Page 207 of Scorching the Alien Empire
I remember his words, just before the flames consumed him. Naming me his son. His last breath, not cruel, butkind.Even now, here, amidst divine madness and volcanic fury—my lip trembles at the memory. Those weren’t the words of a tyrant. They were the words of afather.
“Nothing to say after all that?” Princesa steps closer, head tilted, voice sharp. “Ugh. Whatever. Don’t worry your bigborehead. I can’t hurt you without our stupid bond returning the favor.” She runs a hand over the shimmer-barrier between us.
“So I think I’ll just keep you like this. Since you won’t even carry me anymore.” Her eyes roll. “A big frowny bear in a cage.My personal divine bond juice box.” Suddenly she perks up, grinning. “Ooooh! A Fashion accessory. Not as cute as too-cute Todd, obviously. More like... murder-statue energy. Still, very on brand.”
I hardly hear her.
Every word is camouflage. Every insult, armor. A thousand barbed hooks flung to keep me at bay. But I know the truth. Ifeelit. She’s hiding. Beneath all this power—beneath the divinity, the goddess fire—Princesais still in there. Fragile. Afraid. Alone.
I strain against the prison, muscles trembling, bones on the verge of rupture. My claws gouge nothing. My breath scorches my lungs.
I won’t break it. Not like this. Despite everything, the shields that crushed Voidbanes, haven’t cracked, haven’t budged. Not the faintest ripple. I exhale slowly, my hands falling to my belt, fingers brushing a small pouch I’d forgotten was there—Ignixis’s ashes.
A warmth flows into me. Gentle. Familiar. I see him again. Towering behind Princesa, cloaked in shadow, green eyes glinting from under his hood. He smiles, yellow fangs shrouded in darkness, a nightmarish visage. But I know better. I see the ancient wisdom beneath. His voice is silent... but a thought rises unbidden. One of his familiar gas-cloud lectures, after we recovered the Earth females.
“Anger is a powerful tool, not a master. You must learn to channel it. Use it.”
I’ve lived in rage. Worn it like skin. Let it define me. It brought me this far. But it will not carry me further.
I breathe deep. Closing my eyes. And for the first time in years—I let go.
The change is instant. The bond—my side—thecrimson infernothat has raged between us for so long—dims. My power,once divine, trickles away. I can feel it—my senses dulling, the world growing quieter. Simpler. Smaller.
Like waking up from a fever dream. My eyes creak open. The barrier is gone.
“Wow, wow, what theFUCKhave you done!?” Princesa shrieks, spinning on me. She stares at her hands like they’re alien appendages, her tone panicked, like a warrior holding a broken arc-blaster. “Why can’t I feel it? Why can’t Ifeel you?”
Air rushes into my lungs. The ash-choked stink tastes like nectar—like freedom. I take a step forward, unimpeded. The cage is gone. A fading nightmare.
“Your strength is borrowed.” I growl, eyes locked on hers. “Only through me do the Gods grant favor. Only bymywill do you ascend.” My fist clenches before my face, gauntlet groaning like tortured metal.
“No, that’s bullshit.” She staggers back. The silver-crimson haze in her eyes has dulled—replaced by trembling pools of mercury.
“You just... you just dimmed me! You—rude prick,” she mutters, voice dipping into false confidence. “If you don’t stop stomping toward me with those Bobo the clown feet, you’re going to leave me no choice but to lock you up again.” She lifts her arms, half-hearted.
“You have no choice,” I advance, each step crunching ash and slag beneath my boots. “You are no Goddess. Just a frightened mortal—a betrayer.”
She bares her teeth, feral. “Fuck you,Dracoth!” she hisses, shaking, sweat streaking her face. Her eyes screw shut. She screams—raw and desperate—channeling everything into one final surge. “I am the Divine Daughter!”
Nothing happens.
She opens her eyes, wide with horror. I’m still moving with the crushing weight of consequence. Closer. Towering. Unstoppable.
“You think you’re clever?” she blurts, a laugh sharp and brittle. “But your big bore head is missing the obvious,” she sneers, jabbing a trembling finger at me. “If you kill me, you lose your powers.”
I pause, gaze faltering.Kill her?
“Glowsticks,” I remind her, bitterness oozing free. “I am my own power. A titan of war.” I slam my gauntlet to my chest with a resoundingclang.
Princesa’s courage finally wanes. She stumbles, nearly tripping over a slag-warped stool, retreating fast into a corner.
“Leave Todd and me alone, you big scaryasshole!” she screeches, clutching the oblivious blob in her arms. “It’s okay, Chug Bug, it’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you. He’s just... having a tantrum. That’s all.”
I approach slowly. Her eyes lock onto mine—silver daggers, glinting hate and hurt in equal measure. “You’re jealous,” she spits. “That’s all this is, isn’t it? Because Arawnoth abandoned you for being a big blubbering crybaby, you’d rather ruin it for me instead of growing stronger like the Sacred Words demand.”
She hurls words like knives—wild, bitter, flailing.
“I always knew, under the murder-jock act you were just an inexperienced virgin with daddy issues. And now you’re taking it out on me. Well, you know what? I’mnotscared of you. I’mnotsorry. And I don’t give afuckwhat happens to me anymore!”
