Chapter 222

Chapter 222
Stella's POV

The moment Kai and I surge forward, our combined energy creates a shockwave that rips through the dome. My wedding armor glows with emerald light, edelweiss shards pulsing in time with the cub’s furious kicks. Kai’s sword, coated in frost from our earlier battles, clashes against Damon’s silver scepter with a noise like breaking glass.

Damon’s laughter echoes off the chamber walls, distorted by the static of his nanite-infused armor. "You think love can defeat me?" He twists the scepter, sending a wave of silver tendrils snaking toward us. I incinerate them with a blast of storm fire, but the heat only makes his armor glow brighter.
"I drew power from Hailey’s soulbond—do you know how sweet divinity tastes when stolen?"

Kai roars, swinging his sword in a horizontal arc. Damon ducks, the blade grazing his shoulder and sending sparks flying. "Your wife’s belly is a ticking bomb, Alpha," Damon taunts, jabbing the scepter into Kai’s side. My mate staggers, blood blooming on his tunic.
"Once I drain her power, your cub will be nothing but—"

"Shut up!" I unleash a tornado of ice shards, but Damon raises a shield that freezes them mid-air. The silver surface reflects my face—wild-eyed, hair tangled, armor cracked from the edelweiss shards overloading. For a heartbeat, I see Hailey’s limp body behind him, her skin still flecked with silver veins.

Damon uses my distraction to strike. His scepter connects with my chest, and a jolt of electricity courses through me. The edelweiss shards in my armor fizzle, then go dark. Panic claws at my throat as the storm blood in my veins recedes, leaving only the raw ache of pregnancy.

"Stella!" Kai throws himself between us, taking another blow to the back. His knees hit the ice, but he doesn’t fall, sword planted in the ground to steady himself. "Get up," he grunts, looking at me through a mask of blood. "For the cub."

The mention of our child ignites something feral in me. I press a hand to my belly, feeling the cub kick as if to say fight. The last remaining edelweiss shard in my breastplate—cracked but still glowing—heats against my skin. I channel every ounce of energy, ignoring the dizziness that comes with overusing my power.

But Damon is too fast. He disarms Kai with a sweep of his scepter, then backhands me across the face. I slam into a console, my head hitting metal. Stars explode behind my eyes, and for a moment, I’m back in the river, drowning in ice.

"Pathetic," Damon sneers, looming over me. His armor is dented, but the silver light in his eyes burns brighter. "I should’ve drained you months ago." He raises the scepter, its tip inches from my forehead.

Then, the chamber doors burst open.

Freya charges in, ice axe raised, her storm blood mark a vivid green against her face. "Get away from her!" She hurls the axe, but Damon bats it aside. Behind her, the storm girls form a circle, their linked hands creating a web of crackling energy. Ataq and Erik follow, axes swinging, their war cries shaking the dome.

"About time," Kai growls, grabbing Damon’s ankle and yanking him down. The scepter clatters to the floor, and I scramble to retrieve it, my fingers burning on the silver metal.

Damon kicks Kai in the chest, then lunges for me. His hands wrap around my throat, and I taste his breath—metallic, like blood and machine oil. "Mine," he hisses, eyes rolling back as he tries to siphon my power.

But the scepter in my grasp begins to glow. The edelweiss shard in my armor re-ignites, and the storm blood returns with a vengeance, stronger than ever. I feel the cub’s energy merging with mine, a warmth that starts in my core and spreads to my fingertips.

"Not yours," I snarl, driving the scepter into his stomach.

Green lightning erupts from the weapon, so bright it blinds me. Damon’s grip slackens, and he staggers back, his armor melting like wax. The silver light in his eyes flickers, then goes out. For a moment, he’s just a man—gaunt, scarred, with hair matted in blood.

"NO!" He roars, launching himself at the nearest window. The glass shatters, and he tumbles out, falling toward the sea below. I limp to the edge, watching as his body hits the water with a distant splash. The waves swallow him, and he doesn’t resurface.

Silence falls over the chamber, broken only by our ragged breathing.

Kai stumbles to my side, his arm around my waist. "Is he…?"

"I don’t know," I whisper, dropping the scepter. It clatters to the ice, now dull and lifeless.

Freya approaches, her axe retrieved, blood dripping from a cut on her cheek. "Doesn’t matter. He’s gone." She offers a hand, and I take it, feeling the rough calluses of a warrior.

Ataq claps Kai on the back, his one eye shining. "We did it, son. The fortress is ours."

Erik raises his axe, shouting, "For the clans!"

The cheer that follows shakes the dome. From below, I hear the roar of our warriors, a sound that starts as a murmur and swells into a tsunami. The cub kicks again, as if joining in the celebration.

Kai turns me to face him, cupping my cheek with a bloody hand. "You did it, star. You saved us."

"I had help." I smile, leaning into his touch. The edelweiss shard in my armor flickers one last time, then goes dark, but the storm blood in my veins still sings.

Together, we limp to the chamber entrance, where our allies wait. The fortress is ours, the Council defeated, and the sea below is calm. For the first time in months, I feel peace settle over me, warm as the sun on ice.

The cub moves again, and I place a hand on my belly, whispering, "We did it, little one. We win."

Outside, the aurora begins to dance, painting the sky in green and gold. Our victory cry echoes across Black Ice Bay, a promise of a new dawn—one where our child will grow up without fear, under a sky clear of Council ships, in a world rebuilt.