His eyes met mine. “Do it,” I said. “Do whatever you have to.” He was strong, strong enough to do this and save himself. I had to believe that.
“He took that energy and buried it like a bomb inside,” Asher spat out, his hands shaking on Axl’s chest. “Used his damn life force to keep it in place.”
“Nothing stronger than a life sacrifice,” Rone said, sounding robotic as water dripped down his face.
“Not on my fucking watch,” Asher growled. “The power is still there. I’m going to make sure it gets used.”
All of us watched him, none of us exactly sure what he was planning.
I had faith that whatever it was, he was capable of making it happen.
Asher had spoken to me briefly about his time with Galindra. He’d never gone into detail, preferring to move forward from what was a truly horrific experience for both of us, but it was clear she had taught him things—things that might hopefully save Axl.
If it worked, every second of agonizing pain I felt during Asher’s death would be worth it, because I couldn’t lose any of my family.
I couldn’t lose my Axl.
Jesse wrapped an arm around me and the strength of our new bond kicked in hard. I could feel his emotions: fear, worry, hurt, anger, all churning like a pot of crazy inside him. But he held it together … and he was trying to hold me together.
Asher’s eyes closed, and I barely breathed as I waited to see if we were about to mourn another member of our family.
“Look,” Rone whispered, and I managed to look away from Axl long enough to see the twinkling lights falling from the sky above us, drifting down in waves and swirls, covering us and the land.
“What is Asher doing?” Calen murmured, lifting his hands to catch what looked like stardust. Gods, please let this work.
Asher and I had both cheated death; our friend could do the same. There was a beat of complete silence, all of us coated in golden sparkle that very much reminded me of the glitter in Asher’s eyes when he was all powered up.
Then Axl gasped.
The sound filled the clearing and a strangled sob escaped me.
He jerked, but not in the way he had in the water, this was a jerk of a body coming back to life. In a split second he was up off the ground, floating above us, eyes wide and blazing.
I took a tentative step forward. “Axe?” I said softly, not wanting to startle him. There was a blank expression on his face, but his eyes … his eyes were now a bright startling aqua, almost the exact same color as my hair.
The bond I had with the five guys flared to life, and it was Axl fueling it. His power was so strong that it hurt my very bones with the intensity. Asher stood before me, protecting me as he always did. He’d killed a fucking god for me, and he’d risked everything to save Axl…
I had to ask. “What is he?”
That wasn’t our Axl.
“The world needed a new god of the ocean,” Asher said softly. “There was so much energy left, I had no choice but to reform Axl into a being of original power.” He shifted his stance, covering more of me. “Give him a second … he’s adjusting to the change.”
It was what I’d suspected, but part of me hoped it wouldn’t be true, because we might still lose our friend in a different way. Gods, they weren’t like us, and Axl being turned like this, in such a traumatic way…
I was scared of what Asher might have created.
On instinct, I rose up into the air, flying toward him. The Atlanteans blinked with slack jaws, and I remembered that they hadn’t been here when I discovered my new ability. When I unlocked my powers.
Asher didn’t look shocked; he wore a mask of determination, rising up with me, wanting to get to Axl first. It didn’t matter which one of us got to him though, as long as one of us did. Axl needed a friend to remind him of who he was.
More power … god of the oceans … he was still our Axl. This was our one shot to pull him back before he was lost to the influx of power flooding his every cell. I’d been born a god, or mostly god, and it still had been a huge adjustment when my power first released. Then again when I “died” and was reborn to my god body. And finally, just before, when the shark had shown me how to release the final hold on my energy.
I understood what he was going through. We had to remind him of who he was.
Reaching him first, I wrapped my arms around his middle, gritting my teeth through the blast of power. “Axe,” I said, squeezing him tightly. “Come back to us. It’s just power. It’s not you.”
Our bond flared and I had the briefest thought that maybe this was fate’s way of ensuring that Axl wouldn’t face this alone. That he’d find his way back through the bond.
