Page 67 of A Reign of Malice
But Isla isn’t satisfied yet.
She cups Estee’s face, scanning her features, searching. “Say my name,” she orders, desperate, trembling.
Estee’s lips part. “Isla.”
Isla chokes on a sob, pulling her sister into her arms.
Theo blinks, focusing on Asher. “What did we miss?”
Asher lets out a breathless laugh, his hands shaking as he grips Theo’s arm. “You missed everything.”
But then Theo looks past him, his gaze finding Estee.
His mate.
And there it is.
The bond.
I see it ignite between them, their energy twining backtogether, reforging what had been severed by death. The way they stare at each other, breathless, overwhelmed but whole, is all the confirmation any of us need.
I feel Sloane exhale next to me, a breath of relief so deep it shakes.
It worked.
Aurora lets out a dramatic sigh. “Well, that was emotionally exhausting. Now, it’s time for you all to leave and never return.”
Sloane surprises me when she steps toward the goddess. “How did this even happen? What was the point of us enhancing your gods if they weren’t going to be part of the fight?”
The goddess arches a brow and shakes her head. “All too often I have regrets about ever allowing your kind to evolve.” Her gaze narrows and darkens. “What you witnessed was nothing more than a distraction. The real fight is happening elsewhere, where my people are being slaughtered without me there to fight alongside them, because I’m here. With you. Saving two lives that mean practically nothing in the grand scheme of things. Now, I’m done wasting time here.”
She flicks her fingers, and the air distorts, a portal tearing open before us. The energy around it shudders, rippling like a wound in reality itself. Aurora’s knees tremble, barely perceptible, but there before she forces herself still. She rolls her shoulders back and lifts her chin high, refusing to betray any weakness despite the sheer magnitude of what she’s done.
“Go,” she commands, her voice lacking its usual lilt of arrogance. “All of you.”
Though, she doesn’t meanallof us. Elyn walks toward the back of the house as if she intends on staying.
Theo and Estee move first, their steps slow and unevenalmost, their bodies adjusting to life once more. Isla and Asher follow close behind, but before stepping through, Isla halts.
She turns to Aurora, locking gazes with the goddess. Her blue eyes are no longer filled with anger, but something closer to reluctant acceptance. A truce, fragile yet there.
“I misjudged you, Aurora,” Isla says, her voice steady but not without weight. “I apologize for that. Thank you for saving them. We won’t bother you again.”
Aurora’s eyes, violet once more, flash. Whether she intended to respond or not, Isla doesn’t wait to find out. She steps through the rift, disappearing without another word.
I move forward with Sloane at my side, taking in the goddess one last time. Her power still hums in the air, but she’s drained. There’s no doubt she’s not ready for another fight yet.
I meet her gaze. “Do you need me to bite you again?”
Her smile lifts, but it lacks its previous edge. “If you want to touch me again, just say so.”
Sloane shakes her head but stays silent as I take Aurora’s outstretched arm.
My canines extend, sinking into her wrist. Her blood is thick with power, scorching like liquid fire on my tongue. It thrums through me, vibrating with an energy I don’t understand. It latches onto me, taking what it seeks before retreating to the goddess.
When I pull back, her eyes glow with renewed gold, and for the first time since meeting her, Aurora does something unexpected.
She nods appreciatively. “Thank you.”
