Page 30 of Banishing Regrets

Neither of them moved. They both stayed joined together for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually, Jane reached up and stroked down his cheek. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I’ll love you forever. Come back to me, Kas. Please.” Tears started to tumble down her cheeks.

“I’ll do everything in my power not to leave you. You have my word.” Kas leaned forward and kissed her hard on the lips. She took a mental snapshot of the moment to store in her memories.

Everything would change tomorrow.

She’d known this since she was a young child.

The prophecy had never been just about Brayden.

It had been about her as well.

There was a secret she’d kept. And tomorrow, it would be revealed.

It was the only way they could win.

Nineteen

Nuka stoodin front of the mirror and adjusted the tie that matched the perfect designer suit he was wearing. He looked the spitting image of his brother. He hoped he didn’t have to dress like he was going to a funeral for too long. Nuka preferred clothes with a bit more flair, but this suit was exactly like his brother—boring. Kas had always been that way, but after today, he’d be no more. Nuka would take over his lands and rule the world.

It had been a long time coming. He was ready to embrace this moment fully.

“Ciaran, I’m ready,” Nuka announced into the air.

His druid wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as when he’d been embraced by the dark arts, but he still had some magic. Nuka would need it for the next part of his plan, even if the dark arts would never inhabit Ciaran’s body again. The witch Jessica had made certain of that with the spell she used to expunge them from the druid’s body.

The druid and Nuka’s grandfather appeared in the room. Both had looks of determination on their faces.

“You look like a complete nerd,” Ciaran scoffed.

“That’s my brother for you.” Nuka rolled his eyes. “Today is the day. We bring the war to my brother, to the humans. We change the world today, and no one will know what has hit them until it’s too late. Let’s do this.”

Nuka’s bedroom disintegrated around him as Ciaran teleported the three of them to their first destination: the Oval Office. The home of The President of the United States of America surrounded the intruders. Secret service guards instantly appeared, and bullets were fired at them. Nuka laughed when none of the bullets found their mark. Ciaran had held up his hand and the bullets disintegrated into dust. A few moments later, the guards were thrown violently against the wall. They landed hard on the floor, limbs and a few heads lying at odd angles, from the force of magic Ciaran had hit them with.

“Stupid humans. Thinking they can stop us with bullets. It’s so lame,” his grandfather groaned with frustration next to him.

“Small brains.” Nuka yawned with boredom.

This part of the battle was so tedious. He’d come here for one thing and one thing only—he’d come for the man sitting at his desk with a look of horror on his face.

“Mr. President.” Nuka smirked as he turned to face the desk. He would leave Ciaran to deal with anyone else who tried to enter the room. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, finally.”

“I wish I could say the same about you.” The president sat up a little straighter in his chair to give an illusion of confidence, but Nuka could smell the scent of fear coming from him. It was a human frailty. Their bodies were completely unable to mask their emotions.

Nuka strode confidently around the desk and stood next to the president, then reaching under the desk, he retrieved the gun kept there. The president let out a sigh of defeat as Nuka threw the weapon to his grandfather.

“I don’t want you getting any illusions of saving yourself.”

“What do you want?” the president questioned.

A number of ideas went through Nuka’s mind. The man beside him had access to the launch codes for nuclear weapons. Nuka could change the world with one strike, but that wasn’t what he wanted. No, humiliation and defeat for his brother was the main purpose of today. He wanted the humans to destroy his brother in the most painful way. Nothing would stand between him and the power he sought after that.

Nuka knew there would be cameras everywhere in the room. Secret ones even the president probably didn’t know about. He held his head up high and began to address all those watching.

“I always thought this moment would be incredibly exciting, meeting a president, but it means nothing to me. If I wanted to, I could kill him in a matter of seconds, but that’s not why I came here. No, a hostage is much more useful at this stage.” Nuka laughed—it was suitably malevolent. “I’ll be taking the president with me today, and just in case you're thinking the country will run fine without him, I’d advise you to check on your vice president. I think you might find he is a little, well, dead.” He emphasized the last point with great vigor. “I would also suggest you check on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Secretary of State. They’ve all vanished as well. If you ignore my threats here today, then all those who are in line to represent the president will either die or disappear.”

Nuka heard the gasp from the president at his side. His point was being made.

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