Page 21 of Shadow Fall: Part Two

Fuck. I was so fucking stupid, I'd been so focused on him that I forgot he was a titan, and every bit as cunning as his brother.

He flung an arm out, and Harvey was cast through the air, landing in a heap in the grass. Not moving. Blood howled louder in my head; power gathered in my hand, both blisteringly hot and as icy as a glacier.

Justice, justice...

He hurt my mate. He made Kai scream and Wyn bleed and threw Harvey so hard I couldn't feel him in the bond.

"Wane," I whispered, even though he was too far away to hear me. "Please."

Iapetus laughed when I took another step—and slammed into a barrier so solid, my teeth rattled and my chest shook. "The pet won't help you. He's as trapped as you are."

My nostrils flared. Wane wasn't broken, wasn't numb and empty. He was locked in place by titan magic. A roar filled my head, and I lost my grip on my magic. Or the barrier around me was steadily, quietly, sapping my strength.

"Cronus left you here," I said, trying to stall Iapetus so I could figure a way out. "He knew we'd escape that timeline."

Iapetus snorted. He formed a vicious blade of magic and drove it at Emlyn when my mate roared at him with so much power that it stunned me.

"Em," I gasped, warning tripping like ice water down my spine. "Stop. Leave. Just—"

He didn’t stop. Emlyn slashed his hands through the air, so many scythes of green magic forming that Iapetus was slashed all over, drenching the grass in blood. He slumped with a pitiful moan.

The island tore itself apart around us as Emlyn's magic sank through grass and dirt to the Earth, severing it into a dozen different pieces.

My heart stopped. I stared at Iapetus and shook my head fast.

"He's faking!" I screamed, throwing myself against the barrier, slamming my fists into it.

Em jumped back, trusting me instantly, but Iapetus moved faster and smiled as he thrust the shimmering blade of magic into Em's chest.

The world slowed, time sticky and drawn out. I saw every drop of blood, every expression that crossed my mate's face. A broken cry escaped me in a sob when the tip of the blade tore through Em's back, blood blooming through his shirt too fast, too dangerously.

No. No.

"Emlyn!" I screamed, slamming my fists against the barrier, a howl of rage building in my throat, my head, my soul and—

My soul throbbed with pain, but numbness didn't spread through me like when Cronus killed Wyn. Hope choked off all my air until my head spun. I was going mad, my mates were dying around me again and—

Verena screamed. It was a sound of wrath and rage, not pain, but I jerked towards her, throwing myself against the magic keeping me trapped until pain blasted my shoulder. Tears streaked my face. I'd lost too much. I couldn't bare it.

Not her. Please not her.

But when I blinked to clear my eyes, Verena wasn't bleeding or dying. She glowed, her whole body luminous with golden light, and her red hair floated above her shoulders. I blinked, a memory trying to surface. My heart skipped, but the memory danced out of my grasp.

Verena took a step, golden light spilling further across the island, disappearing into the cracks Emlyn had rent in the ground with his magic. I slammed my fists into the barrier, a scream howling through my head. I couldn’t bear her being anywhere near Iapetus. His words throbbed through my head, taunting and vile. I shook my head, but they persisted.

"Don’t," I screamed at her, but she shook her head at me, the glow brightening, blinding yellow as she took another step.

She was the daughter of Apollo. Phoebe's granddaughter—a titan's granddaughter. She had as much power as I did. But I felt sick watching her cross the island, determination on her freckled face.

I’d felt that determination, too. Had felt it and failed.

"Don't hurt my family," she breathed, her hands shaking as she lifted them in front of her, not just dripping gold but overflowing it so fast that a sea gathered under her feet. "Don't speak to them. Don't even look at them."

Iapetus smiled, his attention fixing on this new target, this new victim.

Not her. Never her.

Magic slammed through my chest. I lifted my hand at the same time she did, ready, waiting, ignoring the weakness spreading through me, sucking strength out of my magic with every minute. I didn't know what his magic was doing to me, didn't particularly care. I didn't take my eyes off Verena.

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