I don’t even know. Biting my lip, I edge upward, trying to figure out what’s going on, and that’s when I’m aware of the tug on my hand.
My attention snaps to Koda.
He’s holding me, the tips of his fingers curled around mine, sparkles of cobalt power dusting my skin where he touches me, and the longer he holds my hand, the brighter the sparkles grow.
Bliss.
I feel it in every inch of my skin and it’s like the sun just came out. Like the trips my sisters and I would make to the coast. Our sunshine days.
It’s a pure, unadulterated antidote to pain.
Koda’s lips curve upward in response to my smile. The very first time I’ve seen him smile and it’s… breathtaking.
The kind of pure, innocent joy that doesn’t belong on a demon’s face.
No wonder Crone encouraged Arga to destroy Koda’s sense of self. This kind of happiness and peace could topple kingdoms, especially since it seems to directly counteract Arga’s power, rendering it useless.
I let out a laugh.
The sound seems to disturb Arga enough that he leaps off me, backing away a step.
Gripping Koda’s hand, I draw nearer to him, my movements slow, my muscles cramped. His power might be helping me, but it doesn’t seem able to mend my broken bones.
I’m in bad shape. The moment Koda lets go, I may not be able to function.
Without speaking, Koda pushes up as best he can until we’re finally standing side by side, our hands clasped.
I seek Ace and the ruby-eyed wolf where they lie a few paces away. Neither of them has moved from where they fell, but they’re both breathing steadily. I know that, no matter what happens to me, Malia will do everything she can to heal them and Roman will get them both to safety. I picture them recovering at Roman’s home in the Wilds, picture the ruby-eyed wolf learning about pack, and the warmth of that image gives me the strength to lift my head.
So, too, does the way Koda squeezes my hand, and I can’t forget that he fought beside Ace and didn’t kill the other wolf when he could have.
For the first time in my life, I consider the possibility that I have a brother. However much I used to hate and fear Koda, he’s standing at my side now and that’s what matters most in this moment.
I take a deep breath, gathering my power of nightmares, but this time, I fill the nightmares with bliss. Pure happiness. The kind that Arga fears.
“You hurt my wolf,” I say to Arga, my voice filling with my wolf’s growls. “You hurt Koda. You threatened my sisters. You hurtme. Take your best shot, Arga. You’ll only get one.”
Arga snarls back at me, his blue eyes blazing with burgundy power. “You can’t beat me, little sister. I’m the first. The best. I’ll always win.”
“Let’s see if that’s true,” I say, gritting my teeth and bracing, gathering my power, adding all the happy moments I’ve experienced with my sisters, all the love my mom showed me despite everything she went through, and then topping it off with the way my heart leaps in Roman’s presence.
Arga roars as he launches himself at me, his fist aimed at my heart again. Koda moves seamlessly with me as I duck Arga’s fist, come up under his arm, slap my palm against his chest, and release my power.
A blast of cobalt energy explodes across the air between us, streaks of my nightmare power spiraling through it, whooshing outward before the power implodes, pulling inward, dragging Arga’s pain with it.
Then, there’s silence.
Arga’s lips part as he exhales, a wisp of my power spilling from his mouth.
His eyes turn blank.
He drops to his knees, slowly tipping to the side before landing on the ivory dirt.
I let out my breath, a groan of relief so intense that my whole body shudders. Koda slumps to the ground, taking me with him, his fingers still curled around mine as we land on our knees, and I dread the moment that he lets go and the pain rushes back in.
But we’re alive. We’re fucking alive.
I reach out to close Arga’s sightless eyes and that’s when I’m aware of the silence all around us.
