Rhett shifted his gaze to stare right at Leka. “Where her soul goes, so goes mine. Our fates were always intertwined.”
Even in this moment where everything had gone to shit and the worlds might possibly end, that was a ray of light to soothe away a small fraction of my pain. I hadn’t known their bond was so strong… as strong as Reece’s and mine.
My sister smiled at him; her face softer than it had ever been in this realm.
Before I could fall into my feelings over this, Leka returned her focus to me. Reaching up, she tucked a strand of my braid that had fallen free back behind my ear. “You can stop them, Mel. You’re finally embracing all sides of yourself, including the side that was born to exist in the Desert Lands. Use it all now. Use your bond with Reece, and return the gods to their resting place."
She flickered, almost disappearing completely, and I tried desperately to hold onto her, needing one last touch before she was lost forever again. In my grief over Alistair, while in this land of power, I’d managed to call her soul. But she was not mine to keep.
"I love you, Leka," I whispered. "Until our souls meet again."
She hugged me hard, and for a second, we were twin souls again.
But then it was over.
By the time I opened my eyes, Leka and Rhett were gone.Be happy.I heard on the breezes before their energy returned to a realm I could not find. Not yet anyway. As I met Reece’s gaze, a bittersweet emotion lingered between us. We were happy to know they’d found each other in the next life, but not having them here with us any longer was a wound that would never fully heal.
“At least I know now why Rhett was never the same after that battle,” Reece said with a shake of his head.
“That battle felt like it took everything,” I said swallowing roughly as I stepped to his side, “but it didn’t take us. We’re still standing here, centuries later, and we can finish this.”
Reece, face set in the hard lines of his warrior expression, nodded. "Do you have any ideas?"
I took a second to look around, noting that the resting place of the ancients was a large, perfectly circular canyon, with cliffs curving overhead to define the shape. Behind us was the valley, its pillars the only part visible since the sands were smashed against the barrier, hiding everything else. In front of us was another set of pillars, which I could only imagine were guarding an even greater threat than the ancients beneath our feet.
“Whatever we do, we should do it fast,” I finally said. “Because I have no idea how long Shadow can shield them from that deluge.”
"They're still alive," Reece assured me, his hand against his chest. "I can feel their lifeforce, but time is running out.”
It was, but for once, I wasn’t facing this alone. “True mates,” I reminded him. “We will face this together.”
Always.
48
Reece wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his side. "You were always my greatest wish and my most destructive defeat,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my cheek. His hand slid down to grip his shirt. “No matter what happens, I need you to know…” My eyes scanned down his torso to where he’d lifted the hem to reveal the words etched on his skin. “The day we fought, I got this inked on me. Our names are entwined withuntil the sands fadein ancient script.”
Finally.Finally, I knew what he’d felt was so important that he’d permanently marked his skin. I was shattered by the realization that even when he’d hated me, he’d never let me go. “All this time?” I managed to say.
His scoff was low and broken. “Since the day you walked into my life. My anger was strong, but I never doubted our fate.”
The beat of his energy matched the beat of mine, and as our lips met for what I really hoped wasn't the last time, I felt him inside my soul. We gave ourselves this moment, a mere second, before we pulled away knowing worlds were not going to save themselves.
Our addled “mate brains” had to be shelved for our warrior sides.
"How do we stop them from rising," I asked, once again cataloguing the sands around us. "What is beyond those other pillars?"
Reece turned toward the second set fifty yards from us. “I’ve never been this far, but I can only assume that beyond is more wards and the resting place of Death and all that comes with it.”
As I’d expected. "How did they force the ancients to rest in the first place?"
Reece’s answer was immediate. "I wasn’t here, but the stories speak of a similar method to what Tsuma used to wake them. She was breaking the spells, while the original would have involved etching those ancient words into the stones. It takes sacrifice and power. A lot of power."
It made sense and explained why Tsuma had had to wait until the world was basically brimming with energy to break through those ancient spells. "We have a lot of power and a connection to this world,” I reminded Reece. “More than anyone else. I think if we combine everything and bleed that essence onto another pillar, we might be able to stop them from fully regenerating.”
Reece’s red sands were suddenly visible and whipping around us. “There’s a chance,” he confirmed. “The ancients are still in the process of rising, and so there’s a window of vulnerability.”
A chance was better than nothing.
