Page 59

Chapter

Forty-Four

Nuo

T he Ikhor’s scream was one of agony. Of fear. Of heartbreak.

It wasn’t the sound evil would make when its enemy was dying. There was a truth in that wailing cry that snapped my reality into sharp focus.

The Ikhor wasn’t possessing Liv.

The Aspis had become a half-man creature.

The Eagle was real, twisting this creature’s neck, and it was not breaking .

He yanked its horns back and forth, using his wings, pulling the creature’s head sharply to the side. Only the half-man wouldn’t succumb to it. It fought, roaring in outrage, and wouldn’t go down.

My jaw hung open, trying to understand what I was seeing. Part of me knew, deep down, though I wouldn’t accept it.

A growl ripped from the creature’s chest as he fought against the Eagle, but its yellow, slitted eyes were pinned on the Ikhor.

Liv, she—she stared back, unsurprised it was here, scared for it even.

How? A voice asked, and it couldn’t have been mine.

What I saw didn’t make sense. She’d been telling the truth, that’s how . This whole time—about Brekt, about the Ikhor’s magic, about her intentions to return it to the gods …

“Ikhor!” The creature yanked its head, trying to loosen the Eagle’s grip.

That voice.

The Eagle’s face contorted in anger when his victim’s neck didn’t break. Even the famed legacy of Mountain couldn’t stand against the divine creation—the dark creature carried the power of the gods.

I couldn’t understand who it was. Dark hair covered his face.

You fucking idiot . You know who it is.

“It can’t be.” Bastane’s words cracked as he backed up, blocking the blue woman cowering on the ground.

The hair on the back of my neck stood, my instincts rising to defend the others. Something was off. The creature’s voice was too familiar.

“Bas—”

“We need to stay back. His eyes! They’re yellow. He’s not himself,” Liv said. “Kaizhi, can you get the Eagle to back off?”

Kazhi crouched into a fighting position. “Not likely. He follows orders from no one. We are going to have to intervene.”

Was this a hallucination?

The wind picked up, blowing the hair away from the stranger, his tattered clothing revealing skin swirling with shadows.

But he wasn’t a stranger. He was a ghost.

His dark hair. The tattoos. His stance, his build, the way he fought off the Mount-leg … I stopped breathing.

“Brekt!” Liv shouted, running for him.

I grabbed her around the waist, stopping her. “That thing will kill you.” I grunted when she pushed me, stumbling away to my side, but she stayed put.

“How is this possible?” Bastane stepped toward the half-man, but I remained frozen, my chest squeezing so tight I couldn’t get air into my lungs.

“Bas, stop,” Liv tried. “He’s not himself. Don’t hurt him.”

“Doesn’t look like anything’s going to stop him, Bones,” Kazhi said. “Even the Eagle can’t contain him.”

Did they believe this? Whatever this was?

It had to be a game. Some kind of magic of the Ikhor’s.

My heart told me it was my dead brother throwing the Eagle over his shoulder, slamming the famed legend onto the rocky ground below.

“Eagle! Don’t harm him. He’s one of my own!” Kazhi screamed.

The Eagle, held down by the towering figure, screeched, his wings coming upward and together. He slammed his wings against both sides of the creature’s head.

It roared in pain, stumbling back, but didn’t fall.

The sound of their battle was like thunder on the darkest night. They came together like hammers—explosive power reverberated around them when they landed a hit.

“How?” Bastane asked, now within reaching distance of the half-man.

A sickening blow to the gut threw Bastane off his feet.

The creature’s clawed hands dripped blood as he breathed heavily, growling at Bastane’s limp body before turning his yellow gaze on Liv. “Ikhor!”

The colours of the canyons swam, bright and fuzzy. I needed a slap to the face. Someone needed to wake me up. I was breathing too hard, losing blood, losing my fucking reality. “He’s alive,” I said stupidly.

“You need to protect Liv.”

The voice came from the blue woman, who was crouched low to the ground. “Last time he appeared, he wasn’t like this. I think he’s going to hurt her. Protect her, please. You’re the only one who can.”

Liv skidded to a halt over Bas, who was clutching his gut, blood pouring from his hands.

The sight of the blood, the Ikhor bending over a Guard to help him, had me snapping out of it real-damn-fast. I ran up to them just in time and raised my sword to hold off the creature. He was fucking strong, roaring as the flat side of my blade connected with his arm.

Those snake-like eyes, glowing like magic, turned on me, and the changes that stole his features weren’t enough to hide who he was. I’d known him longer than anyone.

But my lost brother had never looked at me like that—like he was about to kill me.

“Wait,” Liv shouted. “That’s not him. Not right now. He’ll hurt you, Nuo.”

“He’s not aiming for me, Ikhor.” I snapped, “Maybe a fucking thank you for saving you?”

I pushed the blade, landing a straight kick to the creature’s gut and sending him back several paces. Enough to balance myself, ready for the next charge. But then the Ikhor made a stupid move, pushing me away and standing in front of me .

Kazhi was at Bastane’s side in a flash, inspecting the wounds. “You’ll live. You only need to get some magycris in you.” She knocked him in the chest with her knuckles, and Bastane closed his eyes, cursing her for her lack of affection. She fished out his magycris and passed it to him.

He smeared some across his stomach, wincing at the pain, before he staggered to his feet. Reaching for the blue girl, he passed her the bottle of magycris. “Use the rest.”

She grabbed the bottle, mouth hanging open.

Liv wavered, stumbling back into me. The loss of her magic weakened her. “The horns. The eyes. They’re still yellow. That’s the Aspis,” she repeated, her chest rising and falling. “Let me hold him back. Go.”

I gave a short laugh. “Hate to break it to ya, Ikhor, but you’re not exactly winning any fights right now.”

I pushed her behind me once more, seeing exactly what she meant. Brekt—he was there behind the twisted, dark features. “I don’t understand this,” I said.

Liv struggled against my hold, but I grabbed her by the arm, keeping her in place. She winced and hissed up at me, “The Aspis controls him. I haven’t seen Brekt outside that dream place, not for long, but he’s in there.”

Dream place.

I stared at her. The canyons went quiet. Time froze.

Though her features had been stolen, I finally saw her—Liv was in there.

She wasn’t possessed, and she knew about the dream place, the one that Brekt had been subjected to since he was young. She had seen it?

Creature-Brekt ran for her, and again, I stepped in to stop him. Guess I was keeping my fucking promise. “Bastard,” I muttered as I spun, kicking him from behind so he stumbled past us.

He rounded on me, snarling.

Liv stepped in front of me again. “I can heal, idiot. You can’t.” She raised her hands to defend me. “The magic of the Ikhor heals me like magycris. Let me hold him back.”

“He just took your fucking magic, Liv!” I yelled in frustration. “So I don’t think your special powers are going to save you. Now get the fuck behind?—”

Thrown off my feet, I landed hard on my back, my head slamming into rock.

The horned creature prowled forward, towering over me. It roared as I moaned in pain.

Two figures appeared beside him—Kazhi on his left and Bas on his right. They grabbed his arms and pulled him to a stop. He flailed in their grip, dragging them across the dirt, and I rose, the world spinning, grabbing his horns to stop those sharp teeth from sinking in.

Whatever shit was running through his veins was powerful. Brekt had never been this much of a force before.

He’s alive. I held onto my brother’s snarling head, my heart breaking at his tortured face. Any recognition of his family was stolen by the beast that possessed him.

“Get out of here, Bones!” Kazhi shouted over her shoulder at Liv, who was helping her friend to her feet.

I looked past the creature, eyes locking with her. “Go.”

“Nuo—”

For the first time since they’d both changed, I felt some of the pain inside me—my own monster made by the fates—slip away. There was a sliver of hope. “Go. I will hunt you down after this little reunion.”

She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “He’ll hurt you. He doesn’t know. You can’t hold him off.”

My smile showed teeth. “Of course I can. I’m a fucking Guard. Now, get out of here before I let my better judgment take hold. The Aspis is supposed to kill the Ikhor. I can’t believe I’m stopping him.”

She grabbed her friend, pulling her through the sand and over rock. Liv stopped to look back over her shoulder, and the expression mirrored a feeling I wasn’t ready to admit to. An unpleasant feeling quickly replaced it when she turned to run away with the Aethar.

The Eagle, who still hovered overhead, watched them leave and then took off over the cliffs, disappearing.

The beast roared, thrashing and pulling as his Guards held him down.

The citrine eyes of the beast I had come to despise met mine, and something about the way its pupils constricted and dilated told me he was somewhere in there—Brekt.

“Oh hey, buddy.” I grunted, holding tight to his horns. “Nice to see you again. Grumpy as ever. Your long nap didn’t brighten your mood?”

“Are you taunting the Aspis?” Kazhi asked, struggling to hold on to Brekt’s arm, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

Bastane tightened his grip. “Yup. That’s Nuo. The dumbest smart man you’ll ever meet.”

Kazhi made a face at the comment, and I missed what she said next because the beast grew, skin turning to ash, smoke churning around his body.

“No, no, no.” I panicked. “Not again.”

I held tight to him—tighter than I’d ever held onto anything. I lost sight of the canyon. Of the others.

I wasn’t done. I needed more time. There were things I had to say!

“Hold him!” I yelled, not wanting to relive that moment on the burning field, my brother fading to ash.

It happened anyway. Beneath Kazhi’s hands, his arm flaked away. Bastane’s grip slipped as ash coated his fingers, and the horns grew until I could no longer hold on. And I relived every horrifying moment from the field. Relived every nightmare I’d had of watching Brekt die.

“Please, don’t.”

But he never fucking listened to me.

We were thrown back, forced away from the swirling darkness. The man transformed, and the Beast shot high into the sky, its scales glinting in the fading light.