Page 51 of The Erion Triad

He strode to the plinth and set Lucie on her feet. She licked her dry lips. With a deep breath, she settled the crystal on its golden stand.

The crystal ignited.

Blue green light streamed down the stand, down the plinth, across the floor, and lit the walls of the entire room. Beams blasted out from the top of the tower in all directions. The mist and clouds on the ground disintegrated from the onslaught of light-energy. The land was infused by the color of the Erion crystal.

The wind died to nothing. The cries of his people silenced. The clouds rolled to the heavens, and the land became clear.

“You’ve done it, Lucie. You’ve saved all of us.” Kyel caught her in a hug. He sank his face into her hair, breathing in her scent, absorbing her trembling form, lending her his strength.

Juliran and Zaen circled her, and together they embraced their mate as one. Relief. Happiness. Joy. Their emotions bounced through the mate bond clear and true and honest.

A terrible scream of a thousand voices echoed from thin air. Lucie clamped her hands over her ears, her face scrunched as though in pain.

Through the windows the sky grew dark again. The clouds formed into a face. Hollowed eyes, a gaping mouth, sleek curved horns and talloned fingers shaped from the clouds, becoming solid. The face hovered until its eyes found them.

Then it descended.

Lucie said the words that were only reflected in thought. “It wasn’t enough. The power of the crystal wasn’t enough.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Juliran

The miracle of Lucie was overshadowed by the nightmare in front of Juliran’s eyes. He would never have imagined anything like this to happen. His Homeland city devoured by this entity. He didn’t know what it was, only that it was evil and wasn’t going to stop until everything in its path was annihilated. And he was helpless, but to watch it happen.

“What can we do? There must be something,” Zaen said, but he was always full of action, while Juliran’s brain was caught in a mindless loop of horror.

How this happened he had no idea, only that Lucie was connected to the Erion crystal which was the most powerful thing in the universe. Until it had been stolen, it had powered and protected their Homeland for centuries. Something had changed it. Or it had grown somehow. He didn’t know, only that it had an unexplainable connection to Lucie. It was stronger when she held it. Strong enough so that the deadly mist could get nowhere close, but it was just not strong enough. Lucie needed more power. She needed... them and the strength of their bond.

“Lucie! Hold onto the crystal, but keep it in the stand where it is,” Juliran shouted.

“Why?” Zaen growled.

“It needs our connection combined. Lucie herself is not strong enough,” Juliran said.

“The last time she touched the crystal and it was in the holder and connected to the tower, it put her in a coma,” Kyel said.

Juliran licked his lips, hoping, praying that he was right. His gaze went from Zaen to Kyel, and then to Lucie. “But she’s a part of the crystal now. And because we are her bonded mates, so are we. Together, with the magnification of the tower, we might just be strong enough.”

Kyel growled, but he always growled. Zaen narrowed his eyes, and Juliran could practically see the gears turning in his head. “How do you know, Juliran? How can you know for sure?”

Juliran took a shuddering breath, “I don’t. If we don’t try something...”

“We’re all dead,” Lucie finished for him. Her eyes gleamed in the blue light, soft and yet so, so strong.

Juliran’s heart lurched into the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to agree with his mate, wished that they weren’t in this situation, but that wouldn’t stop the reality of what was happening. Their planet and everyone on it were going to die if they did nothing.

He wished he wasn’t cheated from more time with her, especially since they’d hardly begun, but then he thought of all the bonded Quads formed before the theft of the crystal. All the Quads yet to form. Their parents. Their sister. They all would lose. They all would die. There was no sweet coating these circumstances.

He kissed the top of her head, breathed in her delicate scent of wildflowers as though it was his last breath, putting off the inevitable with everything he could, knowing she was right.

“This entity is using the power of the crystals and our planet to enter our dimension. Logic says the same power is the only thing great enough to send it back. We use our crystals against it, just like it’s using them against us,” Juliran said.

Kyel took a deep breath. “My family. This is up to all of us.”

Zaen nodded his head, his lips in a tight, straight line. “It’s our only hope.”

Lucie nodded also, a single tear traced down her cheek. “I’ll do it.”

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