A sigh escapes me the second that weight liquefies and spreads throughout my blood. Each of my powers returns to its position, filling the empty space back to where it was.
Once it reaches that mark, it continues to go.
My heart races as they get closer and closer to touching one another. I knew the first time I did this that I was right in my assumption. This just proves and shows…I, maybe even my men, am not far off from having all our power.
Before the flow can snap shut and knock my ass off my feet, I repeat the Valories prayer and command it to cleanse the Binding. The white essence floating in the globe shoots toward the sky way faster than it did when I released the tainted shit that was trying to take over my body.
My power slams back into me, snatching a gasp from my mouth, and I tilt backwards.
Right into an awaiting set of hands.
My skin breaks out into chill bumps as soon as the energy surrounding him caresses me.
I blink my eyes open and tilt my head back to look at Kyzen. The baby blue ring around his pupil stuns me.
“I was ready for you to fall. Isawit. My power started showing me what was coming the second it pierced me,” he says.
The deeper baritone of his voice sends a shiver through my blood.
He rights me on my feet and I whirl around, sucking in a sharp breath as my gaze devours my men.
They’re glowing.
The faint light that surrounds them when they use their powers in the Abandon is all too obvious now.
Aside from the stark sparkle in Kyzen’s eyes, there’s also a white coating covering him. Amick’s shining brighter than the sun. This time, Riven does have a sheen around him. It’s a faint burgundy with streaks, almost like lightning strikes, of blue flowing through it.
I swallow as Creed stares down at the black swirling around his hands. When he picks up his gaze and meets mine, his worry bleeds through very clearly.
He holds his palm out, attempting to halt me as I move toward him.
I ignore that.
My hand grips the back of his neck, and I pull him down until his lips collide with mine.
“Careful, my endling,” he mutters against my mouth. “You just gave me back a version of myself even those most rotten of people fear.”
“I don’t fear you or your power. Neither do your brothers nor the people surrounding us. That’s all that matters. You won’t fear this either.”
He huffs and bites my bottom lip before pulling away. The small fraction his shoulders drop relaxes the tension in my chest.
I’m tugged to the side faster than I can blink, and my focus gets sucked into Riven’s independently swirling eyes.
“Oh, little burden,” he sings, then teases his lips against mine. “You’ve gone and done something now. Those stained-glass eyes see that, though, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “You seem more…balanced.”
“Balance is a lie. I’m not two broken halves that make a whole.” He tosses his head back, laughing before giving me a quick peck on the tip of my nose. “I’m both extremes at once.”
Oh my.
That’s going to be…something.
He spins me around so fast my head grows dizzy. It takes me a second to get my bearings, and when I do, I fall headfirst into citrine eyes that fracture like light spilling through a crystal.
“Candyman,” I say, breaking through his stare. “You okay?”
Slowly, a smile curves across his mouth as he cups my cheek. He doesn’t flinch when I run my thumb across his dimple.
