Chapter 138 - The Next Divine War

Chapter 138 - The Next Divine War
Chapter 36 - The Next Divine War

Taya Verric POV

The courtyard was still vibrating from the violent rupture in the ley lines when I broke away from everyone. My feet were moving before I consciously told them to. I didn’t run, I bolted, and my damn heart was slamming my ribs like it was trying to crack itself free.

Lyrielle. Nyxaria. And the Velmira twins.

Gone. Snatched right out from beneath us.

Zuki was a storm in my mind. “Move, girl. Move faster. Don’t fall apart now...we can ugly cry later.”

“I’m not crying,” I gasped, even though my vision swam.

“You’re crying on the inside. Same thing.”

The Sun Temple doors loomed ahead, tall and gold and glowing. I shoved them open so hard they rebounded off the walls with a thundercrack.

The chamber ignited in warmth and holy fire. As soon as my knees hit the sunstone floor, my palms slapped down.

“Soltharion! Please...hear me!”

The air thickened. Heat rolled through the space in a wave. Light poured down from the skylight, bending, and twisting....

And then he was there.

The Sun God stepped into form like a star collapsing into a man. Golden eyes. Wrathful aura. Light radiating off him in sheets.

“Taya Verric.” His voice shook the temple pillars. “You come with a heart on fire.”

Zuki snorted. “No kidding. You feel the screaming panic or nah, glow-stick?”

“Zuki,” I muttered through my teeth.

Soltharion arched a brow. “Your wolf remains…forthright.”

“You love it.”

The god ignored her. “The Blood Goddess has acted. Raelith has torn the ley lines and taken the children.”

My lungs seized. “Then tell me how to get them back.”

“Not yet.”

The words hit like a slap. “Not..what do you mean not yet? We don’t have time!”

“You have more than you realize,” he said firmly. “Raelith will not kill them immediately. She needs leverage, and she will crave the chance to twist the knife.”

Zuki growled. “Let her try. I’ll rearrange her spine.”

“Zuki.”

“What? I’m being supportive.”

Soltharion continued, “If you rush her domain now, she will kill them out of spite. You must plan. Strategize. And trust their strength.”

“I’m a mother,” I whispered. “Trusting isn’t my strong point right now.”

“You will not face this alone.” His flaming aura intensified. “When the time comes, when the rescue begins, you will call for me. And I will answer. The divine realm will not abandon these children.”

A shaky breath escaped me. “Elowen…Elowen is going to...”

“Explode,” Soltharion finished. “Correct. I will inform her and the other divine rulers. But she cannot return yet. The balance of the realms is fragile.”

I swallowed hard. “She’ll want to tear Raelith apart.”

“She will. And she will try. But you must keep your head.” His gaze locked on mine, bright and heavy. “The children are alive. And they are not powerless.”

The heat faded. The light receded. Soltharion’s presence collapsed into a single flicker of fire, and vanished.

Zuki exhaled. “Alright. We don’t panic…yet.”

“Yet,” I echoed.

I pushed myself to my feet and ran.

Rylen found me halfway down the steps. “Taya!” His voice cracked. “What did Soltharion say?”

“He’s alerting Elowen,” I said, breathless. “But he said we can’t rush in. Not yet.”

Rylen’s jaw clenched. “She took the fucking kids Taya.”

“I know,” I whispered.

We didn’t speak again as we sprinted toward the war room.

Inside, chaos already reigned. Jace, Amaris, Rivena, Lazurien, Dymir, Druen, Ravek, Kylion, and Noctara stood clustered around the war table. Drayen, Kaelen, Eryk, Theo, Rowan, Mae, Kerra, Seren, Finnian, Maeve, Saphira and Azara, they were all there, pacing, frantic, and hella furious.

Drayen turned on me instantly. “Where do we go? What’s the plan? What did Soltharion say?”

“We can’t go yet,” I said.

A chorus of shouts erupted.

“What?!”

“Why?!”

“She has our sisters!”

“She has my cousins!”

“She has the twins!”

“Listen!” I yelled.

The room froze. I swallowed hard. “If we charge in now, Raelith will kill them. Soltharion was very clear.”

Silence crashed down. It was thick, and suffocating.

Drayen’s breath heaved raggedly. Kaelen’s hands shook. Eryk’s fangs hadn’t retracted since the vines took the kids. Theo rocked on his heels, overwhelmed and teetering.

“We can’t sit here,” Finnian said, his voice cracking. “We can’t just....just stand around.”

“You won’t,” Rivena said gently. “But right now? You’re too emotional to fight. You’ll get yourselves killed.”

“We don’t need rest,” Rowan argued.

“You do,” Noctara cut in, sharp and cold. “All of you. Go eat. Get water. Calm your minds. Classes are on hold until further notice.”

The kids protested, all talking at once, their voices breaking, and the tears threatening.

I forced steel into my tone. “Go. You are not being left out. This rescue will need every one of you. But you cannot fight if you’re falling apart.”

They hesitated.

Saphira finally reached out and grabbed Theo’s arm. “Come on. We’ll be ready when it’s time.”

One by one, the kids peeled away, dragging each other, leaning on each other, and clinging to one another. When the door shut behind the last of them…

My knees gave out.

Rylen caught me again. Rivena immediately knelt. Noctara pressed a steadying hand on my back. Amaris wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“I’m failing her,” I whispered. “I’m failing Elowen. She trusted me with her children.”

“No,” Rivena said firmly. “You are not failing anyone.”

“I should’ve...should’ve protected them!!”

Noctara shook her head. “Raelith is a goddess of rot and blood. She bypassed ley protections no mortal or demi-mortal could’ve countered.”

Amaris’ voice softened. “Elowen will not blame you.”

Zuki huffed. “She’ll blame Raelith. Then kill Raelith. Then kill her again for good measure.”

A weak laugh escaped me, watery and broken.

“We need to plan,” Lazurien said, stepping to the war table. “Her domain is shifting. She’s hiding her trail.”

“She can’t hide divine echoes,” Jace responded. “We can track the imprint.”

Druen slid a hand across the map, activating the realm grid. “We’ll find where she pulled them.”

Ravek cracked his knuckles. “And then we burn her world.”

Kylion’s lightning snapped. “Gladly.”

I wiped my eyes. “Soltharion said…we will not be doing this alone. Elowen and the divine realm will help us. They’re already moving.”

Noctara inhaled sharply. “Elowen will be devastated.”

“She already is,” I whispered.

That was when the air rippled.

A shriek of magic tore through the war room, like the sky itself was splitting. The ceiling above the table ripped open in a violent slash of white-gold flame and violet frost.

A portal exploded downward toward the table with a roar.

Rivena swore. Lazurien shielded instinctively. Jace pulled Amaris behind him. Kylion summoned lightning. Rylen grabbed me again.

Two presences poured out, raw, and vast. Elowen appeared first. Her laughter was gone. Her warmth gone. Her entire form burned with divine fury, her hair a storm of rainbow stardust, her eyes blazing like supernovas, and her armor of shifting constellations and dark matter.

Behind her towered Vaelrixs, massive, draconic, and ethereal, his growl shaking the walls. They both looked different....almost more than before.

Elowen’s voice cracked the air.

“I can’t return yet, Taya.”

Tears tracked down her cheeks, bright, celestial, and heartbreaking.

“But it’s ok. I don’t blame you.”

My breath hitched.

Her gaze softened with devastating gentleness. “Raelith will pay for this. I promise you.”

She turned to Noctara, her voice trembling. “We will get our children back.”

Noctara bowed her head, almost breaking. “We will move heaven and earth.”

Elowen nodded once, sharp and decisive. “Make the rescue plans. We will aid you from above. My strength is yours when the time comes. I will guard them from the divine realm until you reach them.”

The room swallowed the words whole.

Before she stepped backward into the portal, she paused, and her voice broke completely.

“Give my love to the kids.”

Vaelrix lowered his massive head, a rumble of grief filling the space. Then they were both gone.

The portal snapped shut.

Silence fell again, heavy, thick, and trembling.

And in that silence, the war room understood:

This was no longer merely an academy crisis.

This was the next divine war.
_____________________________

Raelith The Blood Goddess POV

The silence after their screaming was the sweetest nectar I’d tasted in ages.

I stood before the cage, the glorious, blood-forged masterpiece I had crafted with my own hands, and basked in the sight of my prizes. The four celestial spawn huddled together in the center, trembling, exhausted, and radiant. Their fear gilded the air like incense. Power shimmered under their skin, barely contained, and barely ripe.

A perfect harvest.

I dragged my fingers along one of the bars. It hummed familiarly, pulsing with the same living hunger as the one I once trapped Soria and Varek in. I strengthened this one even further; the sacrifice required to open it would drown a small kingdom. The knowledge warmed me.

“I outdid myself,” I whispered, tracing the curve of the prison. “You little darlings are even more beautiful up close.”

Lucen and Rhaen moved in front of the girls again, protective, shaking, and so brave it was almost comedic. The bars flared at their proximity, my warning bite.

I put a hand to my chest, mocking breathlessness. “How touching. Standing between me and my own gifts.”

Rhaen growled, all fire and no bite. Lucen flickered, shedding sparks of dying light. They were trying to shield the girls from me. Me. A goddess. The sheer audacity made me grin.

“You still think you matter here,” I said softly. “Precious boys.”

They stiffened but stayed silent. I stepped closer, crouching so my eyes aligned with the girls’. Their faces were streaked with tears and fury. Magnificent. I let the moment stretch, savoring their racing heartbeats like a fine melody.

“I can’t choose which of you is the most stunning,” I murmured. “But you…”

My gaze locked on Nyxaria, and her violet and gold hair, and her violent aura.

“You’re intoxicating,” I said, reaching out though the bars blocked me. “I believe I’ll take your body when all this is done. Yes. That one will be mine.”

She tried to glare. The trembling ruined the effect. Delicious.

“And Lyrielle…” I tasted her name on my tongue. Wild magic, and wild blood. “You’ll sustain me for quite a while. A goddess needs a proper restocked pantry.”

Lucen snapped, “You won’t touch them.”

I rose, turning my full attention to him. Such fire. Such trembling pride. I cupped his cheek, letting my heat burn into his skin. “I will do more than touch.”

Rhaen lunged. Foolish boy. The cage caught him with a red-hot shock that launched him backward. The girls cried out as he hit the ground. Lucen grabbed for him. I sighed, savoring their pain as if sampling a new wine.

“You two are adorable,” I purred. “I think I’ll play with you first. Let the girls watch. Fear is always more potent when shared.”

A giggle chimed behind me, bright, cracked, and eager. Seraphyne. My delightful little wicked blossom. I turned to her, stroking her cheek. She leaned into my hand like a trained predator awaiting praise.

“You smell perfect,” I murmured.

I leaned in and dragged my tongue up the side of her throat slowly, savoring every shiver that rolled through her. She giggled again, a sound so sweetly depraved it almost made my knees weak.

I whispered into her ear, “We’re going to carve a symphony out of this world, darling.”

She shivered with pleasure, devotion, and hunger.

I straightened and turned back to my pet Lucien, who glared at me with such incandescent hatred I felt it spark across my skin.

I smiled wide enough to show teeth.

“Soon,” I promised.

The cage pulsed behind me, alive, hungry, and unstoppable.

Just like me.