Chapter 124

Chapter 124


We popped out not far from the others, but we were in a strange tunnel that dripped with water. Darren’s hand rested on my hip as he guided me through.

“Where is your mom?” Squall asked anxiously as we came around the tunnel bend. Dayanara was beside him, obviously controlling him from going after Eira. Lyle was next to her, hands buried in his jacket pockets as he seemed to be struggling with his emotions again.

“She went to her mate.” Toril answered before I could. I looked at her in surprise. How did she know? She smiled at me and nodded her head. “It’s part of my skills. You kept your end of the bargain and now I will keep mine.” With a flick of her finger, I felt something cold and electric slice across the air and wrap around my wrist.

There was a flash, a shock of light, silver and hot, biting into my skin like a fevered snake. I gasped, and for a moment my vision went white, all the world collapsing to the point of contact. Then the feeling settled, a tight, buzzing band around my wrist, like a living handcuff. Something invisible that I could feel. “Eira is bound to you. The blood bond has been transferred. And now …” She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck. “It’s time for me to enter the war.”

“You’re going to fight, too?”

“Not just me, but my kind. Sven is joining the war, too. We are all going to unite and end this thing. The stink of demons has lasted long enough. But there is more …” She stopped abruptly and cleared her throat, nodding to the side. “Eira understands the bond and has extensive knowledge. If you have questions, you can ask her.” Toril then sighed, turning and glaring at Dayanara. “We are going to need to fight at full strength. Stop being ridiculous.”

My eyes shifted to Dayanara, who was all but glaring at Toril. What was she talking about? I glanced up at Darren to see he was staring at Sven. I moved my attention to him and noticed his eyes were glowing. He was using some sort of magic … but what, and why?

“Leave it alone, Toril. It’s personal.” Sven’s eyes stopped glowing as a small frown formed at the creases of his lips.

“Damn you,” Dayanara whispered, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. “How dare you pry into my mind.” I could see her hands shaking with rage as her eyes flashed at Sven. She was beyond angry, and very emotional, which was unlike her.

“It had to be done. At this point, you’re hurting yourself. You can’t lock your memories like that. If you really don’t want them, then you need to have them purged, but I can see why you don’t want to do that. You need the knowledge, but you messed up your magic flow. You are much more powerful than you have let anyone know. You hid your powers on purpose—”

“SHUT UP!”

“Well … there is no need to hide them anymore. How about you finish it up? Only one more conduit to clear.” Sven looked at Dayanara pointedly. “You aren’t going into battle like this. If you plan to fight, you need to remove it—”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?!” Dayanara gritted her teeth, and I felt completely lost. What the heck was going on? Something about Dayanara blocking her magic was all I could gather.

Toril’s eyes narrowed. She advanced on Dayanara, every step measured, predatory. “You have been limiting yourself in battle. How selfish can you get?! Your magic is half-choked, half-starved. Either you unlock it, or you become a liability. It’s only going to get worse, now that we’re coming at their army in full force. You have no idea what else is out there.” There she did it again. Alluded to something bigger out there but she never would elaborate. 

Dayanara was trembling with anger. Her magic spiked and ebbed, a pulse you could feel in your bones. I wasn’t sure what she was about to do, but I knew she was tapping into some strong magic.

Sven and Toril looked relaxed, as if nothing she could do could ever hurt them.

“You don’t have a choice,” Sven said, his voice a blade that dragged slowly across the bone. “The first battle will be a bloodbath. We will all be showing our cards. You either take off the brakes or die with the rest.”

“Do you plan to tell Darren about his time in the Void, and the repercussions to that?”

I felt my chest constrict from Dayanara’s words. I whipped my head toward Sven, as Darren tightened his grip on me.

Sven shook his head and shrugged as he looked at us. “Your body stops counting years the way it should. You’ll outlive every other lycan, every human, maybe even the dragons. Your blood—” He eyed Darren, then me, “—will pass it to your mate. Your offspring, too, probably.”

“Are you saying we’re immortal?” Darren asked quietly, concern flickering across his face.

Sven nodded his head. “You can die. But you won’t age. You’ll see your friends, your pack, all dead before you even wrinkle. Are you immortal? Who knows, but close enough to it. Sometimes the gods’ blessings come with teeth.”

I laughed, because it was that or scream. “So, I’m going to be a wrinkly monster with no friends—”

“No wrinkles.” Toril snorted with a grin. She seemed to be enjoying this.

Darren glared at him, eyes gone beast-bright. “Will our child be like us? Will they live forever, too?”

Sven rolled his shoulders, casual as a card dealer. “No way to know. Maybe they’ll be normal, maybe they’ll be worse. Maybe they’ll be the first of a new line. The gods like to stack the deck before they deal.”

It was quiet for a moment as Darren and I tried to process this news. Dayanara broke it, voice softer than before. “It’s not the end of the world, you know. There are worse things than surviving your friends.” She looked at me, eyes weirdly gentle. “I believe you already know this, though.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Okay, princess. I’ll hold you to that when we’re both ancient and running the kingdom from matching wheelchairs.”

She grinned, not quite genuine but close. “Deal.”

Toril stepped forward, wings shivering, and fixed Dayanara with a look. “Of course, you won’t live long enough to see a wheelchair unless you stop this blocking nonsense!”

Dayanara let out a dry laugh that was laced with a pain I felt in my chest. “When I locked and blocked my powers, I didn’t think it would be long term.” She let out a sigh and clicked her tongue. “Dammit, it might as well come out. I found my mate. It was someone who I had always had feelings for. I thought it was perfect. Later, I heard him talking to his father about how lucky he was to get a powerful mate. I wondered if my magic was all he cared about, so I temporarily blocked it. I pretended that I used magic enhancers and finally removed them. That very day, he went and proposed to my older sister, the one who would take the throne. I didn’t want it … any of it. I didn’t want to be part of a family who ignored my own pain for power. My sister knew how I felt about him, but he was powerful. That was all they cared about. My mate didn’t care about me. He ignored … he defiled our bond. I decided then I never wanted a cursed mate again. I don’t need vulnerability in my life. So I blocked it, and when I did, it wouldn’t allow me to unlock the power I suppressed.”

“That was years ago. You have grown more now. You have to unlock the conduits or stay behind from the war. You realize you could explode, right? Almost like a can of compressed air exposed to heat. You are too big of a risk.” Toril’s voice was kind and gentle. It seemed like she understood Dayanara’s reasoning.

“I know. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to live. I felt as if I was only a tool … a powerful weapon. It wasn’t until the war started that I felt like I really had friends.” Dayanara met with my eyes and I smiled. She was one of my first friends, too.

Dayanara pressed her palms together, eyes shut so tight the skin around them wrinkled. Her breathing went ragged, magic leaking out in silver threads that spun around her wrists, her hair, her mouth. I could see it, the way the spells unraveled, a lattice of memories and pain and old wounds, each one pulling at her until she shook.

She whispered the words, not in any language I recognized, but the power in them was enough to make the cave shudder. The blue quartz veins pulsed, reflecting the storm inside her.

The first block shattered with a sound like crystal dropped on marble. Dayanara gasped, her eyes flying open, irises now a fractal of red and gold and midnight. The next block dissolved slower, crawling up her arms in a shimmer of heat.

Dayanara’s fingers curled, nails digging into her own palms as each barrier gave way. Her skin glowed from within, a lantern burning in a room that had never known light. She screamed as the last block broke, staggering, but Lyle caught her instantly.

The magic inside her blazed free, and for a moment, it was wild. It pressed at us so fiercely that it physically pushed us a step back.

Dayanara tilted her head up and stared at Lyle. They both looked at the other in shock as if it were the first time they’d met.

Dayanara blinked. Her voice was a whisper, terrified and awed. “No. It can’t be.”

Lyle’s lips parted. “But it is.”

I looked at Darren, and he looked at me, and for once, neither of us had a clue what to do.

Toril smirked, but there was no malice in it. “I told you. The gods never waste their power.”

Sven watched with a kind of sad satisfaction, arms folded. “Well, this is much more pleasant now that it’s recognized.”

“Mate,” Lyle whispered. I gaped at Dayanara. We all waited as she stared at him with shocked eyes. After her story, it was clear she didn’t want a mate. Lyle wasn't just anyone, though. He was amazing. He’d make the best mate … if given the chance.