For a moment, all I could do was stare at the glowing onyx gemstone, hating every word the god had said. “If that’s true, then why are you offering to help Kalen? Aren’t you on Oberon’s side? Don’t you want the gods returned? You’re one of them.”
She let out a laugh as another boom shook the building. A chunk of rock slammed into the ground only a few inches from my feet. “I’m on no one’s side. I want to be released, and nothing else matters to me. Now, let me out.”
My belly knotted as I stared at the flickering gemstone, wincing as the world shook once more. “Maybe. If you promise to go far away from here.”
“Happily.”
“Vow it to me.” Narrowing my eyes, I waited for her response.
She tsked. “Fine. I vow it.”
No magic skittered along my arms in response. I didn’t feel a hint of power at all. It did not surprise me that the gods were not bound to the same rules of magic that mortals and fae were. She had not truly vowed a damn thing.
But she had no idea that I realized that.
Mouth dry, I nodded. “All right. How do I release you?”
The gemstone seemed to expand, the glow intensifying. “I knew you would make the right choice, Tessa Baran. We are so alike, you and me. Now, come closer.”
Frowning, I did as she asked, though her words scraped through me. I was nothing like the God of Death.
“Place your hand against the heart of me and pull me into your chest.”
I stepped back. “I beg your pardon?”
Her voice turned sharp. “Do what I said. You’re running out of time. Your beloved Mist King is on his knees. He has wounds all across his back from where the rocks have slammed into him. He will bleed to death if you do not release me. I won’t let him heal until then.”
My breath hitched, horror snaking through me with venomous fangs. “You’re stopping him from accessing his healing powers, too?”
“Oh yes. Now, let me out.”
“You’re a monster,” I whispered.
“I am a god.” Her voice boomed in the cavern.
Sucking the biting cold into my lungs, I lifted a trembling hand and placed it in the center of the glowing stone. It hummed beneath my fingers, the light flaring in anticipation. Power curled through me, beckoning me closer. Closing my eyes, I tried not to think about what this could mean. I’d gone up against a powerful being once before and had failed. Oberon was no god, but he was the closest thing the humans of Teine had to one. Could I risk doing anything other than what the god had asked? Would this kill me?
What other choice did I have?
Kalen would die if I didn’t do something. The building would crumble down on top of me. Nothing would stand in Oberon’s way anymore. The gods would return.
I leaned into the rock, a silent prayer on my lips. Not to any god or fae or mortal alive. But to the person I’d always wanted to be. Someone who could make a difference.
The girl who had always dreamed of a better world.
With a roar, I whipped the wooden dagger from my tunic and slammed the blunt end into the glowing stone. Power shook, throwing me back. My teeth slammed together when I hit the ground hard, and ringing filled my ears.
The god’s brutal power ripped through the rumbling cavern, filling up my head with its guttural, inhuman sound. I clapped my hands over my ears and pushed up onto my feet, eyes wide at the sight before me.
My blade had cracked the gemstone, shattering it in the middle. A dark power rushed out of it like liquid smoke. As soon as it hit the air, it misted, swirled, and then vanished like it had never been there.
I stood in the center of the cavern, my heart thundering, until the last remnants of the power disappeared. Hugging my arms to my chest, I inched closer to the stone. It was silent and dark and dead. The cracked gem held no more power now. But was it really gone? Had I destroyed the god? Could it really have been that easy?
Either way, Kalen should have his powers back. He could fight now.
Hope flaring to life in my chest, I raced up the stairs. Midnight stood waiting for me, his body blocking the door that led into the storm.
“Move, Midnight,” I said, tugging at his reins. “I have to go out there and help Kalen.”