"What's the plan?" Mischa asked, edging along the barrier. It hadn’t been obvious when we’d first arrived, but now, from this angle, I could see the dome spanning up and over where the dragon circled.
It also covered the line of death, hence why no one could smell it.
"We need to break the barrier first," Louis said, his power strong enough to rumble the ground we stood on. "Then we destroy the dragon. If we can break the bond between it and the ley line, we might be able to stop it before it's too late."
That all sounded great. Easy and straightforward.
From experience, there was no way it would be though. Not a single chance.
Even with the power of eight, and the world’s strongest sorcerer and his mate by our side, would we have a chance?
"I'll try the same magic that I used to break that powerful barrier around Grace's grandmother's house," Tyson said, stepping forward. "I needed the quad bond then, and I know this will be stronger, so hopefully the power of eight will work."
"Plus me," Louis said drily.
"How could I forget you…" Tyson replied with a smile.
"Uh, hello, what the fuck am I? Chopped liver." Tee had her hands on her hips, glaring at her mate.
"You're essential. Amazing. Talented and strong." Louis' smile was softer for her than anyone else, the love like a force field that surrounded them.
"Let's see if the eight works first," Tyson said. "That way we don't waste energy where it's not needed." He looked grudgingly at Louis. "You're probably going to be pretty helpful in taking this beast down, so let's keep you in our back pocket."
Louis shook his head, like he couldn’t quite believe what he heard, but he did step back and wave for Tyson to move forward. Tyson didn't hesitate, so confident in what he had to do.
I wondered what that felt like, never having to second-guess yourself. To not expect failure before you'd even tried.
I talked a good game with not-giving-a-fuck and having the balls to take on anything, but it was all bullshit.
"You're young and new to this world," Tyson said, and I blanched at the knowledge that he'd heard my whiny inner monologuing. "Give yourself a break. I can feel your power through our connection, and trust me, you're anything but a failure."
He focused on the barrier again, and I tried to send my gratitude to him through the connection. He’d had my back, just as Jacob always did.Family.Should have gotten one earlier.
There was no time to focus on my many and varied mental issues, because Tyson needed all of us to step up. "I'm channeling power through the eight, and it's legitimately enough to blow half the world away," he bit out through gritted teeth, "but this dragon has the power of that ley line and all the supernatural and human lives he's stolen." He sucked in air, his next words even harder to understand. "Need you all to help ... me…"
One by one, we stepped forward and placed our hands on the field. Louis and Tee hovered just behind us, ready to jump in if this didn't work.
The ten of us all that stood between this dragon and the end of the world.
35
Jacob Compass
The power surging through me was unlike anything I'd felt before. I'd never been this strong and filled with the energy of all four races. The speed of vampires; the animalistic nature of shifters; the Earth ley line powers of the magic users; and the elemental, ancient energy that was fey. All of us felt it, and whatever had separated me from my brothers shifted until we were one and there was no other.
Except our mates. The bright burning light of the four of them, their natures yang to our yin, the light to our darkness. The soft to our hard. The level-headed to our mindless power. The other half to our souls.
It was in that second, as the power continued to rise, seemingly limitless, that I truly understood why we hadn't been able to join like this until this moment. We would have been lost in the darkness. The power … it was too much. No one could have channeled it without being consumed.No one. But with the four mate bonds complete, we finally had an anchor to keep us from destroying the world.
"This is why quad bonds are so rare," Jessa breathed. I couldn't see her from where I was standing, but I knew the exact what-the-hell expression she would be wearing. "You four literally could destroy the world."
"Lucky they have us," Mischa added, her voice a little strained. Not surprising considering how much power we were wielding. The shield had started to shimmer under our touch, and I had the vague hope that we might shatter it soon … if we didn't, this much power would begin to affect us in a way we might not want.
"We're so close," Tyson muttered, his frustration clear in the vibrating anger of his words.
Louis cleared his throat. "Still standing here. Think maybe I should help now? You all have the power, but a new bond is always going to have someteething problems."
Just as he stepped forward, hand out, Tyson shouted, "No!"
