Page 109 of Feathers and Thorns

“Now you have another one to match.”

This angered him even more, and he began swinging wildly, not caring where he landed his blows. His aggression won out, and all three fighters fell to the ground at his feet, bruised, broken, and bleeding.

A smug smile cut through his already damaged features as he cracked his neck from side to side and strode past Jai, Enara, and Abraxos, his sights set on Soren and Rook.

Soren had reached the Oculus first, struggling on her wounded leg. Rook was almost there, his body as heavy as lead. He reached forward, his fingertips stretching toward the artifact, but Adriel snatched it up from between them.

“I think we’ve outgrown the need for silly toys,” he sneered, snapping the Oculus in half and throwing the pieces to opposite sides of the field.

“No!” Soren screamed, her hope cracking like a clay vase falling from a great height.

Adriel kicked her in her already damaged ribs, and she cried out.

“Do not touch her!” Rook croaked, reaching his hand toward Soren.

Adriel pressed his armored boot against it, crushing his fingers into the ground. Rook refused to voice his pain and clenched his teeth together.

“You could have been so much more than this,” Adriel scolded. “I gave you everything you could ever need to succeed in this world, and you threw it all away for a stupid human.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Father,” Rook said, the word as caustic as acid, “I am human.”

Adriel’s features screwed up at the comment, and he shifted his blade to Rook’s neck. “You could have been a god.”

“And yet, I know true happiness where you do not,” Rook replied, scowling. His eyes flicked to the blade as it pressed into his neck.

“You could have lived forever,” Adriel scoffed. “All these years, honing your healing abilities, and what do you have to show for it?”

“Invisible scars and internal trauma,” Soren interjected, stabbing Vane into Adriel’s ankle.

He roared and smacked her head to the side, her body crumpling next to Rook, who laced his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

Adriel grabbed the dagger and ripped it from his ankle, pointing it in Soren’s face. “Stupid girl, that little scratch will heal before your body hits the ground. Your efforts are wasted.”

“Were they, though?” Soren asked, her face stretching into a large grin, eyes flicking past him.

He turned just as Coraxis’s blade hooked around his neck and removed his head from his body.

As blood spurted from the wound, Adriel’s head rolled to the side. The last image he saw was Enara’s satisfied smile before his soul faded into oblivion.

The battle came to an abrupt end as Adriel’s head fell to the ground, his persuasion over his brothers and sisters severed, along with his spinal cord.

The field went still as the Celestials dropped their weapons mid-swing, eyes blinking back years of hazy memories.

The rebellion herded the last remaining Xian-Dao warriors into a group, relieving them of their arms, as the rest of the Celestials came to terms with everything that had transpired.

“Here,” Jai said, handing Soren the broken pieces of the Oculus. They hummed in her hands, and as she placed them side-by side, their edges melded together, reforming the artifact.

Enara and Jai had helped her and Rook to their feet, Adriel’s head staring off into the distance from where it seeped blood on the ground.

“Should we unmake him?” Soren asked, tilting her head to where Adriel’s body lay.

Rook prodded Adriel’s head with his boot before responding, “Every soul deserves redemption.” His voice low. “Even one as black as his.”

“Are you sure?” Soren asked. “After all he has done to you? To us?”

He sighed, releasing a breath through his teeth. Then he straightened his posture, the pain fading as his body pieced itself back together, and finally confirmed, “I’m sure.”

“So, what are you going to do with it?” Jai asked, looking down at the artifact.

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