Kai groans before clashing his mouth to mine. Turning our kiss into a chaos of teeth and tongue. The ache of something that has waited far too long, finally finding home.
“Fuck…….” Kai growls as his hands grab my curves, hungry and bruising. And I love it, wanting him to mark my soul. And then, we ignite.
The pleasure high is quickly replaced by fire. It tears through me, coming too fast to stop. The power surges through my veins, an overwhelming force that lights up every nerve, every inch of my skin.
Caught in a storm. Not of rain or wind, but of raw, unbridled energy. Alive and humming, thrumming through my blood. Similar to touching the divine, becoming the very heartbeat of the universe for one impossible heartbeat.
My back arches, and an explosion of blistering light floods the sky, turning the world into nothing but pure brightness in a single, earth-shattering pulse.
And then, nothing.
Darkness swallows the forest.
A searing painerupts along my spine, burning so intensely I almost can’t breathe. It rips through me, deeper than any wound, and I gasp, no longer aware of the world around me. Now doubling over in the snow, the pain is spreading, as if I’mbeing skinned alive. Like something inside me is trying to break free, attempting to tear apart my flesh.
I scream, voice raw.
This hurts like a mother fucker. My back bones are being rearranged, reshaped by some force. Then, just as I think I can’t endure it anymore, a violent jolt of agony shoots through me. With brutal force, something sharp and heavy bursts from my shoulder blades, in a sickening tear of flesh.
Wings.
I gasp, my chest rising and falling heavily, as I feel their weight pulling me down. Trying to lift myself, but the wings immobilize me in place. Kai rushes to my side, and the instant he touches me, the lock shatters.
A flood of clarity surges through me. Everything I had forgotten, everything I am, returns all at once.
The valkyrie within me: warrior, force of nature, protector. Faces, voices, places I’ve never seen, but somehow know, feel as if they’ve always been mine. The warmth of a distant sun. The roar of battle carried on the sound of wings. A sky I once soared through, wild and free. A life I never knew rushes back, relentless and overwhelming. Memories crashing over me, a tidal wave, keeping me on my knees, choking me. Demons, bloodshed, and crushing helplessness. It all returns with cold, brutal clarity. Kai’s grip tightens, steady and grounding amid the storm, pulling me back from the edge of the flood.
“I remember,” he breathes out, voice heavy with the weight of it. Brackwell’s gaze is wild, unfocused, as if remembering is almost too much to bear.
Toopainfulfor him to.
And at that moment, I understand.
It broke…
For all of us.
63
Avilyna
THE BLOODMOON WAR
Sam grabs my hand,and together we sprint toward the woods, our small bodies darting under carts as we run with everything we have. The chaos around us masks our escape; ten minutes pass without a sound behind us.We finally collapse in exhaustion at the edge of a clearing, slumping onto a fallen log. Gasping, I turn to Sam. Pulling him close, grateful for his care despite the danger. I rise to plan our next move, but the woods fall eerily silent. A shadow sweeps overhead, breaking the stillness with the same piercing shriek we heard earlier.
“Watch out!” Sam shouts, pushing me to the ground.
A rush of air blinds us as the creature swoops through the grey sky, the sun swallowed by dark clouds. Before us, a monster with the upper body of a haggard crone, twisted by malice. Her weathered skin pulled tight over brittle bones. She beats her sinister wings and dives. My heart hammers in my chest; time slows. But just as she’s about to strike, a flash of white bursts from the shadows.
With a primal growl, the white wolf lunges at the harpy, teeth snapping and claws tearing in fierceness. The monster fights relentlessly, but the wolf shields us without hesitation.Bloodied and weakened, the harpy finally retreats into thedarkening sky. The snarling white wolf confronts us, causing me to recoil instinctively.
Sam steps forward, his expression tight.“I know, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left,” he says apologetically.Facing each other, they continue their heated discussion through their lycan’s link. But their conversation is interrupted by the rustling of leaves and a foreboding scream coming from me as the harpy sinks her talons into my right shoulder.Shock freezes Sam for a moment before instinct kicks in.
Except that I’m already too far off the ground. His figure and the white wolf grow smaller as Netherworld’s creature flies away with me in its hold, my frantic cries fading into the distance.Her talons are digging into my skin as burning iron. I cry out, my voice lost in the sky. Below, the forest is a blur of green and ash. We rise quickly, and the jagged peaks of Kallahan’s mountains loom ahead. Snowflakes are all I see, stinging as tiny shards of glass on my face. The sky is a churning cauldron of storm and magic, and then I see it.
The battle.
It unfolds across the wide, frozen plateau at the summit of the North Mountain. White stones are stained red, and the snow is churned to mud beneath thousands of clashing feet. Pegasus dive through smoke-wreathed skies, their valkyrie riders a blur of silver and wrath, blades raised. The Legion line the ridges above, releasing shimmering arrows. Lycans slash through the enemy flanks, snarling, their fur matted with blood. Centaurs gallop through the thickest lines, hurling spears and swinging glaives, their hooves shaking the ground as thunder. Spells arc overhead, blue gusts of ice, red fire, crackling violet bolts hurled by witches.
