I feel her struggling to contain the sheer magnitude of energy coursing through her system.
This stone's different—more primal, more demanding. Where the others yielded to her will, this one's like trying to tame a fucking hurricane. Not fighting her exactly, but refusing to be controlled by anything less than absolute mastery.
The ground shudders beneath me as Heimdall and Loki trade blows, their power unleashed in full fury. Each impact sends shockwaves rippling.
It's like watching two titans clash, their strength so far beyond mortal comprehension it's almost laughable. A single punch from either of them could level a city block, but they just keep going, their bodies absorbing the force like it's nothing.
"Baby, can you hear me?"I reach for Dani.
Her response hits instantly, clear despite the chaos."I can hold it. End that bastard."
Heimdall's sword blazes golden as he drives Loki back, each strike precise and devastating. The trickster god's ice armor shatters faster than he can reform it, blood crystallizingon fresh wounds. His movements slow, desperation replacing calculation.
He's weak.
Power floods the air as Heimdall channels everything he has into one final assault. His blade carves through Loki's defenses like they're nothing, opening the bastard from shoulder to hip.
"Now!" Heimdall roars.
This motherfucker's time is up. Every chain around my body, every second I spent drowning in that frozen hell, every goddamn moment he violated my mate—it all fuels the lightning crackling through my veins.
Get ready to burn, you pathetic piece of shit, I'm about to show you what happens when you fuck with a god's descendant and the woman he'd tear realms apart for.
Lightning answers my call. The bolt that leaves my hand could split mountains and shatter realms. It hits Loki dead center, the sound of worlds ending.
For one eternal second, Loki's skeleton shows through his flesh, and his mouth opens in a silent scream. Then he explodes into a thousand shards of ice and shadow, the pieces evaporating before they hit the ground.
The storm above us rages on, but the trickster god is gone. Obliterated. Ended.
And somewhere below us, in the darkness, my brother and his mate are still falling.
I'm at Dani's side in a heartbeat, my arms crushing her against my chest. "Dani, baby. Hey. Let go, sweetheart. It's over."
Her eyes are still white, empty—seeing fuck knows what in the heart of that storm. The winds scream around us, the clouds above us thickening with each second. I can feel her energy draining, the stone sucking her dry.
Words aren't cutting it. So I do the only thing I can think of—I kiss her.
At first, it's like kissing a statue. No response, no recognition. Just the taste of ozone and the chill of stormwinds. But I don't stop. I pour everything into the kiss—my love, strength, and need for her to return to me.
And slowly, so fucking slowly, the winds begin to die. The clouds above us thin, letting in shards of pitch black skies.
Dani's lips soften, molding to mine as her arms wrap around my neck.
She's kissing me back. She's here. She'smine.
The storm fades, the stone's power quieting as Dani reasserts control. But I don't break the kiss. I need this—need her—like I need air.
Those honey-gold eyes I know so damn well blink up at me, clarity returning to their depths. Relief floods my chest as Dani takes in the destruction around us—craters, ice shards, scorched earth still smoking from warfare.
"Well, that was a wild ride." She tosses her hair, fingers brushing the Zephyrite stone. "Forget 'power trip,' more like 'power free fall without a parachute.' Definitely gonna have to establish some boundaries with this sassy little rock."
I can't help but snort. Fucking unbelievable. My mate just wrestled a primordial force of nature into submission, and she's talking about it like it's a misbehaving puppy. Her ability to bounce back, to find the humor in any situation—it's one of the million things I love about her.
"Definitely not like the others," she continues, sass fading into something more serious as she scans the battlefield. "Where's Erik? Bryn?"
My throat closes up. How the fuck do I tell her that her sister hurled herself off a cliff after my brother? That Loki's final act of cruelty was—
A familiar whinny splits the air.
