Her high-pitched scream pierces the battlefield. I reach deeper, grasping the threads of essence and ripping them out strand by strand.
Her body convulses, covered in glowing burns, her limbs jerking as I tear her apart from the inside. Her shrieks scrape at my ears, but I don’t stop.
A witch losing her Divine is painful, but a human enduring torture that was designed for supernatural beings is like someone reaching inside your chest and pulling your heart out.Slowly.
When the last thread of her Divine rips free, I absorb it all into me, consuming her, erasing her, burning her soul when I should be sending it to purgatory.
But I’m not the Grim Reaper yet, so the rules don’t apply to me.
With one final squeeze, her neck snaps, and I let her fall. The thud echoes, followed by the crack of every bone in her body.
I close my eyes, tears falling past the relieved smile on my lips.
Visha once called me her doom.
I guess she was right.
43. Purgatory has awful reception
Nevaeh
Itake Grace’s hands in mine, letting my Divine sweep over her skin to heal the shallow cuts. She had a nasty tear on her shoulder, so of course, Harvey didn’t hesitate before bringing his mate to me.
Even after completing her bond with Harvey, Grace is still human. The bond grants her a longer lifespan and near-perfect health, but healing still takes longer, which is where I come in.
While Harvey protectively hovers over his mate, Seiji circles me like a hawk, enjoying his front-row seat to my essence coming out to play. With every second, he inches closer until his nose is practically brushing my hands.
Jackson, on the other hand, stands ramrod still, lips parted in awe. He has only heard rumors about my Divine until now, so he’s taking full advantage of watching me work my magic.
Once Honeybunch is patched up, Seiji nudges her aside and takes her place, hands held out before me. I stare at him blankly as the silly man bounces on his feet, grinning like I’m handing out candy.
Angel smothers a laugh in my neck, clutching me like his personal teddy bear. “You’re already halfway healed, Seiji. Don’t bother my mate for some scratches.”
“Ugh, fine. Jackson, get your juicy ass over here.”
I shake my head, laughing as Seiji drags his mate forward, who is too shy to ask for help on his own.
Now that Jackson is family, he deserves the same special treatment Grace got, so I don’t hesitate to offer my services.
Seiji gushes over my golden eyes and shimmering essence, then whines about how unfair it is that only the Horseman ofDeath was gifted the ‘badass smoke effect.’
Angel tunes out his whining and orders everyone to spread out and help around the kingdom to clean up the ruins.
We managed to contain most of the battle in the northern side of the kingdom, so the damage shouldn’t take more than a few days to repair, especially with the centaurs already sketching up plans and arguing timelines.
Seiji and Jackson join the Earth fairies in restoring the battleground’s fertility. Every drop of blood is pulled from the soil, and fresh grass spreads across the once-barren ground.
By the time the sun rises, it starts looking like the war never happened in the first place.
This is what happens when you wage war against a superior species. The wizards have less than a dozen covens left, their cities hollow as ghost towns, while we’ll be thriving again in less than two days.
We’re just erasing the last signs of battle when the portals come back to life and citizens pour in. A group of children dances and cheers their way into the kingdom. It’s the best sight you could ask for first thing in the morning.
Their joy is contagious, clinging to us even as we stop at the War Castle to clean up before heading home.
Peeling off what’s left of my armor, I pray to Fates for enough time to recharge before Uncle Elijah drops off my little Monkey.
Despite Angel’s protests that Hazel needs to rest too, she stubbornly stays behind to check in with the second-in-commands and get a read on how things were at their end.
