Vita glows, her pulsating waves of light blinding everyone in the room.
I chop off the king’s offending hands when he’s distracted, and he backs off, yelping in pain. The whole court freezes, the guards, my mates, and members of the council. Some have vanished.
Well, it looks as if we have found the king’s accomplices. They won’t get very far.
I will find every monster who had a hand in helping the darkness spread.
The king’s blood trickles from the blade, but I don’t lose focus. Sweat is dripping off me in buckets, but I maintain my stance, holding my sword ready.
Vita continues to glow, spreading her power right through me, and I feel unstoppable.
But before I put the king’s lights out forever, I have to know.
“Why did you do it? Why did you infect my race?”
He glares at me, cradling his injured hand, and he’s losing blood. That’s what he gets for underestimating me. I wore him out long enough, and now he has lost.
He makes a rasping laugh, and I peer straight into his puke yellow eyes. “Because... humans are scum. You call us the monsters, but I dreamed of the day when we could be free of you and achieve complete autonomy. Right to the point where we wouldn’t even need you to breed anymore. We only exist because we are impressions of you. Your kind are the real monsters, sweet Belle. Never forget that. You’re a true plague on that world, and one day, you will all meet your end. I just wanted to speed up the process.”
So, that’s why he did it? He wants his kind to be free of humans. They pretty much rely on us. They feed on us and they breed with us, and by extension, they are us. They’re a reflection of all our nasty, ugly traits, and he’s right. Humans are monsters. When we’re not destroying each other, we’re destroying the planet and other creatures.
But I will change all of that. I will prove that there is still some beauty left to humanity, and I think I finally understand the quest that the Enchantress sent me on.
I will be the change we all need. I will fix our world and send us on the path of righteousness again.
We can start over.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. Then I open them again, meeting the king’s fading yellow. “Thank you for opening my eyes, Your Majesty, but I will prove you wrong. I will save humanity from itself.”
He cackles. “Humanity will never be saved.”
I shrug. “Maybe not, but I’m still going to try.”
With one final swing of my sword, I lop off the king’s head at last, and it rolls across the floor. A frosty silence falls over the courtroom, so quiet, you could hear the sound of falling snow from a mile off.
But I did it. I defeated the king.
And now I am going to save humanity.
Chapter twenty
Madoc
Mymatedropstothe ground, and I rush to her side. Her power well seems to have run out as the sword has stopped glowing, and now I swoop her up in my arms, cradling her to my chest.
Nero and Grey crowd me, checking her vitals.
“You did well, my beauty,” I croon, nuzzling her head. “Amazing. You defeated the king and won back our thrones.”
She makes an undiscernible sound, and I giggle, flicking my tongue out to lick her cheek.
“What are we going to do about them?” Nero says next, pulling my gaze away from my beauty. The guards stare at the king in horror, their metal-plated armor making it hard to see their expressions, and I growl, protecting my mate.
They will not get their disgusting hands on her.
The rest of the councilmen, the ones who never fled, cower in the shadows. I got the names of the ones who ran, and Nero and I will hunt them down later.
The head guard inches toward us. Nero and Grey step in front of Belle, hiding her from view. The guard drops his lance, holding up his hands in a peace offering.