Page 121 of Dark Fate

Lucian pales and doesn't say anything—it's a wise move. He's got the sense not to prod the raging beast that I damn well am right now.

I can't tear my eyes away from where Dani had been sprawled lifeless in my arms just minutes ago. That patch of earth is forever marked, the grass still bearing the bloody imprint of her body.

My fists ball up tight, her blood's metallic tang still clinging to my skin—a goddamn monument to how I failed her. Rage and grief war it out inside me, a tempest with no limits or reason.

Axilya's voice pierces through the turmoil. "What did it look like when Danica was taken?" she asks, her tone sharp with urgency.

I lift my head, locking eyes with her. Even fucked up as I am, I can see that same terror staring back at me from those light green eyes of hers. "Some golden glow was all around her," I growl, my voice rough as hell. "It lifted her off the ground..." My words choke off, and I'm slammed again with that torturous memory.

"Azrael?" Erik asks, his silver eyes narrowed in thought.

I snap my head, dismissing that shit instantly. "No. This was way stronger than that damn serpent."

Azrael's all about his shadowy bullshit, his lies, and his tricks. But whatever snatched Dani, something else shone like a blazing sun, full of power and authority.

I turn back to lock onto Axilya's intense stare. "You've seen anything like this around? Some force in this place with that kind of serious muscle?"

She shakes her head slowly, her brow furrowed. "No. Nothing in this realm could manage such a feat."

"Perhaps something...or someone...from Atheria?" Lucian suggests quietly.

Atheria—that legendary heavenly place that's been blocked off from all the rest—Dani's true home.

I scoff at the idea, a hard, biting laugh escaping me. "They haven't stepped in before—why the hell would they step in now?"

Understanding dawns on Axilya's face. "Because of Danica," she breathes. "She has the power to cross between realms. Whoever took her must have tapped into that ability while she was..."

Dead. That goddamn silent word weighs a ton in the air. Dani had taken her last fucking breath in my arms right before she vanished. Some force had to make its move in that brief moment, twisting her realm abilities without her say-so.

"Remember Seraphina, Dani's guardian angel? She’s got that realm-hopping trick up her sleeve. She popped into our world to see Dani before," Lucian remarks, connecting the dots with a hint of intrigue threading his voice. "What if she pulled the same stunt again just now?" His suggestion hangs in the air, hinting at a celestial interference that could change the game.

The reality of it drapes over me, cold and suffocating. It makes perfect sense they'd come for her, their child, scooping her back home when she died.

Lucian raises an eyebrow, the playful edge in his voice replaced by genuine curiosity. "So what's the play here? What the hell does this mean for us?" He crosses his arms, waiting for an explanation to piece together the implications of the unfolding events.

While my mind's spinning, Faderyn cuts in, "My bet? It was to save her. She's the one the prophecies are all about—she can't..." He hesitates, giving me a look like he's weighing his words before he drops the one that's going to haunt me to my grave: "Die."

I gotta get my head straight—she's in Atheria, or so we're guessing.

What the hell does that mean for me stuck down here? Are they gonna haul her ass back or what? Are they gonna cling on to her?

Fuck this. No way I'm letting this shit slide. She's got a damn destiny, and it's with me, right by my side. They better send her back. But the clock's ticking—how fucking long do I have to hold out before I lose my mind? I've gotta keep my cool and stay sharp. No way in hell am I losingDanibecause I couldn't keep my head straight.

The fog creeps back, winding around our boots like it's slinking home after recoiling from my unleashed fury.

As if on cue, Erik's there, cutting through my internal crap with his trademark blade-sharp insight. "You have to tough this out, brother. We can’t afford to lose you too,” he says. He's got that unyielding, no-bullshit look in his steel gray eyes—the one that doesn't waver—doesn't doubt. “For now, we keep our heads down until Dani comes back. Without her, our hands are tied.” His gaze locks on mine, steady and unwavering, “She will come back, brother.”

That’s the lifeline I gotta cling to, keep it buckled tight to my soul. But damn, if that hollow emptiness doesn’t creep back in, that dark abyss that I can’t shake off.

The Whisperlings start their crap again, buzzing in my skull. I push back, “We gotta move, find some higher ground.”

Danica

56

Seraphina—my very own celestial bodyguard. Her locks are like strands of pure sunshine, and those eyes? Gleaming gold, like she has a pair of miniature stars plugged in. Standing before me with major main-character energy, her aura practically screams, "I'm here, I'm divine, get used to it!"

"Hello,Dani," she croons, and it's like my soul just scored front-row tickets to the concert of a lifetime—a siren song I never knew I needed until now.

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