Diamond slamming into diamond sent out an almighty cracking sound. I felt the fizzle of the storm power as it attacked with him, hard and fast, but it didn’t hurt like it should. My energy sucked it in like they were long lost friends. My mother was a goddess of storms, my father a god of the underworld, and Sonaris had added god of the sea to my power arsenal.
In hindsight, it was a very bad move on his part. His power called to mine, like recognizing like.
“You never should have shared power with me before I was born,” I bit out, slamming energy back into Sonaris. “Nothing you have will work against me. Not like it should. Your power recognizes me.”
His roar was music to my ears. Long gone was the confident god with that fucking smile, thinking he was top shit. Nope. He’d created his own worst enemy, and then prodded at me until I had the power to take him on.
I mean, no doubt I wasn’t going to be able to beat him easily, but I’d at least have a shot now. I also had a few extra moves up my sleeve that I’d learned from Asher and Louis. Those two did not fight like gods.
My fist slammed into Sonaris’s face, and I marveled at the strength coursing through me. I didn’t stop at one punch either, swinging my other arm around, clocking him with my elbow and pushing him back across the island. It took me all of five seconds to figure out that while Sonaris had been trained to physically fight at one point in time, he hadn’t kept up with that training. His movements were sluggish and shaky, like he was trying to remember how to even throw a punch.
This was my shot.
As we fought, I used the elements to my advantage, pushing water and storm energy behind each hit. Sonaris countered though, slowly getting himself into proper positions. He landed a couple of clean blows that actually really fucking hurt. I got him right back with a straight shot of my own.
It was amazing that I was somewhat holding my own against a god, but also frustrating that we were so evenly matched.
The gods had wanted control over the Hellbringers because they were the only beings who could kill a god without the energy destroying the world. They were a conduit for power, and could direct it in small increments around so that it didn’t explode with the force of a billion nuclear bombs.
Or so my research indicated.
At this point it was all theoretical.
The truth was, the Hellbringers were the “safe” way to kill a god, but there were other ways. Axl had actually found a few suggestions. One was a spell. You had to get close enough to touch them, infect them from the inside out. Their power would turn on them, before they exploded into a million pieces. Complete self-destruction.
Infecting them wasn’t an easy or simple thing, and for most beings they’d never have the power to do so. They’d never have the power to even get close.
But I was a god myself, with energy that recognized Sonaris’s. I just wasn’t sure how to handle the power fallout if by some small chance I succeeded in taking him down. There was no point in killing him only to blow up the rest of the world.
Sonaris slammed his hand on my chest, bringing me back into the fight, and I gasped at the invasive feel of that. Not even because of the hand, but because of his slimy power beneath it. “You thought to take me out?” He laughed. “Me? Little girl, you have a lot to learn. Don’t you know that whenever a god shares power with another, they create a path between them. It was almost too easy.”
Apparently, I did have a lot to learn. My power froze within me, everything shutting down. The second time Sonaris had done this to me today. His energy oozed under the surface of my skin in the most degrading insidious way, seeping into my very being. He was doing exactly what I’d been planning. He hadn’t said the spell yet though, so I still had a shot.
“We could have been brilliant together,” he murmured, leaning close. Our lips brushed and I tried to jerk back, but had no control over my limbs.
“You see,” he continued, “I knew you were planning on locking on to my powers, but you clearly didn’t know that whoever locks on first has all the control. You’re still so new to this world. Now, if you were a lot stronger than me, there would be a possibility of you breaking free. It’d be hard, because I’m draining your power as we speak, but there’d be a shot.”
He was draining my power. I could feel it slipping away, leaving me empty and aching inside.
This was not the same as Axl’s spell. This was something completely different. Something I hadn’t even known was possible. A whimper escaped as heat filled my chest, expanding into his palm. “I’ll miss our beautiful children,” the crazy fucker said. “I already pictured them, with white blond hair and big blue eyes.”
My teeth clenched even tighter. I was fighting a losing battle trying to get away from him, but I didn’t give up. The heat grew, hurting me now. My skin no longer a diamond, but some sort of crumbling paper burning in a flame.
I’m dying.
The thought hit me as my body arched, moving closer to Sonaris—against my will—as he drew more and more power from me. His head dropped back, a look of contentment filling those strong, broad features. His skin rippled with strength, the bronze pigment growing darker, his hair lengthening, as if every part of him was influenced by the new influx of power. When he returned his gaze to mine, his eyes were blue ice, very similar to my own, and I felt like I was about to burst into dust with a puff of air.
“Goodbye, love,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss me.
The moment our lips touched, a flicker of fight filled my body, and I grappled with his hold, desperate to break away. No one got to kiss these lips but Asher.
Asher!The scream reverberated through my mind and expelled from me in a silent rush. I couldn’t speak, but I could call for him. I would not die without fighting for us, and in this situation I was desperately scraping for anything that might give me a boost.
I’d already exploded apart in a ball of energy recently. I wasn’t keen on doing it again. Something told me that this time there was no coming back.
Maddi…
It was a single word in my mind, dark and filled with rage that literally burned through me.
