Page 51 of Goddess of the Broken

Raising her finger to point out the goddess to Aiden, she nudged his elbow and moved towards the battle.

“Stay close,” she commanded.

Aiden nodded and drew a blade from his hip. As unprepared as he had been for traveling to the land of the gods, Tempest was grateful that he had insisted on bringing his own blade.

The familiar warmth of Soulshadow’s chains graced Tempest’s hands as she called it.

A golden warrior noticed them as they approached the edge of the battle and charged at them with a cry, gaining the attention of several others.

Tempest sent Soulshadow's chain at the first attacker’s leg. As it wrapped around the man’s calf and hooked onto itself, she pulled the man off his feet and dragged him towards her. She swung the excess chain in her opposite hand behind her and, with a heavy arch, impaled the ball and spikes into his chest. With a flick of her wrist, she called her weapon back to and targeted her next victim.

She turned to check where Aiden had moved to and found him using his blade to decapitate one of their foes. He moved on to his next victim without losing momentum. If she weren’t in the throes of a battle, she would have found it mesmerizing and beautiful, in a very twisted way.

The two slowly worked their way through the battlefield towards Soleil. Occasional flashes of her attacks guided their way.

A large half-man, half-beast stopped both of them in their tracks. Those around them immediately backed away as if they were afraid of him as well, even those who were his allies.

His upper body was that of a heavily-muscled man, his face brutal and savage. His lower body, however, was of a scaled monster with thighs thick like tree trunks, his calves larger than Tempest’s waist. A tail coiled behind him, ready to strike with its metal tip. His eyes narrowed as he rushed them with a hiss.

Aiden rolled to the left and immediately got back onto his feet, avoiding the attack. Tempest swung Soulshadow towards the man’s left arm as she jumped out of the way. The beast’s tail swatted her chain away and struck Tempest’s side, slamming her to the ground.

Aiden ran forward and sliced at the man’s calf, but his sword bounced off scales. He tried again, aiming towards the man’s torso, but his blade was flicked from his hand by that infernal tail. Aiden stumbled back a few steps, caught off-balance. Before he could regain his footing, the metal tip at the end of the tail pierced his chest.

Tempest screamed as she ran towards him, each step seeming to drag on for an eternity. The light disappeared from Aiden’s eyes as he watched her trying to reach him. Before his blood could even reach the ground, his body turned to dust and drifted away on a gust of wind.

Chapter 23

Theman-beastroaredintriumph before turning his attention to Tempest.

She was livid. Every ounce of pain Aiden had felt in his death, she had felt as well, until their connection snapped and vanished.

Tempest saw the world in shades of black and white, splashes of red blood the only color. Her mind was becoming unhinged, and she embraced it.

She was the goddess of the broken. Her power boiled inside her, begging to be set free and seek vengeance. It demanded retribution for this moment.

Hand poised as a claw before her, Tempest stood still as the beast charged her. She called his soul to her hand.

He stopped abruptly.

Gathering the soul in her palm, she looked over at the beast, who was hardly keeping upright. The soul’s dusty essence slowly snaked its way between the beast’s ribs as she watched. Tempest’s mouth stretched into a broad smile, and for a moment, she could see the strain in the soul as it fought against the force pulling it away from its host.

She closed her hand into a tight fist and snuffed out the life that had been in it a moment before. The ground shook as the man-beast collapsed, never to rise again.

Tempest’s smile faded as she turned her attention back to the fighting. She was alone in the middle of a battle, and she had a goddess to defeat.

She once again scanned the battlefield. Soleil and her army were pushing the line of Toph’s army further and further towards the gate.

A rustle of cloth and the clink of armor rang out behind her. She turned, but found no one there. A tingling sensation on the back of her neck had her spinning around again.

Soleil appeared in front of her, sword at the ready. Tempest’s brow furrowed as she felt her eyes widen, her mouth open and shut, but no words left her lips. She had never seen anything like Soleil’s sword. It was long and curved, and the hilt was made of gold encrusted with rubies and diamonds, the blade etched with symbols and scenes of battles that Tempest was unfamiliar with.

Where did Soleil get such a magnificent sword? How could she wield such a weapon? Why hadn’t she used it before?

Soleil charged while she was distracted. Tempest dodged and began circling the golden goddess.

“You are all alone. The runaway goddess has no one. Do you really think you have a chance?” Soleil taunted.

“Who said I’m alone? Don’t you see the army surrounding me?”

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