Marius leads us through the outskirts of Newton, his movements deliberate and steady. It’s obvious that he’s feeling the strain of holding back the Raven King’s attempts at taking control, though he’s trying to hide it. But I can see it in the shakiness of his hands and the way his teeth are clenched together. He’s struggling, even with the potion, and I wonder what will happen if he loses his control. I’m not arrogant enough to think that we would be any kind of match against the shadow king himself.
The town's edges blur into overgrown fields, dotted with abandoned buildings and weathered for sale signs that have seen better days. As we approach a dilapidated warehouse in the distance, I’m immediately put on guard.
Brigid is in there. I can feel her presence, but it's twisted and wrong. The Morrigan's essence is consuming her, warping the woman I've come to adore. My chest tightens at the thought of losing her to this merciless goddess, and I quicken my pace.
I take a glance at my companions, noting the grim looks on their faces. Rory's tense and twitchy, and I can tell his wolf wants to be let out. Lochan and Callen are guarded—none of us know what we’re about to walk into, aside from the preview the Morrigan gave us of her strength back in the ritual chamber. When she slaughtered dozens, including King Cillian. That is a reckoning that’s coming for Callen. Soon, but not now.
The abandoned warehouse is in front of us, a hulking shadow against the breaking dawn light. Marius leads, his tattooed hands clenched at his sides. The malevolence emanating from the building hits me hard, and I inhale sharply. "You feel that?"
Lochan nods, eyes narrowed.
My thoughts turn to Brigid. Her face flashes in my mind—fierce eyes, stubborn set to her jaw. The tug in my chest is unfamiliar, but it feels like it’s part of me now. Love was not a thing I planned on knowing. Fate had other ideas.
The scent of metal blooms as we cross the threshold. Two bodies lie sprawled near the entrance—their limbs bend at angles no joint should allow. Blood soaks into concrete cracks, forming jagged streams across the floor.
Rory growls low in his throat.Gods.
What I’m seeing speaks of rage. Uncontrolled.
Bile burns my throat. The girl who whispered apologies to broken things now leaves carnage in her wake. When we find her, what remains beneath?
Marius strides past us, boots crunching glass shards glittering in the dimness.
Callen blocks his path.“Slow down. This could be a—”
The snarl that rips from Marius stops even Rory mid-step.“Your caution gets her killed.” Shadows bleed from his collar, liquid night dripping down his sleeves.“Move. Now.”
We follow because there’s no alternative. Because whatever sanity Marius still clutches hinges on finding her.
The warehouse yawns deeper, corroded conveyor belts skeletal under peeling rafters. Rust scales every surface, gnawing at the steel beams.
Rory bumps into an empty oil drum and the hollow clang echoes.
The reverberation of metal fades, replaced by an awful stillness. We round a corner, and there she is.
Brigid stands in a shaft of pale light filtering through a broken skylight. But it's not Brigid, not really. Her posture is different, shoulders back, chin lifted in regal disdain. Gone is the guarded vulnerability I've come to know. In its place is something ancient and terrible.
Her gray eyes lock onto us, and I feel a chill down my back. Those eyes hold millennia of violence and hunger. They're the eyes of a predator eyeing its next meal.
She zeroes in on Marius. Her eyes, Brigid's eyes, flash with recognition and hunger. She comes closer, leaving wisps of shadow in her wake. The darkness coils around her, caressing her skin and dancing through her hair.
Marius stands rigid, his fists clenched and eyes burning with an intensity I've never seen before. As Brigid approaches, I sense a war raging within him. The Raven King's essence surges, desperate to break free and claim its ancient love. But Marius fights back, holding the shadow king at bay.
I see the struggle play out across his face. One moment, his eyes flash with hunger, mirroring the Morrigan's carnivorous gaze. The next, they're filled with distress, Marius clinging to his sense of self.
As the Morrigan-possessed Brigid draws closer to Marius, I feel a surge of desperation. I can't let her consume him, can't let us lose them both to these older, devastating forces.
I reach out with my mind, stretching tendrils of druidic magic towards Brigid. The ancient power flows through my veins, connecting me to the earth beneath my feet and the very air around us. I focus on the quintessence of Brigid, the woman I know and—I think—love, trying to find a spark of her buried beneath the Morrigan's overwhelming presence.
For a moment, I feel a glimmer of something familiar—warm and vivid, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. A surge of adrenaline goes through me. Brigid is still in there, fighting against the goddess's control. I push harder, straining to reach that sliver of her true self.
Agony explodes behind my eyes. It's as if someone's driven a white-hot spike through my skull. I stagger, gasping, as laughter reverberates through my head.
Foolish draoi, the Morrigan's voice purrs inside my head.Did you think it would be so easy? Your kind always did have an over-inflated sense of importance.
Another wave of pain crashes over me, and I fall to my knees.
Through watering eyes, I see the goddess wearing Brigid's face smile with savage amusement. She hasn't even glanced in my direction, still focused on Marius, but her power crashes against me like a tsunami.
