibrating under the weight of everything she was holding back.
I was in awe of the pure power that she commanded.
It was clear her focus was completely and solely on battling Ra, who stood as a vibrant golden light—a plague wrapped in sunshine at the center of this rotten battle.
It was good she was focused on him, because if not, she may have felt the agony, the excruciating pain of war.
The desires of bloodlust and the terror of death saturated the air to the point that I could taste it.
I could smell the blood in the air and hear the screams, the sensation of being smeared with the life force of those being extinguished coating my fingers.
I could hear swords slicing through flesh and the inferno of magic that seared skin melting mortals down to puddles.
War was…hell. There was no other word for it.
I’d never worshiped or believed in a god, even after meeting the Cosmos god himself.
But if there was a god, a true Maker? This destruction wouldn’t exist within the limits of approval.
It couldn’t…it shouldn’t, at least. I knew we’d been pushed to this point, and that much of history was coated in bloodshed, but that didn’t mean it was okay.
The dark ones deserved true death for bringing this upon us.
“We’re halfway to the edge of the dome!” Desmond shouted. I pushed myself harder, wanting to be on the damn cliffside before the dark ones were in sight. I wanted to be completely prepared.
A roar sounded from the battlefield, and I looked back to see dragons taking to the sky, spraying an inferno of fire and electricity across the warriors below.
I grunted at the impact, cries echoing in my ears so loud it nearly rattled my teeth.
I wasn’t sure why, but everything—everyone—was being intensified right now.
As if I was connected to the very realm itself.
“Are they raising the dead?!” Cormac asked. I tried to find where he was looking, and sure enough, the area of the battlefield where the Red Masques soldiers fought was now covered with what could only be described as the zombies of fallen enemies.
I wish I could say that was the only shocking element, but it was far from it.
The power extremes on the battlefield were so magnetic and intense that you couldn’t help but seek them out, drawn to the showcase of power.
Especially from the leadership. I’d always been powerful—I mean clearly, I can talk to fucking stars—but there was something about being battlestrong that was just different.
Queen Gray was slaughtering people with a flick of her hand, each sending ten to twenty soldiers falling into bloody puddles at her feet. The military that stood behind her worked in tandem with the Red Masques, their combat training showing in every sweep of their sword and blast of magic.
The dragons soared above it all, periodically landing on the ground in human form to slice off the head of an enemy before blasting off once more.
Something that was made easier by the windstorm of elemental forces that the elven squadrons brought to the table, Adriel’s banner displayed proudly in the distance.
To the far left of the field, Valentina’s druid magic had huge vines erupting from the ground and spearing enemies, turning them into bloody flowers three stories up in the air.
I could feel demonic magic saturating the air in a smoky texture that flashed in different shades of blue, purple, and green.
In the distance, I could see the Demonic realm rulers working together to create a slaughtered field of foot soldiers that had once stood proudly behind their gods—their laughter of glee almost audible over the chaos.
And none of this included the gods. Their powers were so unique, coming in so many varieties that trying to keep track of them all was damn near impossible.
The opposing side may have had numbers, but the amount of skill that ours had gave me a surge of strength that had me pushing harder—running faster.
I was determined to give as good of a show as all of them were.
It still amazed me how easily Nova had united everyone, leading a command of people like Gray and Valentina—both powerhouses—that respected and trusted her leadership.
It was so badass, and I wasn’t too proud to admit that it made me look up to Nova.
I wanted to be that strong in the moments that mattered.
“Brace for pushing out of the dome!” Draven called. We slammed through the purple dome and into the open realm, the cliffside in the direct distance.
“Fuck.” I groaned, brought to a stop as a wave of power, of such great magnitude that it broke my knees, slammed into me.
My ears and nose grew wet with blood as I gripped the ground, trying to breathe through it.
My vision flashed, and I could see how close the dark ones were, salivating over the energy leaking from the battlefield.
“Come on, kitten. You’ve got this.” Cash picked me up under my arm and set me on my feet, helping me push forward. I knew the others were feeling the effect of the dark ones, but it didn’t stop us—it didn’t derail us for more than a few seconds. We had a fucking job to do.
“Watch out!” Elliot shouted from behind us, and my gaze snapped up to the void bearing down on us.
I cursed as we continued running toward the cliffside, a white comet blasting into the earth directly in our fucking path. I darted to the side as I watched the amalgamation of white energy spread out and form into white humanoids that marched straight for the dome.
Again and again we darted. Right, left. Panic seized my chest, and I refused to look back at the carnage the dark ones’ minions were surely causing.
I couldn’t afford to lose confidence now.
Like I told Nova, they just had to hold them off until I could do my part.
I cursed as a white comet slammed into the ground to my left and catapulted me into the air.
I groaned, my body radiating with pain, as I forced myself up and pushed forward.
“Lorcan.” Adriel appeared by my side and shot me a panicked look that I could feel echoed through my body. “Are you okay?”
“They’re just such fucking assholes.” I growled, glaring upwards as we finally reached the edge of the mountainous land that angled upward to the cliff’s edge.
Undeterred, I began to sprint up it, not giving him or anyone else a chance to focus too much on any injuries I could have.
Now wasn’t the time for that—not when people were dying.
Unfortunately, my push in speed gave the dark ones the perfect opportunity to separate us.
Three comets, one after another, hit the ground behind me, practically throwing me forward.
I grunted, slamming into the ground once more but managing to catch myself to avoid injury.
The roar of dragons vibrated my ears as I turned back to find that, much like the white humanoids, the dark ones had other minions.
Dragons. Dragons that were blocking the path between my men and me. That were blocking the path to the entire group, leaving me alone on this cliffside to face the dark ones. I tightened my jaw, unsure if I should move forward or fight to remove the dragons first?—
“Go, Lorcan!” Cormac shouted. I could feel my brother’s belief radiating from here as his bonded began to attack the dragons.
“You’ve got this, bunny! Don’t worry about these assholes,” Rhett agreed as some of my other bonded tried to say something, their voices drowned out by the roar of the dragons.
I stepped back, making my way up the cliff as black smoke bellowed from their mouths, tainting and polluting the very oxygen in the air.
I started to worry and had to forcefully remind myself that my men could handle this—they were all warriors in their own right, and I had seen them fight. It didn’t remove the anxiety of seeing someone you fucking loved in danger, though.
Snapping around, I sprinted full force up the cliffside, my hand smoothing over my violin with determination.
My feet were moving so fast that I had to nearly throw myself back as I came to a hard stop at the top of the cliff, my eyes widening at the vastness before me.
Everything else dropped away in that moment.
The war, even the danger behind me was forgotten.
It was the first time I’d observed the vastness of space, the void the dark ones left in their wake, in my human form.
I could feel the vibration of the cosmic forces that existed throughout our galaxy, hiding from them.
Nothing existed past this cliff. There were no stars, no nebulous galaxies… just emptiness.
This was what the dark ones wanted everywhere.
As if hearing my thoughts, a deep bellow, a primal scream into the void, filled the air and shook the ground beneath my feet.
Every single nerve ending in my body trembled in pain, my physical form nearly pulled off the rocky edge in a hard jerk.
The metallic screams of consumed galaxies sent blood gushing from my nose and ears, and it felt like my brain was being squeezed to the point of exploding.
Neon tears drenched my face as I stared ahead in terror, unable to look away from their arrival.
Three black voids devoured the abyss of space whole.
The dark ones had arrived.