Page 144 of The Princesses of Ruin
“It will work,”Alyse promises.
I turn to Zane and throw myself into him. His chest is cool against my too-hot skin. The sweat and smoke cling to him like a sheet. I breathe in the scent of him, of the herbs and iron, and remember.
The way he held me against the wall of the tavern. The loving caress of his spindles against my sides. The hot brand of his blackmail kiss. The soft bath when I was broken. The claiming kisses when he knew he owned me, and I owned him.
I look up, stretching on my toes to meet his mouth. His fingers dig into my back, and he grimaces against my lips but still parts them with his tongue. He pours into me.
Magic.
Love.
Hate.
Yearning.
Fear.
Desire.
Desperation.
He knows I can’t survive this.
A whimper escapes me as I feast on him, tasting blood. I don’t know if it’s his or mine, but it feeds me. My fever grows, the power building to inescapablelevels.
I step back from him all at once. One more second of his embrace and I’ll back out. I’ll take him away and hide until the end of the world.
I put my arms out and my sisters come to me…their men, too. They touch my shoulders, my biceps, my fingers, and their magic flows into me.
Heat upon heat assaults my body. It’s overwhelming and maddening. I’m too large for my bones, too full for my skin, and the confines of my mortal shell have held me long enough.
I take my last breath as a woman and let it lose in a scream to shake the heavens.
The gods’ fear trembles through the fifteen realms. They sit parallel, their thrones of souls withering at my omnipotent glance. I stand before them in immortal form, the power they’ve been building come to fruition.
Yegress, the man with doe ears and a soft complexion, stands in his flowing green robes. “How dare you enter this place,creature?”
Zephrom sits at the end, her throne small, made of the crushed souls of those she deemed unworthy of the magic in their blood.
I look upon all the gods and find them wanting.
“They don’t need you,”I say, my voice a voluminous whisper that fills their space. They clasp their ears and shake their heads. Only Gaien listens to my words and nods her head, blood spilling from her eyes.
The realms contract and I’m birthed back into my home. I hover just above the ground, my black robes sliding over my silken body on an unseen wind. I perceive the entire world all at once but force my attention through my eyes and into the body I have gained.
My sisters stare at me, mouths open and breath shallow.
“Stop gawking,” I say with a smirk. “You’ve seen a goddess before.”
“My monster,” Zane murmurs, his eyes glossy and full of magic.
The flame for him burns so bright in my chest I could incinerate the world myself and spirit him away to an untouched corner. I promised him as much…
But Ashai started this fire, and I need to extinguish it.
For them.
“I love you to the stars and back,” I say.
