Page 127 of Wings of Death

“Did Amaros help you in any way?”

“Many have helped me. Your handsome second, Finlay, barely batted an eye when I roped him in. Another stupid male, willing to do whatever it took out of his love for you. I suppose threatening his family may have played a part, but he was still more than eager. I think he enjoyed the power, leading those watchers down to Earth to kill Kyle and remove him from your life. It’s a shame it didn’t work out for him, though. Poor Finlay.”

My jaw tenses at her admission. I knew she was responsible for the watcher attacks. “You were behindallthe watcher attacks, weren’t you?”

She presses her lips together to stop herself from laughing. “Yes, and no. Like I said, I had plenty of help. You don’t really believe I’m the only one who wants to rule the Kingdom, do you?”

She suddenly sends a blast of power at me, but this time I see it coming and roll to the side to dodge it. I leap to my feet as she pulls my mother’s daggers from her belt. I narrow my eyes at her, and she smirks, raising them up into the air.

“Those are mine,” I say, my voice laced with anger.

She spins them around in her hands. “I remember your mother wearing these daggers. I always wondered where they came from. Likely a gift from her mate. That’s the thing about gods and goddesses; they possess powerful weapons. I saw these daggers pictured in the book I discovered in the library that spoke of the weapons of the gods. I couldn’t let you find that out.”

My mind races as I think back to the book in the library and how its pages were torn out. “That was you?”

“You already had the Locket of Leodona and the Ring of Rykel. Having the Daggers of Gallerria as well was out of thequestion. I knew I had to take them from you before you realised their power, but my watchers failed. Everyone fails me.

“Yimel and Rimel couldn’t even get the explosion in the Great Hall right. You and Harlum both survived it. Seems if I want anything done right, I have to do it myself.”

I shake my head at her admission. “Of course you were behind it.”

She twirls the daggers in her hands. “It was a marvellous plan that would have succeeded if those idiot twins could follow instructions. Oh well, it’s planned out just fine. Here we are.”

She holds the daggers together high in the air, as if expecting something to happen, but nothing does. Frustrated, she tosses them to the ground.

I pull The Sword of Silanthia from my holster. “I have already unleashed their power,” I tell her.

Her chest heaves up and down as she grits her teeth and pulls a sword from her holster. “I prefer my own weapons anyway,” she says and charges forward.

She brings her sword down hard, and I meet it with my own, the sound of clashing metal echoing around the clearing. She lands a kick to my chest. I fall to the ground, losing my grip on the sword. I roll out of the way as she plunges her sword down, and it cuts into the thick layer of leaves on the forest floor. I leap to my feet. She swings her sword again as I jump back, but the next swing of her sword catches my arm. I cry out as it slices through my leather wristband and into my flesh.

She grins and raises her sword above her head as I take up my fighter’s stance, holding my hands up in defence. Blood drips down my forearm, and this time I don’t give her a chance to attack first.

I charge at her and land a firm kick to her chest that sends her stumbling back. I surge forward again, smack my fist into her face, flip backward, and land on my feet before her.

She runs her hand along her lip and lets out a laugh before slowly moving toward me. We circle one another, both crouching down as we look for an in.

A branch snaps to my right, catching me off guard for a moment, and it’s enough. She uses the opportunity to snatch up the Sword of Silanthia from the forest floor and blast its power at me, sending me flying into a nearby boulder.

I crack my head hard against the edge of the stone boulder, and my vision blurs as nausea takes hold. She stalks toward me, curls her hand through my hair, and hauls me across the ground. I kick at the leaves and twigs as she drags me through the dirt. A searing pain rips at my head. I attempt to pry her hands from my hair, but it doesn’t stop her. Before I have a chance to use my powers, she throws me up against the stone ruins and smacks me hard across the face.

I wince, reaching up to my lip as a familiar metallic taste fills my mouth.

“I am a powerful goddess, Zarla. You were never a match for me,” she says with certainty.

Then she plunges the Sword of Silanthia into my stomach.

Pain slices through me as I glance down at the blade embedded deep in my stomach. I reach for it with a shaking hand in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. Tears pool in my eyes while I choke and splutter on my blood. It runs down my chin and drips onto my hands. I meet her gaze and find pure satisfaction there, as if she has finally achieved something she set out to do.

“Another familiar sight,” she taunts. “Now, where have I seen this before?” she says, tapping her fingers across her chin.

She yanks the sword out of my stomach, and I almost black out as an intense pain surges through me. My vision blurs and my stomach turns as a cold sweat breaks out across my forehead.

“That’s right. This is the same sword I used to kill your mother, in much the same way, might I add.” She turns away, dragging the sword across the forest floor, cutting through leaves as she crosses the clearing.

White spots dance across my vision, and then there’s nothing but darkness. I blink my eyes open as a bright light beams down on me, and I have to shield my eyes from it. What is that?

“Zarla,” someone calls.

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