Page 73 of Conflicted Fate
At the same time, I closed my eyes andwilledthe power of Fate circling in my breast out through my hands. The free shards of Fate burst from my fingertips in a swirling stream, following my commands as they embedded themselves into the dagger Kiel was wielding.
Kiel whipped the blade down. Not into Lycaonus.
But into the sword.
Both blades shattered on impact, throwing Kiel and Lycaonus across the courtyard and toppling the rest of us over as eight shards of the goddess were freed in one moment. Emerald light billowed into the sky, a circular torrent of energy shooting skyward, a beacon for any and all to see from a thousand miles around.
The wind howled as the energy pouring forth from both broken blades merged together.
Just as fast as it had come, it was gone. Reality itself seemed to sag into the emptiness that followed such a display.
“Thank you,” I said to Andi over my shoulder. “Much appreciated.”
“Not a problem. Did we … did we do it?” she asked as Clive came to stand at her side protectively—not that she needed it.
“I think so,” I said as Kiel got to his feet, his wound already starting to heal.
Going to his side, I helped him to his feet. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, then groaned in pain. “Correction: Iwillbe okay.”
Despite that, we weren’t done yet. With him leaning heavily on me, Kiel and I made our way across the empty courtyard to where Lycaonus lay on his back, staring at the sky.
“Now, it’s over,” Kiel said as we stopped alongside the Alpha. “No more of you. No more rebellion. Nomore.”
Lycaonus turned his head slightly to look up at us. “Coward,” he sneered.
Kiel’s foot came down on the now very mortal Lycaonus’ neck, crushing it flat.
“Heal from that,” he spat, and turned away as the last surviving Alpha choked to death.
We walked back to the gate.
“It’s done,” I said with a sigh. “We actually did it.”
Kiel shook his head. “Not quite. There’s one more thing I have to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“What is this place?” I asked, my fingers tightly intertwined with his.
We stood in a small clearing at the center of the forest. It had taken us three days of hiking to reach that point, far on the western coast north of Helisson. The ocean itself was yards away, the surf no longer audible, but it was less than a mile to a beautiful pristine beach, where we’d spent the night in each other’s arms under the starry sky.
That morning, Kiel had woken me and, hand in hand, led me into the forest without a word or explanation. Just as he had for the entire trip after we left Nycitum. All he’d said was that it was “the last thing” he had to do.
As I looked around, it was clear that the clearing had once beensomething. There were cobblestones mostly buried underfoot, and the lines of crumbling stonework could be seen here and there. Lines that were far too straight to be natural.
“This,” Kiel said solemnly, “used to be my home. You are standing in the center of what used to be Callise. Home of the Calli pack. My people.”
My free hand came up to cover my mouth.
“This is all that’s left of them,” he explained. “Some stones in the ground. And my memory. Nothing else.”
“We’re going to change that,” I said, reminding him of my promise. “You’re going to tell their stories. The world will know the truth about them.”
“I know,” he said, still clearly lost in his memories.
Still holding tightly to his hand, I wandered around the clearing and then into the forest, touching the walls and trying to picture what it would have looked like back in the day.
