“I told you I would fucking kill every single one of you if you didn’t let her go. I do not give out second chances when it comes to Storm. And I keep my fucking promises.” I smiled as I squeezed her neck so hard it snapped in my hand, the sound of her bones breaking echoing in the space around us. It was now silent besides my labored breathing. I stood up, my frost magic clinging to me, twisting around me in fury.
“Don’t move, or we will just kill her and let you live.” Mateo was gripping Della’s arm. That only fueled the wrath inside ofme. How fucking dare he touch her? “I fucking swear, I will gut her right now.”
I instantly stopped moving. “That’s what I thought,” he said smugly.
But I hadn’t stopped because of his threat. I stopped because Thea and Cassius were not moving. I glanced around, and Elra was smiling at me.
“It looks like Thea and Cassius aren’t immune to dark magic.” Her gaze turned toward them. “Come.” She called them, and they immediately walked to her. I stepped forward but stopped when I heard Della cry out in pain.
“Such a hard decision,” Elra mocked. “Do you try to stop me or save your mate?”
I glared at her, but I paused when I saw Death appear for only a brief moment behind Thea and Cassius.
“I will always choose Della.”
“You know, I really wonder what the heavens will think when they realize they let their precious Della mate with an abomination. The heavens will always question your loyalty, and you still give it to them instead of family?”
“My loyalty is not to the fucking stars. My loyalty will always be to Della above all else. She is the only one I answer to. She is the one I will bow to. She is the one I will pray to. She is the only thing that holds power over me. And you are not my family; they are.” I pointed to Thea and Cassius, who were now strapped to tables.
What the fuck?
“Let's show you how this is going to work.” Daya grinned. “If you interfere, we will be forced to just kill them.”
Thea and Cassius both lay there with vacant eyes. Elra being able to use dark magic was a worst-case scenario. I was at a disadvantage here. I had no idea what the extent of her abilities was with that damn book.
“Don’t worry, Haden, it doesn’t kill them.” Daya stared at me. Before I could understand what that meant, Gareth started reciting words I did not understand.
I watched in horror as Thea's and Cassius’ chests glowed dark green—their souls. The glow slowly floated away from their chests and down to the foot of the table, where it moved through a strand of golden magic down to a small glass box. Once they were there, they slammed into each other and intertwined until it was difficult to tell which soul was Thea’s and which one belonged to Cassius.
“What are you doing?” I demanded an answer. They ignored me as Gareth stopped reciting the words. Thea and Cassius’ souls were now locked up in the box, trying to get out. Then I noticed the rest of the boxes, all stacked neatly on the table. They had all the gods they needed. They were doing this right now.
“Unfortunately, Della no longer possesses a soul, so we will just take yours.” Elra smiled. “Since she gave you part of hers so long ago, we may as well put it to good use. How much power is pulsing inside of you?”
“You are stupid if you think any of you will be making it out of this alive.”
“If it brings you comfort, you two will be attached for eternity like you were always meant to be, just inside of me.”
“That brings me no joy, you psycho bitch,” I yelled so violently that the walls shook. I looked at Thea and Cassius, who were passed out but breathing. Then I looked at Della, who smiled at me. She nodded at me like I needed encouragement.
“Spill their blood, Haden.” Her eyes flashed red as she yanked her arm out of Lana’s grip and fell to the ground. Before anybody could stop her, she grabbed the knife Sydra threw at me earlier, stabbing Mateo in the thigh. He cried out in pain as I smiled at Storm.
Unnoticed by the others, I saw Death appear behind where Cassius and Thea’s souls were. I knew he would put their souls back, so I charged Sydra, tackling her and keeping the attention on me. We struggled on the ground, punching and swatting at each other. But I heard Della grunt; Sydra punched me in my distracted state. She began crawling away, but I shot my frost at her, instantly freezing her in place.
When I turned, my wrath was fucking seething from all the havoc these fucks had caused. I could feel it pulling around me like a physical force, the anger reaching into my very bones. They backed away from me when I stepped forward, finally realizing how much power I truly had.
Death made a noise behind them, drawing their attention.
“Death,” Elra purred. “You would have been my first choice if you could actually have a mate.”
What an odd thing to say, but I could tell it instantly pissed him off. His eyes suddenly burned red with anger.
“What are you doing here?” she asked angrily.
“My friends, Haden and Ezra, asked for my help.” He smiled when he showed them that he had Thea and Cassius' souls hovering above his hands.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “If you don’t back off, we will tell your brother where you’ve been."
I could see concern pass through his eyes for a brief moment before it disappeared behind a mask of madness.
