My men dropped him, and I closed the last bit of distance between me and our fallen enemy.
“That was for Zehra,” I told his lifeless corpse. “And this is for the others.” I slammed every bit of magic I could handle directly into his body.So much for burying him. There was nothing left behind when the magic cleared the air, but magic wasn’t killed so easily.
It burst free from the ashes left behind and started to slam into my body. Panic rose, and Zehra tried to say something, but everything was distorted. Even my men’s voices sounded far away as I was thrown to the ground. The pain was overwhelming, and my screams were filled with both agony and fear.
‘Thank you.’It wasn’t Zehra who spoke, but countless other voices as they separated from the magic tearing me apart. One by one, they wrenched free of me and disappeared as they were meant to, back to whatever afterlife or rebirth awaited them.
Once the dragons left, I still held a surplus of magic that I couldn’t safely contain within myself.
“Let it go, Farren. Give it to Emberwood. She can handle it,” West urged as he dropped to my side. He was pale and shaky, a bandage around his chest, his shirt hanging by tatters, but he was here, which grounded me enough to try.
Trying to heed his words, I reached my hand up and pushed the magic out of me with everything I had. A twisting wave of white light burst into the sky before dissipating into the very air around us. That continued until I only had my inherent magic left. I cut it off and collapsed on the ground—sweaty, disoriented, and weak. But, most importantly, I was alive and victorious.
“Up you go,” Kane said, then he lifted me to my feet. He didn’t try to hold me, knowing I was too stubborn for that. The descent to the main floor was slow.
When we finally stepped outside, I was relieved to hear the fighting had officially stopped. But as we walked the streets I saw far too many of our own kind bleeding and wounded. I prayed none had lost their lives, but deep down, I knew I was wrong. It was unrealistic to think we’d suffered no losses in a ruthless battle.
The moment we reached the road leading up to Mountainview, the rest of our people were waiting. They fell to their knees in the same position Avi had given, one hand over their heart, head bowed.
“Glory to our queen!” Deacon yelled out, his voice strong and proud. “Honor to the fallen.”
“Honor to the fallen,” I said weakly, returning the gesture the best I could. At this point, I was still standing on my own two feet, but I couldn’t deny that it wasn’t entirely due to my own strength. Kane was definitely helping me stay upright. My alpha rumbled softly beside me, giving me strength when I didn’t have enough of my own.
Despite the trembling in my legs, I finally felt like the queen they thought me to be. We had killed our enemy by fighting proudly and fairly, and we’d protected our own as best we could. It wasn’t me who had ended this war; we had done it together.
* * *
Emberwood was now brimmingwith magic. You could feel it in the air with every breath you took. Hell, even the snow that fell to the ground sparkled with it. The magic hadn’t dissipated; it had been absorbed into the town itself, turning Emberwood into something even more special.
But it wasn't all blessings. Half of the town had been ravaged by fire. Corpses lined the street, and the wounded humans couldn’t heal as quickly as the shifters had. Luckily, the surviving soldiers had fled like their asses were on fire when they realized the fight was over, so there weren’t too many skirmishes to finish after the Arch Mage’s disposal.
The stench of fire and blood filled the air and turned my stomach. My boots nearly slid in the shallow pools of red that colored the snow, but there was no way to avoid it.
“All for one man’s ego,” I said as my heart shattered with all the senseless pain and death we’d been forced to face.
“He wasn’t human on any level,” Avi said. He was still quiet and had been since the incident, but a calm sense of confidence had taken over. This wasn’t the worrying type of quiet where we feared he might be overtaken by a dark force whispering in his ear. It was a more contemplative silence that spoke to him feeling settled within himself.
“All supernaturals hold on to parts of their humanity; it’s what keeps us from becoming full monsters,” Kane said. “He lost his years ago. The man we met when we were assigned to him was all an act. I’m sure he had years of stolen magic under his belt. He’d chosen his path long before we came along.”
“I wonder if they found anything in the town hall,” I said as I glanced toward the building in question. Maxon and an officer were still standing out front. The only real hope I had was that they’d saved at least one person. The downside was they’d also found a catalog of the magic he’d taken and the names of those he’d killed—the ones he knew, at least. Lance had already bolted, so we couldn’t exactly ask him for help finding them.
We approached the illusion that was still sitting against the mountain backdrop. The pile of rubble that used to be the compound seemed even more fitting after the battle. Niko waved his hand in the air and muttered something under his breath, revealing the untouched house behind.
The moment it came into sight, I was running despite my exhaustion. The need to see my babies was a soul-deep ache I couldn’t ignore.
Quinn threw open the door, and my girls burst out, swirling around us and bopping each of us on the head in greeting before falling into my arms and letting out whining squeaks. They might not have understood the reason we were away, but they were pretty intuitive. They would have felt the tension in the air, the fear and worry that had lingered as a sour smell.
“You’re safe now, girls,” I promised them. “We’ve got you. It’s over.” They blinked up at me, those intelligent eyes staring on as I gave them the words we all needed to hear.
A warm tingling spread along my arms. In a puff of smoke, two sweet babies were looking back at me. My mates rushed forward, steadying me when the change in weight nearly toppled me backward.
We stared down in wonder at the two nearly identical baby girls in my arms. Their eyes were no longer the glowing jeweled orbs of dragons but a delicate blue and emerald green. They still held the same intelligence as before, and I had a feeling they’d keep us on our toes.
Anya had a shock of black hair that hung in curls around her head. Her eyes were a mix of Avi’s blue with Kane’s flecks of gold. They made me wonder whether the world had been wrong about betas having children with omegas. Avery had emerald green eyes just like Levi’s, and her hair was the same copper. Her skin was covered in a dusting of freckles, while Anya’s was a warm tan like Niko. They were a mix of all of us, and I just knew that magic and fate had had a hand in creating them.
“You’re perfect,” I told them as tears coursed down my cheeks. A few sniffles sounded off around me, but I couldn’t look away from my babies to see which of my mates had cracked. My twins were holding me captive, and I was already wrapped around their little fingers.
I've given everything to stay with these girls, fought so hard to make sure they were safe, and now that I was holding them, I didn't want to let them go.