Page 123 of Beasts of Briar
Tears sprang to my eyes. Just one more. Soloman was almost fully back to himself, his long brown hair flowing behind him as he met my gaze with a timid smile.
“Bellamy!” Kairoth roared from behind me.
I whirled around just in time to see Ragar throwing a ball of fire that hurled straight toward Soloman.
“No!” my father yelled as the ball hit the arm of the sweater. The arm I’d rushed. The arm that had already been burned once.
The sweater arm fell off before Soloman’s wing could transform. I let out a cry, reaching for him, but it was too late.
Soloman was here, but he had a wing instead of an arm.
“No,” I cried, voice raspy and quiet after so many years of not using it.
“It’s okay,” Soloman said quietly, looking down at his wing.
My mouth went dry as I realized what had happened. The dark magic I’d used to save Soloman’s life. It seemed so long ago now that the crocodile had bit him, almost killed him. That I’dused that potion to save him. This was the price. I’d made the choice for him.
Soloman held my gaze as my brothers crowded around him. “It’s okay,” he said again.
Kairoth’s shadows fought and fought against the other gods, but their magic was pushing against his, closing in around us.
I gestured. “Go,” I said to my brothers. “Get inside the castle. Get to safety. We’ll figure everything out soon, but I have to deal with this.”
They all looked at each other. “We’re not leaving you,” Jorah said. “We’ll fight alongside you.”
“I didn’t save you just so you could die in a fight against the gods.”
Ryder stepped forward, taking my hand. “You’re not alone, Bell. You never have been.”
That had certainly been the theme of my life lately.
“My sons.” My father stepped forward, tears in his eyes. “I’ve missed you so very much.” He looked at all of us. “We’re all together. Again. Finally.” He stopped, making a garbled sound, his hands coming to his stomach.
I looked down in horror, a scythe slicing right through his belly.
Blood welled from a hole, spilling through his fingers and splattering to the ground. The rain began to fall harder.
“Father,” I said.
Tears leaked from his eyes, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He coughed, the sound rattling his chest.
Kairoth let out a yell, sending one of his shadows to hit Khalasa. She tumbled to the ground, her head hitting a stone vase and knocking her unconscious. She wouldn’t be out for long.
Kairoth’s shadows had formed a wall around the gods, but their magic was puncturing the shadows over and over. He wasdoing too much, holding off the gods as best he could to give me the time I needed.
I placed my hands over my father’s stomach as blood continued to seep out. My brothers gathered around, horror pasted on their faces.
“Father,” Jorah said, voice shaking.
“We have to do something,” I said as tears streamed down my face.
“Let me go, darling girl,” Father said. “You did good, Bell. So, so good. This, you all, was always my dream.”
With that he crumpled forward, into Ryder’s arms, his eyes wide open, blank.
“No.” I let out a sob as my brothers crowded around me.
In the distance, light boomed from the treetops. The jungle where everyone had gathered. The gods slowly stopped fighting, all of them looking toward the light.
