Page 33 of Heir of Broken Souls

“No, no, no,” I chant in a flurry of panic. “No, no, no,NO!”

My panic gives way to a swell of anger, one so thick I choke on the fury of it as golden light leaks from the palms of my hands. My magic slams against the confines of my body, screaming for me to allow it all the wayin.

Whispering that it canhelp.

It stokes the boiling rage within me, fueling me with images of all I have lost.

Easton’s neck, sliced ear to ear, my best friend gone in the blink of an eye. Annie, my mother-like figure, her head still adorned with her white bow, perched atop a pike. Eleanor, the beautiful trapped mermaid that gave up her life for mine, beside her. Axel kneeling in Ace’s blood. The betrayal of my best friend, planted by a man I thought was my father.

That’s the most haunting of them all—my entire life being a sham, a lie.

A painful deceit to unweave.

It all flashes across my mind, there and gone within a matter of a second, but it leaves its mark, refusing to go back within the confines I shoved it in all these weeks. Wishing to never feel such horrid pain ever again.

That choice came with a cost. If I didn’t want to feel my pain, then I couldn’t feel anything. I gave up my emotions so quickly but now I struggle to tame them. To tame the burning rage of all that was stolen from me, the unjustness of all we have lost, the cruelty of my life and this scene before me.

It swells, growing higher and higher until my body physically vibrates with rage so powerful I can’t control it. Running down the bridge between our minds I plead,Please bring me back when this is all over, Knox.

His soul, dull like never before, meets me at the bridge, confusion etched across his features. His sapphire eyes turn up to me from below.Angel, wait?—

The last thing I see before I slam the door to the bridge in my mind is his terrified face, screaming—pleading—for me to stop.

Delilah!

Only seconds have passed and yet it feels like a lifetime as the magic within me rises, fueling my anger past a point of no return. Then I step into my well of power and submerge myself fully—with no tether to keep me grounded—and embrace what my magic has been begging me to become.

Chapter12

Knox

Delilah!

Her name tears from my heart. I pound my fist against the door of her mind again. My panic spirals out of control, consuming me as the door remains locked, my mate on the other side no doubt doing something that will get her killed.

I ram my shoulder into it this time. Pain ricochets down my body, but it barely buckles.

It’s too late.

I’m pulled back into my body as the energy around us changes—charges to a current so palpable I feel as if I can reach my hand out and grasp it. It makes everyone pause, even the demons.

The demonic creatures’ claws retract as they turn to what they may mistake as the setting sun, but will soon realize is something far more precious.

Blinding golden light erupts from atop Aurora, who pauses her descent to hover midair as Delilah stands atop her. My heart lodges in my throat as Delilah floats, her feet no longer touching Aurora.

Delilah—my beautiful mate—tips her head back, stretches out her arms, andglows. Not like a flame or a candle that can be snuffed out within time. No, this is permanent; I can feel it within the depths of my bones and along our bond.

My heart soars, for once not in agony but in relief, as if it knows something I do not.

For weeks—months—Delilah and I have been working on her magic, on how to keep herself tethered to a part of this world, to keep it from swallowing her whole as it grew day by day. Never in a million years did I think we were fighting against something so beautiful.

I’m witnessing a consumption of power, but I can feel therightnessof it along the bond. It isn’t something to fear. In fact, as the demonic creatures begin to quiver, I believe it’s something to celebrate.

In awe, we gaze upon a fallen star reigniting in the sky.

Delilah’s golden wings unfurl, drawing sharp gasps of breath from the men surrounding me. I snap up a shield of protection around them all in case the demons turn and pounce, and openly gawk at my mate.

As if the universe aligns with Delilah, music swells. An unheard orchestra guiding her body, mind, and soul through a transformation into who she no doubt was always meant to be. The music sings down the bond, lulling my body into a calmness. At its crescendo, Delilah’s body rises higher above Aurora until the griffin can turn and gaze upon her soul pair.