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Jude

Lor ian is a recluse, deigning to serve the beasts he cherishes from a distance. It is said only one entity owns his heart, though she refuses to accept that he also owns hers.

Excerpt from Asidian Lore: a Tale of the Gods

Lorian’s jaguars were as deadly as the legends claimed.

One of the bastards pounced, capturing an undead creature’s throat between his giant maw, a sickening crunch following.

Lorian trailed Maliah, forever scowling, forever sneaking looks at the goddess. When he lingered too long on her, his features would soften just the slightest. I might’ve believed it to be a concern, but his attention swiftly fell back to Isiah , and he turned to stone once more.

Isiah released a burst of shadows with a roar, his magic snatching a jaguar and flinging it off its feet. When he forced it down to earth, the animal whimpered, the gruesome snapping of bones preceding the silence. The jaguar didn’t move.

“You bastard!” Maliah screamed, flinging a dagger his way. His shadows shoved it aside with nothing but a flick of his wrist.

Lorian snagged her hand before she could send another useless weapon Isiah’s way. Her expression morphed from anger to sorrow and then back to rage, but she lowered her arm, glancing briefly at Lorian.

More jaguars surged into the clearing, snapping their jaws at our foes, their growls ringing in my ears. Murderous rage gleamed in their eyes.

Isiah squared off with the approaching gods, his demeanor calm, frighteningly so. Even as they stood together, he didn’t fear them, and why would he? He’d stolen their power, their prayers, and he truly believed he would be the only immortal to walk off this field alive.

With his attention diverted, it should’ve been the perfect opportunity for me to test my new strengths. Yet as I spun his way, fully intent on discharging a blast of fire, I hesitated.

You’re like the annoying little brother I never had, Isiah had once told me, right after we’d finished training in the yard. Harlow had been extra grueling that day, his mood sour. Isiah had ruffled my hair, and I’d smacked his arm. Little had he known that simple statement bolstered me for weeks.

The very thought of family had my chest aching, and at the time, I would’ve done anything to pretend we truly were brothers.

Lost in my memory of a lie, I didn’t see the shadows coming until it was too late.

The blast Isiah sent knocked me onto my back. I sputtered for air, wispy black smoke billowing from my open mouth as I choked.

“Get up!” a familiar voice came from behind me, sharp and brimming with fire. “Jude!”

I struggled in earnest, my inner flames surging up my throat, battling with the acidic shadows. They were so cold, they burned.

While my body had taken a beating, I heard her voice calling out my name. That was all it took for my magic to flare, to reignite at the possibility of a brand-new tomorrow…a tomorrow with the woman who continued to scream for me from afar.

My girl was alive .

Isiah’s shadows hissed as they skittered away. I coughed violently, working to release the darkness he’d thrust into my lungs.

Maliah sent a flaming arrow arching through the night sky. The tip lodged into Isiah’s shoulder, the flames a blazing red. The god bared his teeth, his focus returning to Maliah and her impeccable aim while Lorian whipped free a blade of his own.

With Isiah cornered and distracted, I turned, finding Kiara atop Starlight, Jake behind her, encircling her waist.

She was more than a warrior then—she was a symbol, a myth captured in flesh. Atop her steed, she raced into a battle that would rock the world.

I couldn’t love her more.

Starlight’s muscles rippled beneath the brilliant mahogany coat, her eyes aglow with shimmering gold. Kiara patted her flank before she yanked on her reins and threw herself to the ground. She took off into a sprint, her eyes aimed solely on me.

When we collided, she leapt up my body and wrapped her legs around my torso. Kiara didn’t shirk from the feel of my heated skin, her fingers tracing every inch she could grab. Her hands were in my hair, and she peered into my eyes, hers alight with precious adoration.

Jake chuckled from behind her, but my attention belonged to her, even as Maliah’s curses and endless blades sliced the air. The goddess was laughing, asserting her ground as she made Isiah bleed, Lorian a shadow at her back. I didn’t waste the opportunity.

“You’re alive,” Kiara whispered, just as a shriek sounded.

A jaguar had been struck down before it had the chance to latch onto Isiah’s throat. He whirled for Lorian next, but he dodged to the right at a speed that shouldn’t have been possible.

“You gave it all up.” I reached around my neck to grasp one of her hands. Sure enough, her fingers were bare, mine now decorated with the veiny black designs she’d worn most of her life.

Kiara shook her head. “Between some power I never wanted or needed, and you?” She scoffed. “Not a single regret. Besides, it was the only way to get you out of there, and I’m not done torturing you yet.”

I wanted to kiss and strangle her at the same time. “And here I thought I was the selfless hero.”

She rested her brow against mine. “You were the only thing of value I could’ve lost.”

I pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, my hands in her hair, my fingers tightening. Holding her to me. Knowing that she felt our bond as clearly as I did.

Kiara was my soul’s home , the place where my hope lived. Where I lived.

She pulled away too soon and slipped to the ground. As she righted herself I noticed the magnificent sword she must’ve tossed to the ground. It lay next to us, in the dirt.

“You dropped your weapon for me.” The words came out in an incredible whisper, and she scoffed, a somber smile curling the corners of her mouth.

“That’s how you know I care, dear commander.” Kiara lifted onto her tiptoes, twisted her fingers in my hair, and pulled me in for another kiss. She released me just as suddenly, and although I possessed all the power of an immortal, a rush of lightheadedness had me swaying.

My pulse roared in my ears.

I was so far gone for this woman.

“Now,” Kiara said, leaning down to snatch the discarded weapon. She raised it before her, nodding to Jake, who’d graciously averted his attention, patting Starlight as she stomped the earth. “Let’s go kill the dead.”

Before she could dash away, I grabbed her arm.

“Wait.” Reaching into my jacket pocket, I retrieved the Godslayer blade and hastily shoved it into her hands. “Take this, just in case.” She tried to push it away, but I gave her a stern shake of my head. “Trust me. Do you have the moonstone?”

She patted her pocket where the gem resided, warring with herself, her eyes darkening, as she prepared for an argument.

“Don’t make me regret this,” she whispered, yanking her old blade from its sheath and replacing it with the onyx dagger.

Good. At least she listened to me. For once.

“Right.” Kiara lingered on me for another exquisite heartbeat before she took off and climbed onto Starlight’s back. She jerked the reins and sent her and Jake barreling into a mass of gray bodies, her weapon ready to be marked in their blood.

I smiled against my will.

She had that effect on me, even surrounded by enemies, death’s hand firmly on my shoulder. But she’d lived, and at that moment, all was right.

Lorian stood his ground in the center of the field, still fighting to maintain the storm that Isiah had become. Maliah aided him, her jaguars and arrows making small cuts in Isiah’s silken robes, which were riddled with bloodied stains.

And even though he was outnumbered, Isiah grinned at them like he’d already won. His magic rose from his shoulders, preparing to unleash another round of terror when I acted.

Fire curled around my form with a hiss, and then it went shooting directly for Isiah’s heart.

He faltered when my flames struck his back, allowing Lorian the opportunity to stretch his arms, his massive body rippling as though he were fashioned from water, all fluid grace and might. I watched in awe as the God of Beasts grimaced, sweat beading his brow.

He was trying to shift…and failing.

All the legends claimed he could transform into one of the creatures he commanded, but it appeared as if years of missing prayers hindered the ability. He dropped his arms with an incensed sneer, only to emit a shrill whistle.

Isiah readied to finish the job when a pack of wolves bounded into the clearing, called forth by their master. They were the beasts we’d fought in the field when Patrick had deceived us. That felt like a lifetime ago.

“The same old tricks,” Isiah muttered, sending wave after wave of glittery darkness toward Lorian. He evaded every intended strike, though his pace gradually slowed.

Meanwhile, Jake and Kiara stood back-to-back, dealing with the incoming pack of the undead. Starlight, not to be outdone, rushed into the horde, trampling their brittle bodies beneath her hooves. The mare attacked any who neared Kiara, and the ones she missed were easily stricken down by Kiara’s new sword.

A different kind of heat filled me watching her slice clean through torsos and hack off limbs, her weapon slick with black gore. Her garments were drenched, and now there were only splatters of white remaining. With her hair braided in a crown across her head, she was the warrior goddess of my dreams.

As Kiara stood firm on her own, I strode toward the heart of the battle.

Isiah faced off with Lorian as Maliah sent forth a silver-tipped arrow, her face scrunched with anger. The way she looked at Lorian was not the way a soldier looked at another.

It was more .

Before the arrow struck between his eyes, Isiah lifted a hand and swiped it, an inch away from his skull. He snapped it in half.

“You bore me,” Isiah said to Lorian. “Always so full of yourself. But I bet you’re not feeling so mighty now that I have the power you coveted not too long ago. A power you squandered for selfish purposes!”

This time, when Isiah extended his hands, his shadows struck true. Black - and - silver fog encircled Lorian, trapping him in a prison of burning night.

“Lorian!” Maliah roared into the darkness, slinging her blades so quickly, the silver blurred into one line.

Isiah avoided all but one, its hilt protruding from his stomach. With bared teeth, he ripped it out. Maliah, so full of rage, nearly didn’t react in time to save herself.

“R-run!” Lorian shouted, his voice cracking.

Maliah jerked away from Isiah’s magic at the last possible second, sprinting into the chaos of the undead bodies. Soon she was hidden by the gray mass of masked men, and Lorian sagged with visible relief.

While Isiah’s magic imprisoned the God of Beasts and Prey, my old friend sauntered in my direction, his every step full of arrogance. I prayed it would be his downfall.

“I haven’t forgotten about you, Jude,” Isiah said. Instantly, my magic simmered. “I know you have the blade. Good luck trying to keep it from me.”

“Then come and get it.”

Kiara had the blade, and now, Isiah’s life would be hers to take.

I skimmed the field, focusing on where she’d last fought beside Jake, but she’d vanished. I didn’t have time to search further. The wolves Lorian had summoned were nearly upon us.

Isiah cocked his head in their direction, launching a wave of magic that swarmed the field. His dark magic washed over the pack of wolves at the same time that Lorian unleashed an ear-shattering roar.

Bones splintered and snapped, spines breaking. The wolves whimpered as Isiah killed them in front of Lorian, who screamed until he grew hoarse. One by one , the magnificent animals dropped to the earth, their furry bodies unmoving.

“See what happens when I get angry?” Isiah asked me without emotion. “I really wanted to make your death quick, because I did care for you, but now you’ve gone and pissed me the fuck off.”

His ensuing grin was twisted, wicked in a sense that had me shivering, even as my flames radiated from my torso, brightening the night.

I lifted my newly scarred arm on instinct as his magic fired from his body like an arrow. Heat licked at my skin, flames coming to life. Isiah’s magic collided with mine—light and dark dancing for the briefest of moments… my dark. Kiara’s dark.

Isiah hissed, his shadows not knowing what to do as Kiara’s gifted power attacked alongside my fire. A few coils of magic withdrew, while others paused, seeming to sense its likeness and not recognizing an enemy.

I struck again. And again. I hit my old friend with everything I was and didn’t know I could be. We fought, Isiah doing his best to block my assault, which had transformed into one of rage and sorrow. Sorrow he’d birthed.

Just when I believed I had him—the god shrinking beneath my force, his frame curling in on itself—Isiah vanished .

I heard my mother’s scream a moment later.