Page 47 of Shadow Fall: Part Two

“That’s another one,” Asta snarled, readjusting the flamethrower on her shoulder. “Halwen, get your mate away from whoever the fuck that is.”

My heart lurched. Gauvan was a fake. It was never really him. I exhaled in hard relief. “Everyone move back; give Asta space!”

Kai locked a band of magic around Gauvan, ripping his hands off my mate’s neck. They all moved away from the bastard, Kai, Em, and Harvey edging towards Wyn and I.

My heart ached when Wane backed up by himself, putting distance between him and us. I reached across our tether for his soul, wrapping him in reassurance and love, wishing I could do more. His pain cut through my chest like a scythe, spreading through my soul.

He was falling apart, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

“I can sense you bastards now,” Asta spat at Gauvan as she blasted a cloud of cold, deadly magic at him. He didn’t even try to run, as if Cronus didn’t care if he was killed. Were these fakes an extension of Cronus, or had he created them like golems from clay, but lacking any survival instincts, any free will? Had every word from their mouth come from Cronus?

“Rest in suffering,” Asta hissed as the icy plume hit Gauvan and sucked the life from him. A blink and he was gone, but the scars remained—in Harvey’s silence, in Wane’s deep pain. Gauvan’s purpose was served, the damage done.

“If these were imposters, where’s the real Cronus?” Emlyn asked in a low rumble, his brow heavy over sharp blue eyes as he scanned the rotting field around us. The Damned Realm steadily filled with magic and crackling power, our allies so close we could see the scales of their leather armour. Backup was here, but where was our target?

“There,” Wane breathed, edging closer but still painfully apart. He raised his arm, pointing at a place in the distance.

I squinted at it and swore colourfully when I realised what I’d thought was the shadow of a mountain was actually Cronus’s massive form watching us, laughing at us wasting our energy fighting decoys when he was right there.

“Lili,” I said, not taking my eyes off Cronus when he lifted a hand in a taunt. My stomach tightened.

“Halwen,” she replied, her voice still chillingly powerful.

“You wanna tag team this bastard?”

She laughed, even that making my blood chill. “This is the end,” she said in a voice so similar to the Fury in me. “He dies here, or we all die.”

Right. I took that as a yes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

KAI

The plan was a good one, bulletproof and watertight, so of course it went to shit the minute we crested a muddy hill and saw not just Cronus looming over the field below but an army that spread all the way from one edge of the field to the horizon.

“How many?” Haley breathed, the blood draining from her beautiful face. I brushed the small of her back, wanting to hold her hand but too afraid to restrict her movements. Plus, her dagger swirled with so much magic that I had no doubt it would sear my fingers.

“Ten thousand. Maybe twenty,” Wynvail murmured.

“And how many do we have left?” I asked, angling my head towards the Queen of Hell who stood beside my mate, her leathers streaked with dark blood and her face so frozen with murder that even my snakes avoided the air around her.

“Two,” she answered, her mouth thin. “But we have more magic than they do. Look.” She pointed to the formations, perfect squares of soldiers wearing pure black. “They’re shadow soldiers, not flesh and blood. They can’t hold their own power. But those lines near the back, those are gods and titans, compelled by Cronus. Those are the real danger.”

“How do you know this?” Harvey demanded, his wings snapping tight to his back, the edges sharp with iron.

“My halo shows me,” the queen replied in a voice that sent a warning down my spine. What kind of power did she have? And why did she sound so fucking weird? Old and dangerous and immortal.

“Haley,” Lili said, turning her head slowly—unnatural power gathered around her, throbbing in the fire that wound around her arms, spilling from her hands. “You and I will fight Cronus. Your mates and my men will be the front lines against the shadows. Maybe your shadow mate can dismantle them.”

“I’ll try,” Wane said softly.

“Everyone who can fly,” she said, raising her voice to carry back through the ranks of fighters gathered behind us. “I need you to fly over the shadow soldiers and attack those lines behind them but do not kill them. They won’t stop until they’re incapacitated. They’re compelled to give their lives to win this battle.”

I couldn’t even imagine how it would feel to be compelled by a monster like Cronus, to fight to the death for a cause you didn’t believe in.

“Great plan, but I’m not leaving my mate’s side,” I said, holding the queen’s gaze when she seemed to stare straight through me. I got it. Cronus ate the man she loved. But she couldn’t intimidate me into leaving the woman I loved. Not happening. “Non-negotiable.”

She turned slowly, the full weight of her power settling on me. I didn’t look away, just clenched my jaw and bore the prickling heat of her eerie eyes, the thump of magic writhing around her, seeking an outlet.

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