Next was Angel, and her energy was like a spring day, the most perfect and pure moment of creation. Strong, clear, and without any shadows, Angel didn’t burn, but she was almost too perfect to get too close to. As if she were the literal embodiment of the human lore of angels and God. Her mate’s energy felt ancient. Reece had the original sands of time drifting through his veins, and I was sure he could create and destroy the land. Very natural, very earthy, powerful like nature itself.
Lucien had a newer energy, but no less strong. Blood power filled his veins, and blood was life. It made sense that he would be drawn to this group. He was a powerful master, and as he grew older there’d be very few who could stand against his compulsion, or his speed and strength in attack. His mate, Simone, was animalistic in her energy, but so much more than a regular shifter. Like me, she was a unique mix of two energies: shifter and vampire. She could walk in multiple worlds, and while her power was young, she showed signs of being the strongest of all beasts—one day.
Galleli’s energy was cagey, the only being not to completely open himself up to me, but there wasn’t a way to truly hide when we were connected like this. Galleli, the mysterious one, was a veritable well of power, but he kept it all locked down, hidden away, as if he were afraid of what might happen if he opened himself up and became who he was always meant to be. I wanted to assure him that this world was ready for him now. If anyone knew, it was the being who’d been hiding for thousands of years herself.
“Holy fuck.”
The low groan from Reece pulled my attention before I could examine Len, but I already knew every part of my mate’s energy. From his silvery, light power, to the force of nature that was a budding beat of his heart, he could give Father Nature a run for his money when it came to pure and earthy creation. There were threads of gold in his silver, which was how he’d been able to find me in the Great Origin. It was our bond, the one that not even Sammia’s powerful glamour could annihilate completely.
For which I was very grateful.
“She’s so powerful,” Simone said in response to Reece.
“I am,” I said, finally owning it. “As are all of you. Our powers have been learning each other, and now that we’re connected in this way, I can assure you… each of you are a special piece of the puzzle. We are parts of a whole, and I know exactly how to repair the darkness.”
Individually we never could have fixed this, but together we had everything we needed.
Time to get cleaning.
48
SAMANTHA
The darkness pulsed with new life, feeding off the energy we’d brought to Faerie’s Origin. We really had to hurry. Each second allowed it to tangle further into the whole. Soon it would be nearly impossible to unravel the complex web it was weaving.
Thankfully, I had no doubt we were powerful enough to do what was necessary.
“We made a mistake,” I told the others. “The Origin gods chose to run instead of fight. Our unity would have defeated Dalmia. Not just killed his vessel and sent his power back into creation, but also destroyed these dark spells he’d left across the worlds. This is the last of his legacy, which has lived on for far too long.”
Shadow stepped forward, the golden beam between us shortening as he moved closer to where I hovered. “I finally understand…” he said, his voice deeper as I drew more of his power to the surface, his beast hovering as a flaming image above his head. “…why this pack has been forming.”
“I do as well,” Mera said suddenly. “This is the reason all of us have been drawn together, over and over, with so many complicated bonds emerging between us. If we are, as Sam says, the newer gods stepping into the power void left by the old, it makes sense that we’d ensure the mistakes of the past weren’t repeated.”
Shadow’s chest rumbled as he nodded, and I felt ripples of his intense power along the cord. “Exactly,” he said, “we’re not like the Origins. They were solitary, living in their worlds, and only venturing forth for their meetings. The Fates have decided that it will be different this time around. With that in mind, we need to test the theory and cleanse the darkness.”
He was right, and we had reached the limit of time. If everything went to plan, then we’d have the rest of eternity to discuss the deeper meaning for all our existences. Delve into the reasons that Shadow was the beating heart at the center, his Solaris System and shifters drawing so many of us. But for now, we had darkness to destroy.
Reaching out to touch the main cord of the Origin once more, a massive surge of power filled the well in my center. It overflowed nearly immediately, and had I not had other wells to feed it into—aka, all my powerful pack mates—there was a chance that I’d have had to release my hold, unable to handle the power. Check another point for this being a group project.
“Well, fuck,” I heard Lucien groan and laugh. “Now I know what it feels like to be Shadow. No wonder he’s an arrogant asshole.”
Shadow snorted, even as the flames around him grew higher. I had a good view of them all from my vantage point, and their energy was brighter and stronger than I’d ever seen. “You couldn’t handle one minute in my fur,” he rumbled at his friend, his tone lighthearted. “This is but a fraction of my power.”
He was full of shit, because this was way beyond any of our powers. Even mine.
“Len,” I called, my voice deeper, “I need your help.”
It was his light that would guide me through the darkness—the reason a being like me, who was essentially a vessel and not designed for mateship and motherhood, would have been reborn and evolved to need both.
He was my light.My all.
Len rose into the air, and it wasn’t from me, so he’d figured out a way to use this new burst of energy. The dark tendrils surged suddenly and I urged him to hurry. “I’m going to try and gather all of Dalmia’s spell into a ball,” I said in a rush. “Len’s light will allow me to see the intricate strands, and when I have it all as one, we’ll use our combined strength to blast it into oblivion.”
Their agreement traveled through our connections, and I focused completely on the task.
Delving deep into the core of where the dark spell had started, I felt Dalmia’s oily presence so strongly. Part of him was dead, but a much worse part lived on in the power of my world.
“Mine,” I snarled, as the oil tried to creep over me. “Faerie is mine, and this pack is mine.”
