“This is the end you deserved and were fated for, Renwick Vesperine. Your string of fate has been cut, and your life in this realm has come to an end. I don’t think you’ll enjoy your time in the next realm.” Dalia bows her head, the scissors disappearing from her grasp.
“What the hell was that?” Steel growls, stomping over to our girl.
Blaze and I are just a step behind him as we crowd around Dalia.
“Seriously, gorgeous. That was so fucking badass.” Blaze sweeps her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers.
Dalia giggles as Blaze passes her to Steel and then me so we can each kiss her before I set her on her feet.
“My powers have returned.” She glances around the air surrounding her. “I can see the strings of fate again. Usually, Morrigan is the one who cuts the strings when someone has reached the end of their life, but with her incapacitated, it fell to me—allowing me to choose the moment of his death and how he died.”
“So Morrigan holds Atropos’s… I don’t know what to call it. Title? Power?” Steel’s head tilts to the side as he tries to work it out in his head.
Dalia nods. “Morrigan holds Atropos’s position as the inflexible. Phoebe holds Clotho’s as the spinner, and I hold Lachesis’s as the allotter.”
“As much as I’d love to know more about you and your sisters,” I say, glancing back to the battle still being fought. “But we still need to deal with this.”
“Right. Yes.” Dalia leans down to pick up her sword once more, shooting me a wink. Her focus returns to the ongoing battle, her voice lifting and vibrating with power once more. “Renwick Vesperine is dead—his string of fate has been cut. If you choose to leave now, we won’t follow you, but you will forget Iero exists. If you choose to return, you will be killed. Anyone who continues to fight will be cut down. Make your choice now.”
Around us, the sounds of battle slow before ending completely. Somehow, Dalia’s voice carries across the entire battlefield—likely another power she regained.
Silence reigns for a few more moments before Renwick’s remaining men take off. Some disappear completely, while others hurry to the vehicles until only the MCs and the citizens of Iero remain.
“Where are my sisters? Where are Phoebe and Morrigan?” Dalia calls.
“Morrigan is here!” A woman I recognize from the council calls. What was her name?
Dalia is already moving toward her. “Thank you, Enya.”
Enya. Right.
I’ll have to remember that.
“I have Phoebe,” a masculine voice calls, and this time I remember its owner’s name—the stone coat, Jaeden. “I’ll bring her to you.”
I trail behind Dalia with Blaze and Steel at my back. By the time Dalia reaches Morrigan, Jaeden is lowering Phoebe to the ground with just enough room for Dalia to fit between them.
She takes one hand each of Morrigan’s and Phoebe’s, joining them together before lowering them to the ground. She leans forward, a hand on each of their heads as the glow she hasn’t quite lost becomes blindingly bright again.
As much as I want to continue to watch my mate’s powers work, I have to force my eyes away. It’s just too bright.
“Fuck me,” Morrigan grumbles, and I jerk my head back to Dalia and her sisters. “What happened?”
Morrigan and Phoebe are struggling to sit up.
“Renwick had the two of you killed,” Dalia hurries to fill the two of them in. “He tried to have me killed as well, but Blaze, Titan, and Steel were having none of it.”
Blaze snorts. “Although we were pretty sure we were going to be the ones to kill all three of you when we were forced to close in around Dalia.”
Morrigan’s eyes narrow. “What the hell does that mean?”
“They circled me and were forced to back up until they were all pressed against me. I was sure I was a goner, but then the other MCs showed up and turned the fight in our favor.” Dalia shoots the three of us a smile. “When they stepped away, I wasn’t dead.”
“That’s wonderful, Dalia.” Phoebe pulls her sister into a hug. “And Renwick?”
“Dead,” Enya confirms. “Although I’m not sure how.”
Dalia clears her throat. “Sisters, do you notice anything different?”
