Page 61 of A Reign of Malice
She takes only enough blood from the queens so that each god can have one drink of the powerful crimson. Something I appreciate so that we’re not left weak when we return to Lunara. Even my wolf doesn’t reject the help we’re offering, but something tells me that’s only because this goddess gave us our mate.
Julian offers me a reassuring glance as he finishes with another god, then his eyes cast down to my wrist as if he’s asking if I’m okay.
There’s a thin, pink-tinged line there from the cuts, but it’s nothing that will bother me later and won’t even leave a scar. I offer him a smile in return as he starts to walk toward me.
Isla and Estee stand with their mates and I think we’re finally done after having repeated the same process with over a hundred gods. Each time, their eyes shifting to gold, their forms flickering as the surge of wolf magic collides with their celestial essence. Even now, the air is thick with the energy, the scent of iron and divinity mingling into something potent, something unnatural.
But there’s still only one left.
Aurora.
She eyes Asher first, her smirk slow and knowing, as if she enjoys stoking the fire of Isla’s rage. But then, in a move as deliberate as it is calculated, she shifts her gaze to Julian.
“You. Come.”
Julian doesn’t hesitate. He steps forward, his expression unreadable, and I swear I hear Isla suck in a breath beside me.
The goddess lifts her wrist, extending it toward him like an offering. “Be a good boy and finish the job.”
I almost ask why she chose Julian over Asher, but the words never leave my mouth. It doesn’t matter. If anything, it’s easier this way. One less thing for Isla to hate Aurora for.
Plus, this means we’re almost out of here.
As Julian’s teeth slice into Aurora’s skin, the golden runes along her arm flare to life, shimmering like blazing stars, and something in the air shifts. The very fabric of this place seems to pulse, bending toward the moment as if the god realm itself recognizes the final piece falling into place as she tilts a bowl with my blood in it to her ruby lips.
And then it’s done.
I almost expect some sort of jealousy, but there’s only relief, even from my wolf.
Aurora pulls back, her gaze no longer violet but still justas wicked as she turns toward us. “Well, that was fun,” she drawls. “Now, let’s discuss your departure.”
I straighten, instinctively reaching for Julian’s hand. “So, you’re holding up your end of the bargain?”
She rolls her eyes. “What kind of goddess do you take me for?”
Isla snorts. “Do you want an honest answer?”
Aurora winks. “I’m well aware of your opinions,Queen Isla.” She flicks a hand, the space around us shimmering. “You fulfilled your end, so I’ll fulfill mine. You’ll all be going home, and we are officially even. No debts. No obligations. None of you will be calling on me again. Our worlds have entangled enough.”
I exhale, relief loosening my muscles, but there’s still a lingering discomfort crawling beneath my skin. Something isn’t right, and the sooner we return to Venaris, the better.
Aurora moves to open a portal, but the air shifts again. Heavier and more potent. Worse, even the goddess wears a look of shock on her face.
The ground quakes beneath us, and a sharp, electric pulse surges through the air. The once-still sky splits open like shattered glass, the eerie, endless horizon shifting as a shadowed force tears through the delicate balance of Aurora’s island.
A voice slithers around us, low and insidious.
“Did you really think you could get away with this so easily, Aurora?Such a waste.”
And then the attack begins.
There’s no warning. No time to prepare.
One moment, we’re standing on the cusp of freedom, and the next, the god realm erupts into chaos.
Figures materialize from the fractured sky, wreathed in ominous, rippling energy that twists and bends unnaturallyaround them. They’re gods, much like Aurora, yet utterly different. Darker. Older. Their presence alone makes my bones vibrate with unease.
The largest of them steps forward, a towering figure with onyx skin that seems to drink in the light. His eyes are twin voids, endless and devouring. “You gave our enemies a gift,” he sneers at the six of us, “and now you expect to walk away?”
