Page 141 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Ty studies the blood shield, waving a hand over it cautiously. “Clever girl. Don’t want your pesky protectors getting in the way of what must be done.” He spins to face me and stalks closer. “Time to uphold your end of the bargain, Natia. Time to make me whole. Where is the Jar?”

I reach into the dimension we travel in, the one which is home, and pull out the hidden Jar. He lifts his eyebrows in surprise. “Your ingenuity is impressive. We will make an excellent team.”

Zac hammers on the shield, blooding his fists. “Remember your oath, Natia.”

Ty smirks at Zac. “You deceived him? Oh my, Natia, how far the mighty have fallen. Tell me, can you live with mankind’s destruction for the sake of one life?”

I tilt my head and circle him. “Who am I to decide whose life is worth the sacrifice? Who are you to demand it? Why does one life mean more than another? What’s certain is that no innocent’s life should be forfeit for this sick game you bored, arrogant, egotistical asshole gods like to play.”

“Give me the Jar,” Ty says as he pulls the key out of his trouser pocket. “It’s not like you have the key.” The altered spell falls quietly from my lips. Duncan overhears and hammers the shield with fireballs and useless fury. Upon the ultimate words of the spell, my hair lifts with power and I grin at Ty.

“I am the key.” My mental shields snap and the full force of the elements crash into our bubble as my power flows freely. Ty’s wild hair whips around his face as he smiles and steps closer, holding his hand out for the Jar. I launch the Jar at the sharp rock below my feet, the shards sting as they slice my ankles and bare feet. Ty blinks in surprise whilst insanity ensues on the outside of the circle. The force of the oath sealed and delivered to Ty hits me, and the hidden runes painted on my skin sting as they soak and seal the power inside. The reverberation brings me to my knees. I condense the power in a ball at my heart. Black smoke leaks from the broken Jar, seeking the greatest power source. Ty curses as he collapses to his knees in front of me and his spirit claws its way out. His eyes swirl gold and black, the visual of the internal battle waging inside him. I grab his shoulders and cry out at the first bite of the beast, swiping my vulnerable mind.

“Natia, what have you done,” Archan whispers against my ear.

“What I must, I’m so sorry.”

He tangles a hand in my hair, grips the back of my head and places his forehead against mine. “We only had a moment in time, but know if I could defy the old laws, I would do anything to remain with you. I am humbled by your strength, I am in awe of your spirit, and I am honored to have known your love. You granted me the gift of your love, and in return my soul is eternally yours.” He places the lightest kiss on my lips. The depth of feeling almost breaks my resolve to follow this through. I grip his shirt and drive my mouth against his. If this is our last kiss, I don’t want to be wondering if I imagined it.

Another lash from the beast whips against my mind. We break apart as I gasp in pain. I slide my hand up my leg to the thigh holster and find the knife, the hilt cold against my palm. Archan glances down.

“Do it, Natia, before he’s made whole.”

My lips part and my hands shake as I falter. I’d showed him what having my love was like, but oh, to own his in return; sonnets could be written about it. But all wars have causalities, and this one had only just begun. I need to stay on course, my wants, needs and desires were secondary, because if I didn’t finish this, there would be no world left to love him in. I firm my grip on the blade. A lone tear slips down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb and stares, mesmerized by the glistening sorrow.

“I’m not worth your tears, Natia.”

His fist closes around mine, giving me strength and permission. Muttering the last words of the spell, I seal our fate. “Forgive me,” I whisper against his lips and plunge the dagger deep, its blade gliding through flesh like butter. Blood coats our fists in a hot and sticky mess. He glances down, shock registers on his handsome face and pure gold eyes are my prize before he roars a soul deep pain that shatters my heart. The power from Lucifer’s fulfilled oath bounces into me.

The beast claws against my skin as his spirit is reunited in my body and the final oath is met from Zac with a bang of power. With a roar, Ty pushes to be free from the poison coursing through my veins like liquid fire. I suck in a breath that never finds its way to my lungs; I roll to my back and lay on the damp ground. With my final dregs of energy, I push the dagger deeper, piercing my heart, and with a gust of air slam Archan out of the protection shield. He skids across the grass, landing next to a shocked Zac.

I grasp the link to my protectors and use the promise they made to me to sever the link, ensuring Zee is released from the bond. Fury burns from Ty as he stampedes through my mind, searching for a way out. But my unbridled power mixed with the fulfilled oaths from three gods builds a cage not even the king of monsters can break. A few moments of calm pass over my mind, and time turns sluggish as I twist my head to take a last look at the people I love. Duncan with a look of resignation and pain, Zee whose hot anger could rock the world, Aaden with understanding and sadness written all over his face. A sob tears from my throat as Gramps leans against a dumbstruck Zac with a look of complete heartbreak, and finally Archan’s gold eyes filled with devastation and disbelief. He can’t conceive that someone would sacrifice themselves for him. If only we’d had more time, I could have made him understand that he was capable of love, but we are paying the ultimate price for a crime that wasn’t ours. I keep my eyes locked with his, and draw strength from him as Ty shreds my body from the inside out, my organs becoming mush. A shuddering breath hits deflated and useless lungs. I tug on the tethers that connect me to all the souls on Earth and with a last cry push my power out into the world, I can only pray that the hope is enough to save them.

Chapter Thirty-One

Archan

Life without hope leads us to act without fear, and that is a very dangerous thing.

With an agonizing cry, Natia pushes her power into the world and shatters the wards, the scent of a storm pulsating into the world. Ty tears through her abdomen, her intestines spilling out on the ground as he roars his final goodbye. There is no afterlife for gods, he and Natia no longer exist.

Several men rush towards her limp form as her lifeless eyes continue to stare at me, a single tear dripping around her nose. My feet move without permission and I throw several people away from her body, attempting to push in her innards and heal her. My power flows uselessly over her shell to the ground, finding more life in the land below her. Blooms of red and yellow roses sprout around us, signaling her love and compassion for us. My shout of fury thunders around the world, and the night trembles with fear of its master. Lucifer places a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t let her sacrifice be in vain, brother. Bringing the world to heal is not what she wanted. She spread hope to as many as possible and understood what was needed to save those she loved.”

Zee slides to his knees and grasps her face, howling his rage at her mistake. She may have saved the world and killed the King of Monsters, but she broke the saviors left to fight in her absence. She took away the heart of the operation, the glue that binds us together, the essence of what we battle for. I glance around at the devastation plastered on every face that surrounds us. She’s gained the respect and adoration of my cadre. Zac stands staring in shock at her body. I rise and stalk towards him. “What was your oath?” I demand, grabbing his shirt.

He blinks but remains focused on Natia. “She was to save you at all costs. But she was meant to put him back in the Jar. In return, I am to protect her loved ones from all threats, including Lawrence.”

I throw him to the floor. “The Jar would never hold the Beast whole, she knew that, you should have too.”

I swing around to face Lucifer. “And you, what promise did you bind her into?”

He looks away from me and stares at the night sky. “If she couldn’t put Ty back in the Jar, she was meant to make him whole, then kill you.”

Clenching my fists, my heart skips several beats. “And she promised Ty she would make him whole. She played you all, every single one of you.”

Lucifer drops his head and looks directly at me. “I told her she would always need to be several steps ahead of everyone else to win, and that is what she did.”

Jed’s face pales. “Can’t you bring her back?”

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