Page 179 of The Blade in the Ashes
“Kent!” I jerked forward, feet sliding on the wet ground, even though I knew deep down I would never get there quick enough to save him.
By the time he collided with the ground, his soul had already passed on. I couldn’t feel him anymore.
Minutes. In only a matter of minutes, two of my friends were dead.
Athene appeared at my side, her hand on my shoulder, a grounding sensation.
“Why are you doing this to me?” My voice broke into a sob.
“I am not.” She reached for my waist, pulling me even as I felt weightless, holding me up even as I shuddered against the magic building inside of me.
It hurt.
Gods, it hurt. My spine locked, lurching into a stiff upright position as my muscles protested at the unreasonable stretch. Tension coiled through me, and I slammed my jaw shut, teeth cracking from the force.
“Do not fight it,” Athene advised. “The Forging is reaching completion.”
“Iris,” I whispered, body locked unmovable as I watched my friend rush towards Kent’s body.
Several others joined her, all huddled together, trying to lift his body and assess the damage. They didn’t realize he was already gone. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the blood that leaked from a swollen cut across her brow. Her head spun wildly, but I didn’t know what or who she was searching for.
“Relax,” Athene cautioned once more, “You must let this come topass.”
The power was building, coursing through me. It sparked inside every single nerve, bursting them one by one in tiny shocks of agony that stole my breath.
It felt like fire.
Like being burned alive.
A Hyraxian soldier approached the group gathered around Kent, merciless determination on his face as he lifted a hand and sent a pulse of unbridled power in their direction.
And as the magic in my own veins surged into indescribable torment, his erupted in a detonation that sent every person he targeted, including Iris, flying through the air.
I didn’t need to look for Iris to know what happened to her. Her soul passed through the Underworld as I exploded into millions of tiny shards of pure power.
Iwas everywhere.
And nowhere.
Weightless.
And grounded.
There was an odd sort of peace in it, a sense of utter completion. As if this is the way I had always been meant to exist.
I didn't belong shoved in a Mortal coil, trapped by the feelings, traumas, and struggles that were inevitable when dwelling in the Mortal Realm.
No, this was who I was in my purest form.
I was everywhere.
And nowhere.
Weightless.
And grounded.
I was power.
