Page 89 of Rising Reign

Bastian’s face contorted. “Who?”

“My. Mother.”

He sneered, his eyes darkening. “She took from me. Stole. Right out from under my nose. There’s only one punishment for that. A lesson you’ll soon learn. Again.”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t known the truth deep in my heart, but hearing him say it aloud brought a kind of freedom. Knowing he’d admitted to the level of his cruelty.

“You’re a monster,” I whispered.

Bastian’s grin was back. “You pay me such compliments, Little Flower. Now, yield.”

Alpha vibes lit the air, pressing into me, trying to force my submission. But I wouldn’t break. Sweat broke out across my brow as I tried to withstand Bastian’s energy and keep Locke with me. “Don’t you leave me,” I murmured to Locke. “Stay.”

“Yield!” Bastian bellowed. The force of his voice was a physical blow, and I rocked to the side.

Pain radiated through my skull and down my spine as I struggled to stay upright. And then Rhys’s voice filled my head. “Use your gift, Little Empath.”

I blinked a few times, struggling to understand what he meant as enemy wolves surrounded us all, closing in with more numbers than we could ever hope to defeat. Snarls lit the air, and I knew I had no choice.

I lowered my shields and let the darkness in. Pain like nothing I’d ever known or felt before slammed into me as I took all the negative emotions inside. The cruelty, the quest for power, the bloodlust.

It was a living, breathing thing as I pulled it into me. Every ounce of it sent white-hot agony coursing through me. Spots danced in front of my vision, but through them, I saw our enemy wavering. Some of them looked confused, some stopped fighting altogether.

“What the hell are you doing?” Bastian demanded.

I pulled more, focusing on him, feeling the true depths of his depravity. “I’m stopping it,” I croaked.

Bastian crossed the distance in three long strides and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me into the air. But that was a mistake. Because with the skin-to-skin contact, I could take more of that darkness. More of his evil.

“You hybrid abomination,” he snarled, gripping me harder.

My air supply cut off, but I didn’t stop. I pulled every ounce of darkness I felt. I took it all.

“Wren, stop!” Kingston yelled.

“Your nose is bleeding,” Brix pleaded.

But I didn’t stop. I would end this. I would snuff out every ounce of darkness. I would let in the light. Even if it cost me my life. I’d pay the price again and again if it meant the people I loved were safe.

My vision tunneled as Bastian squeezed harder, but I still kept taking.

“Her blood,” Clara croaked. “It’s black.”

“She’s taking all their darkness,” Rhys whispered reverently.

The fighting had stopped. The only evil that remained was Bastian. If I could just take the last of his…

Then the light went out for good.

53

KINGSTON

It was if the whole world slowed with the horror of it. Locke’s body lay unmoving on the ground, his skin far too pale, blood spilling out around him. Wren falling, falling, falling. She hit the forest floor with a deafening thud, that black blood still seeping out of her nose.

And Bastian just looked on in shock. As if he were truly horrified by what he’d done. The shield slipped as he spun around, trying to make sense of what he’d put into motion, but I didn’t give a damn. I was already running, my brothers at my sides.

“Brix, Puck, take Locke. Ender, we’ve got Wren.” My voice didn’t even sound like my own. It was robotic and hollow. No feeling at all.