“Now what?” I ask, glancing between Blaze and Steel. “She wants to be the one to kill him, but what if she can’t get to him?”
“Then we distract him—come at him from all angles.” Blaze nods slowly. “I’ll come up behind him, and the two of you can come at him from each side. He might be powerful, but he can’t fight off a four-way attack from all sides.”
Steel nods. “Yeah, we can do that. We’ll try to keep his attention on us so Dalia can sneak beneath his guard. She gets the killing blow.”
I just nod, already moving into position. I wish we could share the plan with Dalia, but she’s smart. She’ll figure out what we’re doing.
Dalia manages to break free from the shadows binding her and tries to come at Renwick again, but he throws more shadowsat her. He isn’t able to grab her with them, but it still keeps her from moving closer.
Luckily, he’s so distracted by her attack attempts that he doesn’t notice our advance until we’re practically on top of him.
Shadows barrel from his hand as it swings in my direction, but my sword slashes through them as I duck to the side. Renwick Vesperine is far from the first shadow demon we’ve fought.
He might be the strongest we’ve ever gone against, as he lets shadows fly at all four of us with ease. They’re easy to dodge because his aim is off with his focus so split.
I manage to sneak beneath the next onslaught, rushing him with my sword raised. My forward momentum stops suddenly as shadows wrap around my throat and sword, halting me as the shadows tighten.
I’d be in trouble if I needed to breathe to survive, but since I’m not required to breathe air—it’s just a reflex carried over from when we were alive, I think—I don’t do more than grunt at the pain.
Dalia stumbles, and my eyes shoot to her.
Did Renwick hurt her?
I don’t care what we agreed to—if he hurts her, I’ll kill him my damn self.
“Holy shit,” Dalia murmurs, and I’m just close enough to catch her words. “The strings… They’re just as beautiful as I remember.”
Her hand trails through the air, confusing me before it occurs to me that the strings of fate must have appeared to her. She told us that she and her sisters lost the ability to see them years ago, but I don’t know what else she’d be talking about.
Dalia’s mouth turns up at the corner as she jerks her head toward Renwick. “Oh, no. It seems your fate ends here today, and since my sister isn’t conscious, I get to be the one to cut it.”
“What the hell are you blabbering on about?” Renwick spits out, his tone venomous.
“I am Moirai. I am Fate. It is my sisters and I who rule over the fates of all people—mortals, immortals, and gods alike. We lost our way, and we lost our power. But no more. I can feel it coursing through my veins. This is your end, Renwick Vesperine.”
My eyes widen before narrowing as Dalia begins to glow. Her voice vibrates with power.
Holy shit.
She’s gorgeous.
“Not if I kill you first,” Renwick growls, his shadows falling away from me, Blaze, and Steel as he focuses his attention on Dalia. Shadows fill the air, surrounding and engulfing her.
“Oh, hell no!” Blaze raises his sword, ready to end the asshole who dares to hurt our women just as Steel and I do—only for all three of us to freeze as Dalia appears behind Renwick, her sword sliding through his back and piercing him clean through.
She’s smiling as she pulls it free, Renwick spinning around as he clutches at his chest.
“What? How?”
“I told you I could feel my powers again. Did you think all we did was play with the strings of fate? We wouldn’t be considered the most powerful beings if that’s all we could do.” Dalia lifts her sword. “You’ve always underestimated me, Renwick. I wish I could say you were going to live to regret that, but death is the only thing you deserve.”
Her sword swings in an arc, slicing through his neck as easily as if it were butter.
Renwick’s eyes widen, his mouth falling open before his head detaches from his body.
Dalia stares down at his decapitated body as she drops her sword to the ground and reaches into her pocket. She removes apair of scissors—where the fuck did those come from—and lifts them into the air.
They hesitate as if caught on something as she closes them, an audible snap sounding out as they snick shut completely.
