I held on tighter. No matter what he threw at me, I took it without letting go, all the while talking to him through our bond.
At first, I didn’t think it was working, my soul weeping at the thought, but I didn’t give up. And neither did Axl. Slowly, piece by piece, he found the strength to drag himself away from the power. When his arms lifted, wrapping tightly around me, I finally let the tears fall.
Our hug went on for a long while, and after some time I pulled back just enough to see his face.
His eyes were still brilliant blue-green gems, unfamiliar to me. But the face was all Axl. “Maddi,” he rasped. Hearing my name from his lips, the familiar way he always said it, was every-fucking-thing.
His eyes shifted up over my head to Asher, who’d been right behind me the entire time. “Thank you, Ash.”
I turned to see Asher shake his head. “I’m sorry, brother. I hoped the sacrifice would come from me, but it was you that lost something. Your mortality is gone. Your Atlantean side is now one with the gods. There’s no going back from godhood.”
Axl shrugged, and through the bond I saw that he wasn’t upset by it. “A sacrifice I would have willingly made to save all of you, and the world. I was prepared to die. This is a much better option.” His laughter sounded natural, albeit laced with a lot more power. “And now I have a lifetime to gather information. It’s not all bad.”
The ocean behind us surged. Axl shook his head as his power swirled, visible across his skin in arcs of electricity. Using my own energy, I pushed through the bite of his elemental power and sent soothing vibes into Axl. It occurred to me that now I shared an even stronger bond to this Atlantean … god. Sonaris’s power was Axl’s power now, merging into new DNA, different but the same.
Kin,I said to Axl in his mind, our mental connection present while we were touching. That one word was enough for him to calm his energy, the storms dying off.
Frustration creased his face. “I should be stronger than this,” he bit out, uncharacteristically angry.
“It will take time,” I reminded him. “You’ve been a god for exactly one minute, and in that time you’ve already had the control and self-discipline to pull back from the addictive power. I’ve been there, dude. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
“The gods will break free from their cage any day now,” he reminded me. “This is not a great moment for me to have to figure out a new godhood and power.”
I flashed him a smile. “Actually, you’re pretty much our new secret weapon, Axe. We now have the god of the ocean in our corner…”
He snorted. “A shit one that has no idea how to use his powers.”
I patted him on the shoulder, slowly releasing the water holding me aloft, sinking back to the sand. Axl and Asher followed.
“Didn’t know you could fly too,” I said with a smirk at my mate.
He returned that smirk with a scowl. “When you take off heading toward danger, I suddenly have a ton of new powers to access.” His lips twitched. “Plus, I’m pretty juiced up, thanks to all the power we absorbed from Sonaris.”
Yes, that was very true. In a way, we were all connected to Axl more than ever.
When we landed on the sand, Rone hugged Axl so hard I heard bones creak, but he didn’t flinch. “There’s nothing you can’t do when you set your mind to something,” the vampire said as he pulled away. “Nothing. This is just your most recent challenge, and all of us know you’ll succeed.”
Axl squared his shoulders, a glint of determination filling those new eyes. “You’re right. My new mind is easy to get lost in, but once I figure out the system, I sense I will really enjoy the benefits of being a god.”
He half turned to Asher. “Is there something the gods do, though? Something I should specifically know in regards to being the god of the seas? Surely it's not all just ‘look cool, be powerful, and fly around?’”
Asher clapped him on the shoulder. I could feel through our bond how truly happy he was that Axl was still here with us. “I have no fucking idea, but I think I know the perfect book for you.”
That was absolutely the right thing to say. Axl looked both happy and relieved in a way he hadn’t since awakening. Books were his thing. And his excitement over a new one to read, was a huge clue that this was still our Axl. We would get through this.
Together.
Chapter 15
The next few weeks passed in a rush of school, research, and fuckups. Most of the fuckups were from Axl as he navigated his new godhood, but thankfully two very important people were finally back. I hoped they might be able to shed some light on our situation.
Louis and Princeps Jones had returned yesterday, many days after they were supposed to. Apparently something new had arisen in Romania, delaying them, but they were finally back. The moment we heard, all of us rushed to their office to hear the news. Larissa hugged her dad for the longest time, and I wasn’t surprised to see tears in her eyes when she pulled away. They were close. For years he’d been both her dad and her only friend in a world that mocked her for what they perceived as race weakness.
She had struggled with him gone for so long.
Louis hugged me tightly, and shook hands with Asher, before he stopped on Axl. His eyes widened just a little, those purplish depths curious and wary. “Well, well, well…” he said softly, tilting his head as he examined Axl. “I know you told me what happened, but seeing it in person … feeling the power.” He let out a low whistle. “Insane.”
“I’d appreciate any advice,” Axl replied, taking a deep breath. “I’m kind of blindly groping around in the dark, hoping not to kill anyone. You helped Maddi figure her powers out. Can you help me?”
